Gov. Paul LePage was elected to govern the state of Maine, as his title suggests. If he refuses to do that job, he should step aside.
On Monday, LePage said he wouldn’t make any appointments to state boards and commissions, many of them boring-sounding entities that nonetheless do necessary, behind-the-scenes work to keep Maine people safe and business practices fair. These boards and commissions ensure the safety of elevators, trucks and water systems, and they oversee pesticide use, Maine’s universities and community colleges and the state’s veterans homes. They also set standards for and issue licenses to real estate agents, veterinarians, physicians, guides and many others.
This won’t be the first time LePage refuses to fulfill his appointment responsibilities. Previously, LePage refused to make appointments to the state Board of Corrections, shutting it down. The board oversaw the state’s controversial county jail consolidation effort. Without a functional coordinating board, legislation to undo the consolidation gained momentum and became law this spring. Counties have largely regained control of the jails, and they now say they can’t operate — much less cooperate — without more money.
LePage has also effectively shut down the Land for Maine’s Future program but by different means. First, he refused to sign off on $11.5 million in voter-approved bonds for land conservation. The bonds passed in 2010 with nearly 332,000 votes and in 2012 with nearly 419,000, far more votes than LePage received in each of his two runs for governor.
Now he refuses to sign off on financial orders needed for LMF’s normal operations.
LePage blamed his dysfunctional relationship with the Legislature for his inaction. “Too much hatred between the Legislature and the executive branch, so there is a cooldown period until January, and then I will consider putting the judges in. That’s the only ones I will consider putting in,” he told MPBN. The judges he is referring to would oversee drug-related cases and are some of the positions the governor clamored for as part of his approach to fighting the state’s drug abuse epidemic. Lawmakers included funding for the positions in the state budget that passed over the governor’s objections.
The governor also told MPBN that for the rest of his term, he will go around the Legislature in attempting to accomplish his public policy objectives. Instead, he said, he’ll go directly to the people. This is an abdication of his duties.
He is not the first governor to be at odds with lawmakers. Before LePage, Jim Longley, Maine’s first independent governor who served from 1975 to 1979, issued the most vetoes. All but one were overridden. He also called lawmakers “pimps.” But LePage is the first to simply refuse to work with them.
In March, LePage said, “I will spend the rest of my days going after those people,” referring to lawmakers who vote against his proposal to further reduce Maine’s income tax. He doubled down in May, saying he would veto every bill sponsored by a Democrat because they opposed his plan to eliminate the state’s income tax. LePage later pledged to veto every bill, even those sponsored by Republicans.
Saying he was shut out of the budget process, which wasn’t true since his staff members sat in on end-of-session legislative budget negotiations, LePage issued 64 line-item vetoes. He said legislators had wasted his time, so he was going to waste theirs. Lawmakers overrode the line-item vetoes in a matter of hours. He then vetoed the entire budget, and lawmakers overrode that veto in short order.
LePage’s threats to go around the Legislature and to refuse to make appointments could, eventually, grind state operations to a halt. This is not leadership. This is abdication of responsibility.
Maine needs a governor who can guide the state out of its economic doldrums and into the future. Through his actions and continued threats, LePage continues to prove he is not that governor.
Maine people cannot afford three years of stagnation, name-calling and temper tantrums. They need and deserve leaders who will move the state forward, not grind it to a halt.
Through his childish actions, LePage has marginalized himself. Now, legislative leaders must rise to the challenge to keep Maine government functional but, more important, to move Maine forward without acrimony and with a vision for real economic growth.
