Letter to the Editor: Proposal 2 worth a second look

October 17, 2018

Dear Editor,

In the newspapers and my canvassing I have read and talked with people about Proposal 2. The newspapers print what someone writes in the editorial section. This could be an opinion and very misleading. The people I have talked with have heard various ways people will form the commission. Here is the simple version of what will happen:

Democrats and Republicans will each be able to choose four (4) people.

The five (5) independent positions will be filled by people who make application through the Secretary of State. Out of these applications 60 will be drawn. The Democrats and Republicans can each reject 4 of these individuals. From the remaining ones the five will be drawn to be on the commission. The Secretary of State is the coordinator of the commission.

Decisions must include at least two from each group. If not no decisions can be made.

People will be paid a nominal amount that is written into the proposal. (People have always been paid to draw up boundaries before. The party in power always controlled the process and people who would be involved.)

There are rules established in the proposal for the commission to follow.

If you want to see more impartial information go to the Bridge online newspaper or the League of Women’s Voters. They both provide plenty of information to this proposal.

The question you might think about is do you want one party making all the decisions for the next ten years or do you want a commission that reflects the diversity of the state. This proposal does the latter. Vote Yes on Proposal 2.

Robert Dunn
Manchester Township

Editor’s Note: Views expressed in any Letter to the Editor are always exclusively those of the author. Do you have something you want Manchester the know? Send your Letter to the Editor to themanchestermirror@gmail.com.

Because of the proximity to the election, the Manchester Mirror will no longer accept pre-election letters to the editor on the topic of the November 6th election.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.