I will fight for you in Augusta.

Please avoid anyone who uses that phrase. After just one term as a member of the Maine House of Representative for District 13, I offer this nonpartisan advice to voters: choose lovers, not fighters. Controversy sells papers but consensus gets things done.

Headlines suggest that Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything, but this is not the reality. Fully 84 percent of all bills in committee during the last legislature reached a bipartisan consensus with no more than one or two dissenting votes.

In reality, Republicans, Dem-ocrats, Greens and independents don’t fight about much. All want the best for Maine citizens. If there is an argument, it is usually about approach, not goal.

Often, the most effective legislators for any party are those who keep open the possibility for consensus as long as necessary. For those whose first instinct is to fight, partisan politics habitually slams the door shut before necessary.

To be sure, all candidates should have strong principles and a willingness to vote their consciences and the will of their constituents. They should put people before politics. But legislators adept at building consensus are routinely more valuable to the legislative process than those who won’t respect the views of opponents.

When all else fails, I will fight for you in Augusta.

But I’d rather love, laugh, discuss and agree for you in Augusta.

Bob Duchesne

D-Hudson, Alton, Argyle, Bradford, Greenbush, Hudson, LaGrange and Milford