There will be a push by the No Blank Checks group to limit what the people of Maine can do.

I say, don’t let them be oppressors to new and better ways of doing things. Co-ops don’t send Maine ratepayers’ funds to foreign corporations, as Central Maine Power now does. Being conservative to me means keeping the money in Maine.

Utilities are monopolies; there is no competition for CMP. What is now called “profit” should be reinvested in the utility district.

Millions of our dollars are leaving the state every year. CMP executives are being paid way too much for disastrously poor ratings for both “up-time” and customer service.

People should be open to the possibility of lower rates, better service, more grid resilience, safer working conditions for line workers, better planning, reinvestment of ratepayers’ funds instead of those funds being exported. A co-op is us, the ratepayers — not state government.

We shouldn’t let the No Blank Checks group tie our hands.

Jonathan Wilcox, South Paris