Cranky Column: Policy Ronin Report

MACHIAS VALLEY NEWS OBSERVER • June 5, 2025

Ronin are samurai without masters. Thirty years ago, I left the King administration, returned to the University of Maine at Machias and Washington County, and became a policy ronin — an independent, skilled, and potentially dangerous policy warrior. During this session, I submitted testimony on four bills (LDs 183, 495, 252, and 1593) that I was asked to submit and on five others (LDs 32, 375, 499, 1373, and 1494) that I had an interest in. This ronin has mostly gotten his policy ass kicked. LD 183, An Act to Cap Publicly Owned Land Area at No More than 50 Percent of Any County, was voted unanimously out of committee “ought not to pass.” ~ Jonathan Reisman