‘If Marden’s is open, Maine is open’: State workers to see fewer snow days

AUGUSTA, Maine — State workers should expect to see fewer snow days under Gov. Paul LePage.

The governor waited until 3 p.m. to send government employees home during Wednesday’s storm that brought more than a foot of snow to much of the state and didn’t send Aroostook workers home at all, scoffing, “It’s Maine! It’s a winter day in Maine.”

“The rule of thumb is: if Marden’s is open, Maine is open,” LePage spokesman Dan Demeritt told the Kennebec Journal, referring to the popular salvage chain LePage was general manager of prior to becoming governor.

With 11,400 workers, a snow day can cost the state more than $1 million in pay, the state controller’s office calculated in 2007.