BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 29, 2021
The high-profile proposal to ask Maine voters to approve a takeover of the state’s dominant electric utilities is in danger of failing in a key vote this week with one focal senator saying he has reservations as four city mayors rally against the cause. Sen. Ned Claxton, D-Auburn, one of the two state senators who flipped two weeks ago, is still wavering. After that late-night vote, he committed to supporting the bill if it was made clear that the new utility would be subject to property taxes. But on Monday, he said he was undecided, citing “real reservations” about the costs of fighting utilities in court and upkeep of the grid.