Stories about Paul LePage
LePage was arguably the most conservative of the seven candidates in a Republican gubernatorial primary with no clear front-runner. But there would be no “too close to call” this night as LePage didn’t just win but trounced his rivals.
More than three months later, LePage, 61, has been called everything from a hero to a liar by fans and foes, but “dark horse” is no longer on anyone’s lips. “Race leader,” meanwhile, certainly is — and this in a state not known for embracing conservative Republicans.
“Some people haven’t taken LePage as seriously as they should have,” said Jim Melcher, a political scientist at theUniversity of Maine at Farmington. “He has sort of hit at the right time for a candidate with his message.”
It’s a message that LePage hammers home at every event — smaller and more business-friendly government, less regulation, lower taxes and welfare reform. READ PROFILE ->
VIDEO
LePage delivers instant veto after hospital debt, Medicaid bill passes Senate
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage handed down an instant veto Thursday, minutes after the Senate gave final passage to a bill that links repayment of Maine’s hospital debt to an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program. LePage, during an impromptu appearance in the State House Hall of Flags, also ...
House sustains sixth LePage veto, 2 more await override votes
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s sixth veto withstood a House override vote Wednesday and will stand. After minimal discussion, the House voted 88-55 in favor of overriding LePage’s veto of LD 387. That tally fell short of the two-thirds majority necessary for an override, thereby sustaining the veto. All ...
LePage pledges $44,000 for suicide prevention training for all Maine teachers
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage pledged $44,000 from his contingency fund Tuesday to support one of the most emotional bills presented to lawmakers this session. LD 609, An Act to Increase Suicide Awareness and Prevention in Maine Public Schools, won unanimous support at the committee level and in both ...
Republican amendments on Medicaid expansion rejected
AUGUSTA, Maine — House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday continued to reject Republican efforts to separate an expansion of Medicaid from a plan to pay $484 million in Medicaid debt to Maine hospitals. The debate was the same in the House and the Senate. Minority Republicans wished to detangle the ...
LePage veto: Ban tobacco in Maine entirely, or not at all
AUGUSTA, Maine — A bill to “simply outlaw tobacco altogether” would make more sense than piecemeal bans on smoking, Gov. Paul LePage said Monday as he vetoed a bill to outlaw smoking on public college campuses. “I firmly believe Maine people are responsible enough to make their own decisions concerning ...
LePage hopes to eliminate income tax by end of second term
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage said Monday he hopes Maine has no state income tax by the end of his second term if he’s re-elected next year. “The fact that we have an income tax at all is a massive disadvantage,” LePage said during an afternoon session on tax ...
Maine Senate approves bill that links Medicaid expansion to hospital debt repayment
AUGUSTA, Maine — For the third time in a week, Democrats in the Legislature prevailed Monday on a vote to link an expansion of Medicaid eligibility in Maine to a plan to repay the state’s Medicaid debt to its 39 hospitals. After lengthy debate, the Senate voted 20-15 in favor ...
Silenced by legislators at budget talks, LePage says Mainers are being played for ‘patsies’
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Senate chairwoman of the budget-writing committee on Sunday declined to allow Gov. Paul LePage to address the panel about a fast-approaching deadline the Legislature faces so the Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t run out of money for payments to care providers. The exchange between ...
LePage: State will run out of money for DHHS bills June 10
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s health and human services commissioner said Friday her department only has enough money to pay its bills through June 10. That’s 20 days before her department’s accounts would be replenished by a new state budget. Commissioner Mary Mayhew included the news in a letter sent Friday ...
Republicans express surprise as lawmakers link Medicaid expansion to hospital payback
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted largely along party lines Wednesday to recommend that an expansion of the state’s Medicaid program be tied to Gov. Paul LePage’s top legislative priority: the payback of Maine’s $484 million debt to its hospitals. The move came as a ...
LePage to Maine mayors: I made tough choices, so can you
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday dismissed three suggestions by a group representing mayors of 12 Maine cities that they say improve upon his plan to balance the next state budget by suspending municipal revenue sharing for two years. In a letter Tuesday to LePage, the Mayors’ Coalition ...
