Paul LePage

Paul LePage
74th Governor of Maine
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 5, 2011
Preceded by	John Baldacci
Born	October 9, 1948 (age 62) Lewiston, Maine, United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ann LePage
Children	4
Residence	Blaine House
Alma mater	Husson College University of Maine
Profession	General manager
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Website	Official website

Paul Richard LePage (born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who is serving as the 74th and current Governor of Maine. A Republican, he was previously mayor of Waterville from 2003 to 2011, and was a city councilor before that. He worked in the private sector as general manager of the 14-store discount chain, Marden's Surplus and Salvage, from 1996 to 2011.

Early life and education

Paul LePage is the eldest son of eighteen children. He grew up speaking French in an impoverished home with what he has described as an abusive father.^[1] At age eleven, he left home and lived on the streets of Lewiston, seeking shelter wherever he could find it, including in horse stables and at a "strip joint".^[1][2] After spending roughly two years homeless, he began to earn a living shining shoes. At thirteen, he worked washing dishes at a café and hauling boxes for a truck driver. He later worked at a rubber company, a meat-packing plant, and was a short order cook, and bartender.^[3]

LePage applied to Husson College in Bangor, but was initially rejected due to a poor verbal score on the SAT, a result of English being his second language. LePage has said that Peter Snowe – the first husband of current U.S. Senator from Maine Olympia Snowe – persuaded Husson to give LePage a written exam in French, which allowed LePage to show his comprehension and be admitted.^[3][4] At Husson, LePage improved his English skills and became editor of the college newspaper.^[3] He graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration in Finance and Accounting, and later earned a M.B.A. from the University of Maine.^[3]

Business career

He worked for a lumber company in New Brunswick, Canada, from 1972 to 1979, then took a job with Scott Paper in Winslow, Maine.^[5] A few years later, he became a business consultant, founding his own firm, LePage & Kasevich Inc., to help floundering companies.^[5] In 1996, LePage was hired as the general manager of Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a Maine-based discount store chain.^[4][6] In 2006, he was voted the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce’s businessman of the year.^[4] In 2007, he was named "Maine Business Champion" by the National Federation of Independent Business.^[4]

Public service career

LePage served as mayor of Waterville from 2003 until his resignation in January 2011. Before that, he was a two-term city councilor.^[7] During his time as mayor, LePage reorganized city hall, lowered taxes, and increased the city's rainy day fund balance from $1 million to $10 million.^[7]

2010 Maine gubernatorial campaign

On September 22, 2009, LePage announced that he would be seeking the 2010 Republican nomination for Governor of Maine.^[8] LePage won 38% of the vote in a seven-way primary, despite being outspent ten to one by the closest challenger. The campaign credited its success to a highly motivated grassroots army of volunteers who worked tirelessly to spread the message in non-traditional ways.^[7] At 11:19 PM EDT, WCSH declared Paul LePage winner of the GOP Primary.^[9]

In the general election, LePage faced off against Democrat Libby Mitchell, and independents Eliot Cutler, Shawn Moody, and Kevin Scott. With 94% of precincts reporting on the day after the election, the Bangor Daily News declared LePage the winner, carrying 38.1% of the votes.^[10] Cutler was in second place with 36.7% of the votes (less than 7,500 votes behind LePage), while Mitchell was a distant third with 19%.^[10] Moody and Scott had 5% and 1%, respectively.^[10]

LePage is the first popularly-elected Franco-American governor of Maine,^[1] and the first Republican since John R. McKernan, Jr., was re-elected in 1990. In his victory speech, LePage promised he would shrink government, lower taxes, decrease business regulation, and put "Maine people ahead of politics."^[1]

Criticisms

Statements by LePage

LePage has been criticized for statements that supporters have viewed as being part of LePage's plainspoken style.^[11] During the campaign, he told an audience that when he became governor, they could expect to see newspaper headlines stating, "LePage Tells Obama To Go to Hell."^[12] At the beginning of his term as governor, he was criticized for refusing either to attend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events or to meet with Maine representatives of the NAACP. When questioned, LePage said he would not be "held hostage" by special interest groups including the NAACP, and laughingly told a local news reporter, "Tell them they can kiss my butt."^[11][13][14] The remarks were reported in national media, with The Portland Press Herald saying that the comments "sparked outrage... among civil rights group leaders who called his remarks 'astonishing and troubling'".^[14][11] A LePage spokesperson responded, "He's got a directness about him that a lot of people find appealing".^[11] LePage's office later indicated that he would meet with NAACP representatives, but only to discuss matters of concern to "all Maine's people".^[13]

