I lived in Waldo County for several decades and even though I'm now a town away I can still see Waldo County from my kitchen window.

And I still pay attention to what's going on there. Waldo County has no pretenses. It's an honest, hard-working place. It's a place of grass roots politics, where people care about social justice and equal opportunity, where there is respect for diversity, gender equity, and non-violence.

Waldo County, especially the northwest tier of towns running from Unity to Frankfort, Swanville, Knox, Waldo and Brooks, is built on a foundation of community-based economics. These towns  operate on town-meeting-based forms of government where there's little bureaucracy but lots of democracy. Decisions are made at the local level. People decide what's best after listening to each other, then take responsibility for their actions. The ecological wisdom prevalent there, as well as residents' focus on future sustainability makes Waldo County -- with its combination of forests, farms, and ocean coastline — a unique part of Maine.

Heather "Betsy" Garrold has lived her entire life under this same system of values. Long active in local food and health issues, she offers the perfect combination of life experiences to understand, respect, and represent the people of Waldo County in the Maine legislature. Simply put: she offers real listening and real representation.

Garrold is the only candidate in Maine this year running under the banner of the Maine Green Independent Party. She is as unique a candidate for the legislature as Waldo is a unique county in Maine.

Together, Heather "Betsy" Garrold and Waldo County are a combination well worthy of your vote.

David Bright lives in Dixmont.