COVERING THE BASES

Gov. Baldacci’s first choices for seats on the University of Maine System board of trustees were criticized for not including a woman. The governor went back and chose another group of nominees, which included two women. These choices were criticized, however, because they did not include representatives from Down East. With his third slate of nominees the governor appears to have satisfied the critics. His new group of six nominees includes three women, one of them from Washington County. This should put the matter to rest and the nominees should be approved.

The university system is facing major challenges in coming years. A recently unveiled reorganization plan for the system will be hotly debated and will require substantial revisions. State budgets are likely to remain tight so shortfalls in the system’s budget must be addressed through spending cuts rather than wishing for more state revenue. The system needs competent, committed trustees to navigate it through this challenging time.

Some of them should be women and lawmakers and others were right to raise concerns that the governor’s original nominees would have left only two women on a 15-member board that represents a system that is 60 percent female. That oversight was resolved by the governor’s choice of Jean Flahive and Victoria Murphy to join the board. The governor also reversed his early decision not to re-appoint Margaret Weston to the board. If approved by lawmakers, she will now serve another five years on the board.

Critics were also right that different parts of the state deserve representation. The board already leans toward Southern Maine and the governor’s second set of appointments worsened the situation by including another Portland representative to the board while dropping a member from Bucks Harbor and renewing the terms of members from Yarmouth and Hallowell. In his third round of nominees, the governor included Ms. Flahive who is from Eastport and, because so much time has passed that another members is now up for re-nomination, a second term for a member from Mars Hill.

The university system board of trustees has a lot of work ahead of it. Its membership should quickly be finalized by legislators so the board can get to work.