PORTLAND (AP) — Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s request for a Republican to recuse himself from an investigation into whether the governor overstepped his authority underscores an ongoing rift that threatens GOP unity only a few months out from the next legislative session. Republican Senate President Michael Thibodeau is standing behind Government Oversight Committee co-chairman Roger […]
Paul LePage
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Paul LePage steps up efforts to remove Katz from oversight committee
PORTLAND (AP) — Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is stepping up efforts to remove a Republican lawmaker from the investigation into whether LePage overstepped his authority in persuading a private school to rescind a job offer to one of his political opponents. The Portland Press Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1Wco8il ) that LePage sent a letter to Republican […]
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Gov. Paul LePage catches criticism for joke about wives and checkbooks
PORTLAND — Maine’s brash governor has offended plenty of people in his five years in office. But this time he really did it: A wisecrack at a town hall meeting in Auburn that fell flat with women across the state. A spokesman for Maine Gov. Paul LePage said he was clearly joking when, during his […]
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Re-election could play part in rift between Paul LePage and GOP lawmakers
AUGUSTA — The Legislature is more than two months away from its next session, but the battle lines for a 2016 campaign are being drawn. And as he does so often over state politics, Gov. Paul LePage looms over it all. After a session marked by Senate Republican leaders’ split from their party’s governor on […]
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Legislative panel votes to subpeona LePage administrative members
AUGUSTA — The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee voted Thursday to subpoena two members of Gov. Paul LePage’s administration who have refused to cooperate with an investigation into the governor’s role in forcing Good Will-Hinckley to rescind an employment contract to Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves. That decision came on Thursday after a full day of testimony […]
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Gov. Paul LePage calls Question 1 a scam to benefit the wealthy
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage said Wednesday that Question 1, promoting statewide election reform, is “a scam” aimed at making the “wealthy wealthier and the poor people dumb.” The proposal on the November ballot would boost Maine’s taxpayer-funded election system by increasing its two-year allocation from $4 million to $6 million, adding transparency requirements and […]
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Paul LePage’s unpublicized executive order violated public records law
AUGUSTA — The executive order issued by Gov. Paul LePage on April 20 to start an investigation into the Maine Human Rights Commission, but wasn’t released publicly until Tuesday, was withheld in apparent violation of Maine public records law. According to Maine Revised Statutes, all executive orders must be filed with the Legislative Council and […]
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Paul LePage accuses Roger Katz of conducting witch hunt
Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that the ongoing probe into his role in influencing Good Will-Hinckley to fire Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves as the institution’s president earlier this year amounts to nothing more than the latest salvo a prolonged attack by Republican Sen. Roger Katz of Augusta. “This is a witch hunt by Sen. […]
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Democrats criticize Paul LePage on mental illness statement
Adults with a Serious Mental Illness | HealthGrove The flags will be at half-staff until Tuesday at sunset. The Republican governor issued a statement on Monday that faulted politicians for blaming guns when in his opinion, the nation’s problem with violence is about people with mental illness getting access to guns. “Mental illness is plaguing […]
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LePage staff decline to go before panel
AUGUSTA — Two members of the LePage administration are declining to appear before a legislative panel that’s reviewing allegations Gov. Paul LePage threatened to withhold funding for a private school that tried to hire a political opponent. Cynthia Montgomery, the governor’s chief legal counsel, said she and another aide, Aaron Chadbourne, must “respectfully decline” an […]