By Bill Pearson
Staff Writer
LePage says job growth hampered by state’s adversarial attitude toward businesses
Paul LePage has a simple message for the electorate this fall: “If you like the way things are then I’m not your candidate.” The Republican gubernatorial candidate used this message to easily capture his party’s nomination in June and become the early front-runner to become the state’s 74th governor.
LePage blames the state’s high unemployment rate and budget problems on the one-party rule which has dominated the state capital for nearly four decades. He believes the Democratic dominance has resulted in the state developing an adversarial relationship toward the business community. The results of the one-party rule, according to LePage, has led to Maine becoming a high-taxed state, a bureaucracy filled with too many burdensome regulations and a population dependent on social services.
LePage believes his background in leading both a private and public sector organization successfully through difficult economic times makes him the best choice of the five candidates seeking the governorship. LePage has over 40 years’ experience as a business leader in Maine. He has been the general manager of Marden’s Discount Surplus since 1996. During his tenure, Marden’s has expanded to 14 stores statewide — including three in Aroostook County, Madawaska, Presque Isle and Houlton.
He has also succeeded in the public sector having served as Waterville mayor since 2004. Under his administration, he has lowered taxes 13 percent in six years, increased the rainy day fund from $1 million to $10 million, and improved the city’s credit rating.
The Conservative Republican has been able to achieve these accomplishments working with the seven city councilors who are all Democrats. The mayor earned his nickname of “Front page, LePage” because each time the council wanted to raise taxes, he would tip off the local paper about those proposals which would immediately create a public outcry against it.
LePage says he would take a similar approach as governor to implement his agenda. He believes a pro-growth of agenda reducing state spending and taxes is required for creating a robust Maine economy.
“We need to get back to basic common sense by getting the silly laws off the books which hurt Maine businesses,” LePage said. “We can get the job done by sending the right people to Augusta. We can fix this state with common sense, good science and technology, and leaving all the bologna outside the capital.”
He has experience, as mayor, dealing the state Department of Environmental Protection Agency which recently ruled Waterville needs an $8 million enhancement to its sanitary sewer district. The DEP ruled the effluence generated by the city’s sewer plant met safe drinking water standards, but it didn’t meet the purity levels set by state regulations. LePage characterized this as an example of how the state is out of touch with common sense which causes problems for Maine communities and businesses.
People traveling to Waterville have seen the results of LePage’s vision of the city during the past seven years. Central Maine Women’s Club President Leilani Stites of Dover-Foxcroft has seen the city’s transformation as she frequently travels to Waterville for a monthly meeting of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution.
“The people in the DAR just thinks he’s wonderful. He has cut the budget and created a good business climate,” Stites said. “Even if my friends didn’t tell me what a good job he’s done, you can see it by driving in downtown Waterville. You don’t see any empty store fronts. You can see it’s a very successful city.”
If LePage is elected, he believes Maine has other priorities besides the economy and state budget that need reforming. LePage has a goal of overhauling the welfare and educational programs. He believes both programs need major changes to make them work better for both the recipients and state. LePage characterizes the state welfare program as failing to provide a path out of poverty and past attempts at reforming education were focused on the concerns of the union leaders and state bureaucrats, not on student needs.
As governor, LePage would change the eligibility standards to require a residency requirement for recipients, create a five-year cap on benefits and develop a system which provides a pathway from poverty to prosperity. LePage believes the current system punishes productivity by reducing benefits for the working poor who earn more by working additional hours or receiving a pay increase.
His educational platform includes continuing with more school consolidation to achieve savings in administrative costs. creating charter schools, tying teacher pay to job performance and giving local school boards more authority.
LePage is a member of the National Rifle Association and received their endorsement for governor. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine did not endorsement a candidate but gave LePage and Democratic nominee State Senator Libby Mitchell their highest grade of “A.”
