We've come some distance from where we started. The destination has none of the trappings advertised and, it seems, we are nowhere near the place we were promised to be. This was not in the brochure.

In his Dec. 5 column, Matthew Gagnon makes a flawed argument against ranked choice voting. He claims that with ranked choice voting we cannot evaluate the top two candidates for round two of against one another because we do not know in advance who they will be. However, with ranked-choice voting, we have effectively evaluated the top two against one another for a possible second round, no matter who they are, precisely because we’ve already evaluated and ranked all the candidates, including the final top two, in round one.

Maneuvering has begun in Washington among the Democrats to choose the next speaker of the House. I am not a big fan of Rep. Nancy Pelosi and neither is our Rep.-elect Jared Golden. He indicated during the campaign his intention to try to vote for an alternative candidate for speaker.

After the Thanksgiving weekend and having just returned from a more urban environment, I feel grateful for my community and the people and organizations that I depend on every day.

The holiday season is upon us again, which means here in the Moosehead Region we do our best to spread holiday cheer all around! To do this, the Moosehead Lake Kiwanis Club will be placing wish trees out in our community very soon.

Bruce Poliquin has won reelection to Congress to represent CD 2 by 2,000 votes. In the realms of sanity and fairness, that would be the headline, but once again, forces from outside CD 2 have conspired to work against the wishes of the voters in this District. The cycle of southern liberal arrogance continues.

Dear friends and neighbors, I want to congratulate Paul Davis for retaining Senate District 4. Despite the toxic environment on both sides of the aisle at the state and national level, I believe we treated each other with respect and civility. I wish Paul the best as you continue to serve the people in our district and want to assure you that I will work at your side to promote the issues raised by so many local residents -- healthcare access and costs, property taxes, the quality of our educational system, and economic growth and sustainability for our large rural region.

While scrolling through my photos of past trips to Baxter State Park, I realized that in years past every trip included a photo of a moose. This year, I made a half-dozen multi-day trips to the park to both the north and south ends, and not only did I not see a moose, but it was only outside the park that I even saw evidence of moose.

I would like to thank every person in Maine House District 119 that exercised their right to vote in the recent elections. I would also like to recognize my opponents, Mr. Adkins of Monson and Mr. Deertrack of Abbot for the way that they conducted their campaigns; it takes a great commitment to throw your hat into the ring in an effort to serve the public. They are to be commended.

This isn’t about President Donald Trump, though he has become the news cycle, created a dangerous social movement and now embodies America. Democrats and Republicans aren’t resurrecting this flawed democracy. They are complicit in a partisan, fantasy game of politics that is truly dangerous to any hope of meaningful public discourse.

There has been some discussion lately about the ongoing process of Mayo Regional Hospital’s plan to enter into a new agreement with Northern Light Health (formerly EMHS or Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems). We wanted to take the opportunity to provide an update and further clarification, because we understand as the region’s healthcare provider and largest employer, our future affects many, if not all, members of the community.

Mayo Regional Hospital executives seems to be misrepresenting the activity concerning the soon to come name change of Mayo Regional Hospital and HAD #4 (Hospital Administrative District #4) soon to take place.

We Maine voters have our very own Bernie Sanders to elect for U.S. Senator in Zak Ringelstein. The very best news about voting for such a candidate to high office is that we citizens of Maine now have Ranked Choice Voting for our U.S. Congressional and U.S. Senate seats. Therefore, we have the pleasure of very effectively voting to rank Zak first, Angus King second (suggestion: you may choose to not rank Eric Brakey at all).

I am writing in support of Tyler Adkins for House District 119. Tyler is an independent candidate. He recognizes that there needs to be a voice in Augusta to help bridge the divided political factions, to work together to improve the economy of this region.

We write today in support of Tyler Adkins for House District 119. As young people who were either Tyler’s students, or students while he was teaching at Foxcroft Academy, we support his forward thinking and desire to make Piscataquis County a place where young people can find opportunity and make a life for themselves. His focus on broadband connectivity and workforce training are two essential items that will make a significant impact.

I have known Bruce Poliquin for over a decade. He is hard working, extremely capable, and works well with all sides for the good of Maine people. Bruce was state treasurer while I was in the Maine Legislature.

Tyler Adkins, a former student of mine, is a young man who grew up in Monson, attended Foxcroft Academy, left the state to attend college, and become an entrepreneur in alternative energy. He has returned because he values Piscataquis County and the way of life it could represent. But he recognizes the drawback.

There is a national trend for numbers, and it states that 30 percent of Mainers can’t pay their bills, let alone support a family. A single working adult has to make $31,284.00 to pay their expenses. Maine numbers follow a national trend that 33 percent of working men ages 19 to 64 are economically insecure.