With the Legislature back in session this week, many Mainers have been hoping members of the House will take up impeachment proceedings against Gov. Paul LePage. Despite the results of the OPEGA study, the outcome of the Government Oversight Committee hearings and the attorney general’s legal interpretation of “official oppression,” as he has in the past, the governor appears to have gotten a free pass for his unethical behavior in the Speaker Mark Eves and Good-Will Hinckley matter. All signs point to the Legislature, a majority lacking any “intestinal fortitude,” acquiescing and allowing him to have the free pass — again.
LePage is a very good financial manager and could easily run a multimillion-dollar corporation, but he is a lousy leader. Managers — or top-down executives — tell people what to do. Leaders collaborate with stakeholders, in this case the Legislature, to create a common purpose or goal. Since he was elected, the governor’s inability to transition from manager to leader, or even comprehend the differing characteristics of each, has brought his tenure to this contentious point.
At the Bucksport town hall last September, the governor declared himself the “CEO of Maine,” emphasizing his legislative agenda points with, “I’m telling you …” He then proceeded to disparage the Legislature — with legislators in the audience. Listening to LePage on the radio and at town halls, he fails to understand — thus frustrating him to no end — what every middle school child learned in civics class; there are three “equal, but separate branches” in Maine’s system of government, and as leader of the executive branch, you have no authority over the other two, nor can you tell either branch what business to conduct or how to conduct it. In other words, you can influence, cajole and collaborate in the crafting of a legislative agenda, but you can’t dictate one.
But many LePage supporters contend the governor is doing an excellent job, that government should be run like a business, that his behavior is an instilled characteristic from his background, and that he is looking out for Maine’s best interests. It should be asked of his supporters then, “In what business or workplace setting would an employee who exhibited the same type of behavior and made the same type of comments as the governor be allowed to keep his or her job?” The answer is none.
Given his past behavior before the “Vaseline” comment to the press in 2013, the human resources department of any company would have had security escort him out of the building by the end of the day.
But if the Legislature will not hold the governor accountable, who will? The short answer: us, the constituents, we Mainers.
It is our responsibility to hold members of the Legislature accountable for their passiveness in not “pushing back” against the governor’s unethical, much less unprofessional, behavior.
There is a saying in business that human resource professionals use when advising managers and leaders who are dealing with problems and behaviors of individuals under their charge: “What you condone, you own.” If we, the constituents, do not call upon the Legislature to act now, we “own” any future actions and-or behavior by the governor for the next three years.
When we Mainers fail in our responsibility to hold elected officials accountable for their actions or inactions, then we must hold ourselves accountable for the resulting dissatisfaction, distrust and disenfranchisement we have toward our government. Thus, when members of one branch of government (i.e. the legislative) fail in their responsibility to hold members of the other two branches (i.e. the executive, in this case) accountable for their past behavior or actions, then we only have to look within ourselves for our failure to do the former. That said, it is up to each of us who have had enough of the governor’s behavior to demand our elected leaders step up, take responsibility for this situation, or be held accountable at the ballot box this November.
Mike Turcotte of Bangor is an adjunct ethics professor at Eastern Maine Community College and an independent candidate to represent Maine’s 2nd District in the U.S. House.