PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 4, 2021
The foreign government interference prohibition that protects the integrity of candidate elections in our state does not extend to citizen-initiated referendums. A foreign government has exposed this dangerous loophole and has spent a record sum to influence the outcome of an election in our state. That’s why I will support Republican state Sen. Rick Bennett’s bipartisan bill to close this dangerous loophole, L.D. 194, and I urge my fellow lawmakers to do the same. Regardless of how you feel about the corridor project or the current referendum, Hydro-Quebec’s actions in our state highlight just how dangerous this loophole is. ~ Sen. Joe Baldacci (D), Bangor