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David Costello of Brunswick is the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
Our federal government is failing us.
Extreme gerrymandering and single-member districts silence the voices of thousands. Senate filibusters derail important legislation. Our Electoral College results in election winners becoming losers, and our existing campaign finance system furthers the interests of the wealthy over everyone else. In many respects, Washington is broken. Dysfunction abounds and our imperfect democracy is in danger of becoming even more flawed.
To fix Washington and tackle our nation’s most pressing problems, we need to do more than simply change whom we elect every two to six years. We need to substantially reform our governing practices and institutions, and eliminate what I view as the excessive and corrupting influence that money, wealth and disinformation have over our politics and government.
I don’t think Sen. Angus King’s frequently stated and years-long approach of “reaching across the aisle” is working in today’s Washington. It’s good for public relations and electioneering but I see it as largely empty when it comes to delivering important public policy results and benefits.
Instead, I believe Sen. King and others would do better to focus their attention on enacting long overdue legislative and constitutional reforms. Ambitious reforms that would not only strengthen our democracy and government but also aid in better protecting our rights and freedoms — including women’s reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms — and assist in addressing such critical challenges as climate change; unaffordable housing and healthcare; economic inequality; gun violence; underperforming schools; shoddy infrastructure; immigration; inadequate trade and arms control treaties; and insufficient retirement security.
While enacting these reforms won’t be easy, none are especially radical and many could be enacted if sufficient attention, reason and effort are applied.
The American people are crying out for significant change. To truly address citizens’ concerns and aspirations, I think we need to elect senators and representatives who’ve grown impatient with the lack of progress, and who possess the courage to back bold, innovative solutions. In his 12 years in office, I believe Sen. King has been too reticent to support the kind of reforms required to really make a difference in Washington and he’s unlikely to change his overly cautious approach going forward.
As Maine’s senator, I would work unrelentingly to bolster our democracy and system of governance and advance initiatives to ensure that all Mainers are provided with the education, health care, job skills and other life-enriching opportunities to thrive.
I grew up in a working-class family in Old Town and served for more than 25 years in senior-level government positions in the United States, including in Maine, and abroad. I managed complex multimillion-dollar programs and operations, including initiatives to combat climate change, revitalize communities, revamp public schools, protect public health and the environment, and advance peaceful democratic change in such conflict-torn countries as Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia. I believe that I have the knowledge, experience and energy to help in making a meaningful difference in Maine and Washington.
Substantive change is hard but needed. From my perspective, doing more of the same in Washington isn’t working. If you agree, check out my reform agenda and consider marking me as your first choice on Maine’s ranked-choice ballot this fall.
Election notice: The BDN will stop accepting letters and columns related to the Nov. 5 election on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Not all submissions can be published.
