Charlie Summers is our pick for U.S. Congress

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

With Tom Allen leaving his seat to pursue a candidacy for the U.S. Senate, two challengers have come forward to be the next Congressman or woman from Maine's First District.

Democrat Chellie Pingree, a familiar face in the halls of the Capitol in Augusta and Washington, D.C., is taking on Republican Charlie Summers, a former state senator, aide to U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and a representative to the Small Business Administration.

Both candidates bring a wealth of political knowledge to the ballot, as well as the ability to move into the circles within the Capitol beltway and hopefully make a difference for Maine.

Pingree is the former head of Common Cause, an organization proactively working for the betterment of man. She has operated her own business for years, been a consistent, responsible and powerful Maine legislator and looks to help continue a Democratic majority in Washington as a way to counteract the years of Bush doctrine we hope to be rid of soon.

She comes to the table as a tireless advocate for health care for all. She worked on prescription drug reform in Maine, and hopes to make health care a key element of the Congressional platform, if elected.

She has received numerous endorsements, and is currently leading the polls in the state.

As for Summers, his world view has been shaped by active duty in Iraq. He was a member of the administration in Baghdad under Gen. Petraeus, and has first-hand knowledge of what is going on the ground there. He isn't one to quickly say that victory is at hand: He realizes that a timed withdrawal of troops, combined with nation building (he suggests having a greater role by non-profit groups such as the Peace Corps in the very near future) is the only way to stabilize the country permanently.

He is a tireless advocate for small businesses and their owners, the people he believes can move Maine forward, as well as the nation.

He is a soft-spoken, "anti-political" type whose roots are deep in Biddeford and the surrounding areas. And, he says, he has learned from the real moderate, Olympia Snowe, on how to bring about "across the aisle" change we, and nearly everyone else in the country, are demanding.

Therefore, the editorial board of the Journal Tribune, in yet another split vote, endorses Charlie Summers as our candidate for the First Congressional District.

Even though we might agree more with Pingree's ideals, it is Summers' delivery that is refreshing in the race.

Politics have been long dominated by those looking to simply forward their agendas while promising compromise and moderation. Summers seems to be the antithesis of this push to be the perfect candidate.

Though he is losing in the polls, we believe Charlie Summers deserves another look as a candidate for the First District of Maine.