Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has denied requests from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide driver’s license records that include citizenship information and race. The request for the information comes as the Trump administration continues efforts to get citizenship information from states after the Supreme Court in June blocked a citizenship question on the U.S. Census survey.

One of the major concerns of any member of the business community is having a skilled, strong pool of potential employees. Here in Maine, that pool simply isn’t big enough. And, as our population ages, the problem is about to get much worse — unless we act.

As someone who works with business leaders every day, I know how deeply Maine’s looming skills gap weighs on their minds. Regardless of how incredible their products or services are, if they can’t find employees with the right skills, training and aptitude for the work they need done, they cannot serve customers. When these goods and services are not available to those of us who want and need them, our communities suffer.