Homestead Exemption

In September 2010, the media reported that Ann LePage, wife of Paul LePage, had received permanent-resident tax exemptions on homes in both Maine and Florida, beginning in 2008, which was thought to be a violation of the laws of both states.^[15] Several weeks after being ordered to pay back taxes and penalties by Volusia County authorities,^[16] it was determined that Florida law allowed Ann LePage to claim a permanent-resident exemption. She then corrected her Florida filing but lost the Maine tax exemptions for 2008 and 2009, and subsequently paid back taxes due on the property.^[17]

Hiring of daughter

LePage appointed his 22-year-old daughter Lauren as assistant to his chief of staff — an entry-level position with an annual salary of approximately $41,000, and employee benefits estimated to be worth an additional $15,000. While residing in the governor's mansion, she also receives a housing benefit with an estimated value of $10,000 per year. (Maine's rules against nepotism did not apply to this and other political positions.)^[18] Critics noted that entry-level salaries for teachers and police officers in Maine are only $30,000 and $36,000, respectively, after specialized training,^[19] and that Lauren LePage has a limited work history.^[20][21]

Campaign positions on specific issues

Economy

LePage has said that the permitting process to start a business in Maine is too cumbersome and expensive and he will look for ways to make it cheaper and easier.^[22][23][24] LePage opposes raising any taxes during his term as governor and supports the creation of a 5% flat tax on all households earning more than $30,000. During the gubernatorial campaign, he also wanted to reduce the auto registration tax by 20% and use the actual sale price rather than MSRP as the tax basis.^[22][24]

Education

LePage supports a school voucher system and structuring pay to reward teachers for performance. He has stated that curriculum should be determined by local school boards, but that he does not object to teaching creationism in public schools.^[23]

Energy and Environment

LePage supports not only the development of hydroelectric, nuclear, wind, solar, and tidal power within Maine, but also tax incentives for energy conservation initiatives. He has said he would support shallow-water offshore drilling in Maine waters, but not deep-water drilling, which he considers more hazardous. He believes that government policies should consider the effect of greenhouse gases, but says he is not convinced that greenhouse gases from human activities are a significant contributor to climate change.^[23][24] He has stated that some requirements for environmental impact studies should be reduced or weakened because they frequently impose undue burden on economic activity. He does not support regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he does not believe that they have been proven to be a significant cause of climate change.^[23]

Government reform

LePage expressed an intent to reform welfare eligibility requirements, though he did not specify how he would do so. He also supports lifetime limits on welfare support, requiring recipients to perform work in the community, and a tiered payment system that gradually removes benefits as recipients earn more money working, rather than cutting them off entirely at a certain income level.^[23] He has stated that the size of state government is likely too large and that he would probably seek to reduce the number of state employees.^[23]

Health care

He has called for repeal of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, saying he believes it is unconstitutional, and — as planned — has encouraged Maine's attorney general to join the federal lawsuit by other state attorneys general challenging the bill. He has said that coverage mandates for Maine insurance policies should be pared back because they make insurance policies too expensive. He believes that MaineCare, the state Medicaid program, has too many enrollees and is too easy to qualify for.^[23]

LGBT issues

LePage opposes allowing same-sex couples to marry; however, in a 2009 interview with right-of-center Maine political blog Pine Tree Politics, he said, “I go one step further than many [be]cause I say if you’re going to get married by the State, it's a civil union, period. Whether you’re a homosexual, lesbian, heterosexual. Everybody. That way everybody gets the same legal standing.”^[25] On the topic of transgender students in grades K-12, he said he did not understand "how people, at least sane people, would want to allow transgender in our primary schools and our high schools."^[26] LePage then pledged to oppose legislation for transgendered students, saying, "I think it's gone too far and we have to push back. As governor, I would never allow that to be signed into law."^[26]

Personal life

LePage is married to Ann LePage and has four children: two from his first marriage, who live in Canada, and two with his second wife Ann. Since 2002, his household has also included a young man from Jamaica, Devon Raymond, Jr. (born 1985). LePage calls Raymond his adopted son, although adoption paperwork has never been filed. LePage met Raymond in Jamaica through Raymond's father, who caddied for LePage during a vacation there.^[27][28]

References

External links

• Governor Paul LePage official government site
• LePage for Governor official campaign site
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org

Political offices
Preceded by John Baldacci	Governor of Maine 2011–present	Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President	Order of Precedence of the United States Within Maine	Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held
Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives
Preceded by Robert Bentley as Governor of Alabama	Order of Precedence of the United States Outside Maine	Succeeded by Jay Nixon as Governor of Missouri