Weekly Radio Address: Senator Lachowicz says, "Maine people deserve better than a bad CEO who rewards mismanagement, scandal, and incompetence"

It may only be my second year in office but there’s one thing I learned pretty quickly: folks don’t want to have to worry, or think, about their government. They want it to work, when they need it; and, they want to trust that the people in charge are doing their jobs.

But when you pick up a newspaper and read about what’s happening with the LePage administration–especially with the Department of Health and Human Services, it’s hard to be reassured that this is happening. Instead, you see a department plagued by mismanagement, scandal, and incompetence. 

Senator Lachowicz records the weekly radio address

Good morning, this is State Senator Colleen Lachowicz of Waterville.

For nearly two years, I’ve served on the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and during that time, we’ve seen the situation at the DHHS go from bad to worse.

First, a whistle-blower came forward and revealed that the Maine CDC shredded documents–to cover up unethical influence over the awarding of financial contracts.

We learned Governor LePage’s commissioner, Mary Mayhew, signed off on the document shredding. And, now, the incident is under state and federal investigation–and a lawsuit is pending.

Then, we learned that there was a complete failure to follow the rules—and the laws–at Riverview Psychiatric Center. This led to patients and staff getting injured at an alarming rate–even going so far as patients being Tasered–a direct violation of federal and state laws.

Now, the feds have decertified the hospital and the state lost nearly 20 million dollars in federal funding.

Where was Governor LePage and his administration throughout all of this?

Of course, most notably, is the half a million dollars Governor LePage and Mary Mayhew wasted on Gary Alexander–in his no-bid contract that resulted in a shoddy report that was plagiarized and riddled with math errors.

There was also the year-long saga of the failed MaineCare transportation debacle where the LePage administration blew $30 million on a contractor who failed to get the job done–leaving thousands of Maine’s elderly, children, and most vulnerable citizens stranded along the side of the road waiting for a ride to their appointments.

But instead of correcting the problem, or firing the contractor, they gave the contractor an additional $1.2 million of taxpayer money!

If you were in charge, what would you do?

In the real world where we are accountable, this level of mismanagement might lead to a dismissal or a demotion—at the very least a plan to do better.

But not in the LePage Administration. In the world of the LePage Administration, Governor LePage rewarded his DHHS Commissioner Mary Mayhew with a pay raise.

What kind of CEO awards bonuses for a job so poorly done?

Governor LePage likes to call himself a savvy businessman, but what kind of leader rewards poor performance, wasted money, and mismanagement with a raise? That’s the judgement of a bad CEO.

Maine people deserve better.

We deserve people in charge who are responsible with taxpayer money.

We deserve a leader who will hold them accountable.

We deserve a government that follows the laws.

And we deserve a government that is worthy of the people it represents.

Thank you for listening. This is State Senator Colleen Lachowicz. Have a great weekend.