Sagadahoc County town votes to ask for end to Iraq war

ARROWSIC – Voters in this small southern Maine town are going on record against the war in Iraq.

Residents of Arrowsic voted 71-17 Wednesday in favor of a resolution asking President Bush and Congress to immediately stop all war funding, to end American occupation in Iraq and to bring the troops home.

An article was added to the warrant for the meeting as a result of a petition drive, said Paul Schlein, one of the organizers.

Schlein said Thursday that about 300 other municipalities around the country have approved similar resolutions calling for an end to the Iraq war. Schlein believes that Arrowsic, a Sagadahoc County town with a population of about 500, is the first town in Maine to consider a resolution opposing the war.

The resolution “was very well-received” during the town meeting and prompted a discussion that took up about a half hour of the 31/2-hour meeting, said Schlein. “It was very civil,” he said.

Some residents said they did not believe it was appropriate to take up a national issue at the town meeting. But Schlein said others considered that forum the only one in which they could express their views about the war.

Schlein said he was not surprised with the lopsided tally, saying it reflects national polls on the subject. He also noted that he and other organizers collected twice as many signatures as were required to get their article on the town warrant.

An AP-Ipsos poll released June 7 reflects widespread discontent over how Bush is handling the war in Iraq. Twenty-eight percent of the 1,000 people surveyed were satisfied with his handling of the war, down 5 percentage points in a month.

The telephone interviews with randomly chosen adults were conducted from June 4 to 6. The poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In February, 92 Democratic members of the Maine House and Senate and one independent signed a letter to Congress expressing concern over United States policy toward Iraq.