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I’ve known Scott Cuddy for nearly a decade. When my wife and I first decided to open our small cafe in Searsport, he was a good customer and I knew him as a union electrician. We had many talks, and he must have heard me complain about politicians coming in to get a photo shoot, because I didn’t even know he was running until I saw the signs around town in 2018. When we finally did get around to discussing policy, I didn’t agree with everything, but I did know that he was there to be a public servant. Many of the politicians today are just looking for a jumping board to get involved in bigger politics, and the work they do is all based on making you mad at the other team.
Over the years I’ve known Cuddy, he has always been rock solid. He appreciates the area he lives in and has always represented the people in his district. He has not spoken poorly of his opponents, and he has not gotten into the culture wars that pervade our national politics. He does the work — writing, sponsoring and showing up to votes.
During the pandemic, we closed our restaurant a few days before the statewide shutdown. One of the first things I did was talk with Cuddy about how we, and the state, were going to take care of employees during this time. He was immediately responsive and pushed through with other lawmakers bills to protect unemployment for workers, and new bills to give relief to employers who were worried about unemployment insurance rates. I have rarely seen anyone work with the passion, fervor or determination Cuddy had during that time. He never stopped, he responded to everyone and worked tirelessly to assure that he could help the greatest amount of people, with the greatest need.
If you, like me, are tired of the politics of today, then I think Cuddy is the obvious choice. Cuddy has proven when things get hard, he works harder and expects nothing but the satisfaction of a job well done.
Patrick Kelley
Searsport
