Maine's State of the State Address gets Partisan Prelude

After a rocky start in the last legislative session, Democrats had hoped for a better relationship with Republican Gov. Paul LePage this year. But leaders of the minority party point to a number of incidents, including the governor’s recent threat to close Maine’s public schools if his budget proposal is not supported, as evidence that he has done little to promote bipartsianship.

“We’re here the day before the State of the State address to issue a challenge to the governor–to ask him to put aside ideology and extremism and work with us to overcome the challenges facing our state,” said Minority Leader Rep. Emily Cain, an Orono Democrat, at a State House news converence.

Cain accused the LePage administration of pursuing policies that give tax cuts to the rich, hold public investment hostage and that stymie the work of proven energy efficiency programs. Cain says the governor and his party need to reconnect with Mainers who are struggling weekly to stay afloat in the current economy.

“The governor and Republicans in charge have made it harder for working families in Maine, especially if you are living paycheck to paycheck, are older or live and work in rural Maine,” Cain said. “In the last year our state has lost 4,400 jobs– while the governor and his allies have campaigned on job growth, they’ve yet to deliver. They’ve been diverted from that common goal by a national agenda that has nothing to do with economic success in Maine, and by special interests looking to line their own pockets at the public’s expense.”

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond says numerous business surveys have supported plans for investing to improve infrastucture through bonding as part of a focused economic plan for the state’s economy.

“And instead of focusing on the very things businesses say they need, the governor has pushed a tax cut policy that will do nothing to get Maine people back to work,” Alfond said. “Business leaders have told us that in order to grow and hire more people, they must have a skilled and trained work force and lower health care and energy costs.  Maine needs a leader who will work on these top issues, a leader who will explore all solutions, and a leader who puts evidence first and ideology second.”

And Senate Minority Leader Barry Hobbins says the governor’s office has historically respected the collaborative work of both parties in the Legislature.

“But things have changed,” Hobbins said. “Instead of pragmatic solutions, the governor has shown that he’d rather fight for radical and extreme policies that put our state at a disadvantage.”

“I think it’s unfortunate that the day before the governor has an opportunity to speak, people want to cast aspersions upon him, the way that he has dealt with some of the challenges that have come before us and the opportunities to change the complexion of the state of Maine that was granted by the voters last November,” says Rep. Andre Cushing, the assistant House majority leader.

Cushing says there’s a reason that Maine voters elected a Republican slate in the Blaine House, Senate and House of Representatives.  He says Republicans have already met many of the goals they had set out to accomplish including reducing taxes, streamlining government and cutting costs.

Adrienne Bennett, the governor’s spokesperson, says Democrats are simply putting their blinders on when it comes to LePage’s accomplishments.  “There have been plenty of positives over the past year and they’re choosing to ignore those,” Bennett says. “This is extreme political rhetoric and it’s not helping us move in the right direction.”

MPBN’s live coverage Tuesday of the governor’s State of the State Address will begin at 7:00 p.m.  It will air simultaneously on both MPBN Radio and MPBN Television, and will be live streamed on our Web site, www.MPBN.net

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