Rep. Stearns will be voting for U.S. Sen. Collins

To the Editor;

As a result of the opioid epidemic in Maine, oftentimes grandparents have to raise their grandchildren while parents are seeking substance abuse assistance. I recently had an emergency bill before the Legislative Council that would have allowed those grandparents to qualify under state family medical leave act regulations.

Unfortunately, the Legislative Council, which is dominated by Democrats, allowed virtually no Republican bills through this year, killing them all regardless of merit in a highly partisan move. My bill was unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

Speaker Sara Gideon serves on the Legislative Council, and she’s now running for the U.S. Senate. Her ads would like you all to believe that she’s bipartisan, but if you can’t work across the aisle to benefit grandparents during their family’s time of need, I’m not sure you can work across the aisle in any meaningful way, so I’ll be voting to re-elect U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Rep. Paul Stearns

R-Guilford