Mainers can be proud that, unlike national politics, our state legislators work together to solve problems in a bipartisan fashion. As a state senator, I find this to be refreshingly true.
Amidst the media accounts that highlight the few differences we have, these facts remain: Five of the six challenging state budgets we adopted over the past two years were passed with two-thirds majorities and well over ninety percent of all legislative business in committee and on recorded votes is bipartisan.
This is true even when you consider the change in direction the Legislature took after the 2010 election. Together, we enacted bipartisan reforms to Maine’s tax, welfare, pension, health insurance and education systems. There were a relatively small number of issues that captured headlines. There were also a few times where the most partisan members of the Legislature criticized Republicans for wanting to review existing programs to ensure that monies were being used efficiently and effectively. The most notable examples of this were efforts to review spending at the Maine turnpike and state housing authorities.
When we called for an independent investigation into these two programs by the nonpartisan Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, or OPEGA, the most partisan members of the Legislature immediately opposed any review, claiming that any inquiry was a politically motivated “witch hunt” and a waste of time. In the face of this criticism, we pushed forward.
Unfortunately, what was uncovered was worse than anyone imagined. The OPEGA review turned up questionable spending at the Maine Turnpike Authority by senior officials and a lack of official oversight by the MTA board of directors.
An investigation into no bid contracts, exorbitant and/or questionable sponsorships and donations, excessive travel and meal expenses, and the use of paid lobbyists by a quasi-state agency was conducted. The former Executive Director pleaded guilty to felony theft of between $150,000 and $230,000 and is now serving time in prison.
In the case of the Maine State Housing Authority, or MSHA, the committee that I chaired — the committee on labor, commerce, research and economic development, identified a need for the MSHA executive director to be accountable to the board of directors like most housing authorities.
This took place at the same time the then-director was under fire for questionable expenditures of taxpayer monies, including: “affordable” efficiency units with price tags of $250,000-plus per unit, excessive raises for employees (while state employee pay was flat), and a project approval process that did not consider the expense of projects as a key part of its funding criteria.
Ultimately, Democrats and Republicans on our committee recognized the need for oversight by the MSHA board over its executive director reflecting a more appropriate corporate-type structure.
The executive director resigned prior to application of the new oversight, and before the results of a separate investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, into claims that MSHA provided improper oversight of the Section 8 housing program. Just this week, we learned the results of this investigation initiated at the behest of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.
The HUD inspector general’s audit found that MSHA mismanaged its Housing Choice Voucher program. In 87 percent of the units it inspected, clients were not living in decent, safe and sanitary conditions. MSHA is being asked to repay HUD at least $200,000, money that could go toward reducing the waiting list for 6,500 low-income Mainers awaiting affordable housing. Still pending is an inquiry into whether or not another $111,742 paid to a consultant was properly charged to the Homeless Management Information Systems.
I am confident that the implementation of the changes approved by the Legislature and with the installation of John Gallagher as director to oversee the dedicated MaineHousing employees that MaineHousing is on exactly the right track to meet the needs of Maine citizens.
These two investigations alone underscore the need for transparent review of how taxpayer-funded agencies are being operated to ensure that people are being served effectively and with dignity. We can’t turn a blind eye to criticisms by watchdog groups or just assume that the way things have been done for years is fine.
Luckily, few people in the Legislature are so partisan that they won’t support reasonable inquiries into how things are done, and whether or not they can be improved upon. In Maine, our elected officials continue to work together constructively to address pressing problems, identify opportunities, and make the best decisions we can on behalf of our constituents.
Sen. Chris Rector, R-Thomaston, chairs the Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development Committee and is a member of the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee along with the Regulatory Fairness and Reform Committee. Rector represents Maine Senate District 22 which includes the Knox County communities of Appleton, Camden, Criehaven Twp., Cushing, Hope, Matinicus Isle Plt., North Haven, Owl’s Head, Rockland, Rockport, South Thomaston, St. George, Thomaston, Union, Vinalhaven and Warren.
You are kidding, right? I followed many pieces of legislation this year and the votes were split along party lines with Republicans lining up behind ALEC inspired bills. Only when public outcry filled the halls of the State House did any working together occur.
Very true Kayak. Maine has, for better or worse, had it’s GOP taken over by the extreme right-wing crowd. The proof of that is the almost constant string of ALEC and MHPC written legislation that’s been submitted. Reading the majority of this stuff, it’s beyond clear that these legislative piece’s were written by these 2 GOP-directed organization’s since the wording is, at best, almost identical, and at worst, outright plagerism.