Democrats stall teacher evaluation rules until LePage reveals education agenda
AUGUSTA, Maine — A week and a half of tension that began to mount last week with the release of an A-through-F grading system for public schools culminated Friday evening with Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen attacking Senate President Justin Alfond for delaying action on a sweeping teacher evaluation plan that ...
State may pursue food stamp ban on junk food even if bill dies in Legislature
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage’s administration can move ahead with its efforts to keep food stamp recipients from using their benefits on soft drinks and junk food even if a bill pending before the Legislature fails. The bill, LD 1411, would require the state Department of Health and Human ...
LePage wants wind energy goals out of Maine law
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage wants to strip from state law goals for increasing the state’s wind energy capacity over the next two decades. LePage’s energy director, Patrick Woodcock, made recommendations Thursday to rewrite the state’s 2008 Wind Energy Act, shifting focus from growing wind energy capacity to lowering ...
POLL QUESTION
LePage bill lifts cap on charter schools, lets public money go to religious schools
The bill comes come a day after education commissioner said no major new education proposals were expected from the governor.
LePage’s budget changes use bond delay, one-time revenue gain to fill $60 million gap
AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage proposes to close a new $60 million budget hole in part by continuing to hold off on issuing voter-approved bonds and digging into $16 million his budget had previously left for lawmakers to allocate as they saw fit. LePage’s finance chief, Sawin Millett, presented ...
Maine gives Androscoggin County Jail more money to prevent closure
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Board of Corrections on Tuesday averted a possible shutdown of the Androscoggin County Jail by approving a payout to the jail of about $210,000. Without the money, the Auburn jail would have been unable to pay its staff, beginning May 17. “It’s a weight off ...
Bill to create Maine presidential primary, adopt ranked-choice voting comes with hefty price tag
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine would replace party caucuses with a nonpartisan presidential primary and elect its governor, legislators and federal officials with ranked-choice voting under a system proposed Monday in the Legislature. The multimillion-dollar cost of implementing the bill could prove to be its biggest challenge, given the state’s financial ...
POLL QUESTION
LePage proposal would bar food stamp use on junk food
AUGUSTA, Maine — A proposal by Gov. Paul LePage that would bar food stamp recipients from spending their benefits on soft drinks and certain snack foods made its way to the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Friday with bipartisan support. The LePage bill, LD 1411, is sponsored by ...
Maine tax code overhaul aims to provide relief from high property tax with lower income tax
AUGUSTA, Maine — A bipartisan group of 11 lawmakers Wednesday unveiled a proposal to overhaul Maine’s tax code by lowering individual and corporate income taxes and eliminating the estate tax. The package makes up for much of the revenue lost by extending the sales tax to nearly all products and ...
Nichole Cable’s friends, family attend accused killer’s emotionally charged court appearance
LePage tells legislative leaders he’s moving out of State House because of “censorship”
Lincoln’s Coffee Pot Cafe shuts its doors
Maine Sports Hall of Fame member, DJ Dana Wilson convicted of child pornography possession
Anonymous investor puts $3 million into MOOMilk
Guest Post: “I’m about ready to name my daughter Revolution.”
Rep. Diane Russell’s fool’s errand
Help Maine charter schools succeed before adding more
Bucksport’s Wood enjoying the professional cage in MMA bouts
Tommy Lawrence pitches UMaine baseball to victory in first America East tournament game
Garcia sorry after ‘stupid’ Woods fried chicken jibe
Live updates: UMaine baseball vs. Stony Brook at America East Championship
Messalonskee’s Dexter, South Portland’s Richards key first-year contributors for USM baseball team
Maine School of Science and Mathematics alumni drawn to give back to magnet school
Federal agencies eye return to restored historic Custom House in Portland
It’s hard to keep secrets from a friend who is clairvoyant
New York City rumble showcases Maine’s lobster roll dominance