PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine resident says she is “shocked” after Republican Gov. Paul LePage wrote several notes in response to criticism of his comments on the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Portland Press Herald reports two residents sent faxes after the governor blamed both sides for the violence. LePage responded to Darcey Poulin’s […]
Paul LePage
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage says classroom teachers are 'a dime a dozen'
PITTSFIELD (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage has criticized traditional education during the unveiling of a new vocational school, describing classroom teachers as “a dime a dozen.” The Morning Sentinel reports the Republican governor made the comments Thursday at the new Cianbro workforce development center, called the Cianbro Institute. The center offers classes such as […]
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Paul LePage condemns 'both sides' of Virginia protests for violence
After remaining largely silent on the past weekend’s violence in Virginia, Gov. Paul LePage erupted Thursday on the radio. Maine’s Republican governor echoed President Donald Trump’s reaction to the Charlottesville conflict, assigning equal blame to white supremacists and counter-protesters who showed up to oppose a rally against removing a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. […]
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Paul LePage says a Medicaid expansion would kill Maine
Gov. Paul LePage has turned his attention squarely at defeating the Medicaid expansion referendum on this November’s ballot, claiming again that broadening eligibility for the government-run program would drive the state into backbreaking debt. LePage’s ardent opposition to Medicaid expansion is nothing new. He has vetoed bids to do so six times during his tenure, […]
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Paul LePage offers pay raise for 'right to work' language in contracts
Gov. Paul LePage used the lure of higher wage increases for members of Maine’s largest state workers union to win a key concession in his campaign to weaken the clout of organized labor. In exchange for a 6 percent pay increase over the next two years, negotiators for the Maine State Employees Association have agreed […]
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Paul LePage says Eric Brakey is a long shot to beat Angus King
Gov. Paul LePage is sounding more and more like he plans next year to challenge independent.Angus King’s bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate. During a radio interview Thursday, the governor indicated that the only declared major party challenger — state Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn — likely can’t win. “I don’t see it […]
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Paul LePage says Matt Dunlap wrong to not supply voter data
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine’s Republican governor says the state’s secretary of state is making a mistake by denying a request for voter data made by a Trump commission. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, a Democrat, has declined to comply with a request by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating possible voter […]
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ACLU sues Paul LePage for blocking critics on Facebook
AUGUSTA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine sued Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday in federal court, alleging that he violated constitutional free-speech rights by blocking two critical commenters from his Facebook page and deleting their comments. The 20-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court follows a July letter from the group asked the Republican governor to […]
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Nate Libby uses ‘colorful language’ in tweet aimed at LePage
AUGUSTA — A letter from Gov. Paul LePage that sharply criticized Sen. Nate Libby’s support for raising the age to buy cigarettes left the Lewiston Democrat smoking mad. The Republican governor called senators who overrode his veto of a measure that hiked the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21 “hypocrites” for […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Paul LePage adds George Mitchell to his ‘sadly out of touch’ list
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, testifies during a House Natural Resources subcommittee oversight hearing on the Antiquities Act on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, May 2, 2017. Gov. Paul LePage shot back at former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell on Friday for Mitchell’s defense of recent votes on the Affordable Care Act by U.S. Sens. Susan […]