What is about the only bright light in any of this was last year’s Budget Reconcilliation when the moderate GOP took a good long look at what their fellow extremist GOP’rs, and their Tea Party bunch, were dragging the State into thru their collective and constant temper tantrum’s and whining and put their foot down and said “NO”, and then took both the responsible, and gutsy, step of voting for the Maine voter, not the GOP Grand Poobah’s, and got the Budget passed. That these same moderate GOP folk’s did this in the face of LePage’s threat to veto the Budget Act was also seen as a huge step in the moderate’s effort’s to bring the Maine GOP back to a sense of sanity and normalcy. Unfortunately Charlie and his bunch screwed the pooch on that one with the Caucus’s. It’s time for the moderate’s to make their presense known, and this time permanently, in Maine politic’s. Their failure to do so is gonna have the Maine GOP turned over tot he right-wing extremeist’s. And that would be the real loss for all of Maine.
This last legislature was almost as bad a joke as Congress has been for the last four years. They voted along party lines on most issues. If something was agreed upon by both sides of the aisle, the governor would break out his veto pen (or crayon). Not much good came out of Augusta during the last two years.
This Republican is writing this particularly false editorial to try to get the voters not to vote out the Republican rubber stampers next month. Don’t be fooled by this slimy editorial. Hack LePage’s legs out from under him and eliminate his supporters in the legislature.
5 out of 6 budgets were unanimous out of Appropriations and recieved a better than 2/3 vote by the legislature. Basicaly all major legislation and accomplishments were bipartisan. Maine is still far to the left of most states when looking at taxes, regulations and welfare benefits but we have started to take control from the moonbats and bring this state back to normalcy. Taxpayers and businesses are finally getting a voice in Augusta – not just special interests, union bosses and their thugs and hard core lefties.
“Taxpayers and businesses are finally getting a voice in Augusta – not
just special interests, union bosses and their thugs and hard core
lefties.”
Don’t fool yourself. LePage is mainly concerned with advancing a “profits-before-people” agenda, and in fact the only groups getting a voice in Augusta ARE special interests: right-wing groups like ALEC and the Chamber of Commerce.
Also, it’s cute how you contrast “taxpayers” versus “hard-core lefties,” as though taxpayers (by which I assume you’re referring to those who pay income tax, forgetting that those not well-off enough to pay tax on their income pay plenty of other taxes) are morally superior to non-taxpayers, and as if none of us on the left are taxpayers.
Rs: don’t strain yourselves foolishly patting yourself on the back. Could lead to an arm injury. Oh yeah, your health benefits will pay for that even though they wouldn’t for most Mainers.
Libs cannot handle the fact that this legislature was indeed successful AND in a bi-partisan way. It ruins their carefully contrived and erroneous narrative and sadly denigrates the accomplishments of legislators from BOTH sides of the aisle.
Denigrate, no. But a few thing’s need to be remembered. When the Budget had to be passed, and the extremist’s of both Party’s, and the Governor, all came out and started making war whoop’s about their ‘It will go only over my dead body’ remarks and position’s, it was the Moderate’s of both party’s that came out and got it done. What was especially interesting was that both House Chamber’s Majority and Minority Party leader’s were, in fact no where to be seen when the final call for a vote was heard. The Moderate’s of both side’s made it VERY clear that if the vote didn’t resolve the budget problem that both Party’s Moderate’s would immediately call for a Party leadership vote, in short a Politcal Party munitny, and replace their respective Party’s leadership with more moderate Rep’s and Senator’s that had the public’s, not their political, interest’s 1st and foremost. That would have meant a wholesale shift in just who was going to be the next Speaker, installed right in the middle of the session. Anyone wanna take a guess where that road would have led to ? That Nutting was forced to call for the vote is all the proof that’s neccessary that the Moderate’s had finally had enough of both the Governor’s threat’s, and the Speaker’s nonsense and Tea Party-directed Statehouse theatric’s. The last thing Nutting wanted was a vote that appeared moderate. He was backing Raye’s extremist TP cry for going over the cliff to embarass the State just so Raye could have some material to use to run for Oly’s Senate seat. Well guess what ? The vote got held, with an overwhelmng bi-partisan and 3/4 + vote that made even LePage back down, with even Raye seeing the writing on the wall. That’s not bi-partisan by definition, I agree. But until Maine elect’s State Rep’s and Senator’s who are more concerned with the State and it’s voter’s, doing what’s best for all, instead of prancing around for the evening news, this is going to keep happening. And, fortunately, the Moderate’s of both Party’s are now beginning to be both heard and seen. 2014 is not that far off. And with Paulie winning election on a 36% margin, the Moderate vote may just be the next vote to aim for.
5 bipartisan budgets after years of democrats ramming legislation through, bipartisan regulatory reform, and many other accomplishments that republicans and democrats should be proud about.