A report this week in the Bangor Daily News reported on Paul LePage’s most recent line of attack against Governor Janet Mills. Since Mills unveiled her plan to send direct relief checks of $500 to more than 800,000 Maine taxpayers in last Thursday’s State of the State address, LePage’s campaign has condemned the checks as a “campaign stunt,” despite the fact that the idea was originally proposed by Republicans. This would not be the first time LePage has placed a premium on fighting with people rather than achieving results—constant fighting with both Democrats and Republicans in the legislature was a major theme of LePage’s tenure.

“Governor Mills’ plan to deliver direct relief checks to hundreds of thousands of Mainers has bipartisan support for a reason—it’s a common-sense way to use our budget surplus to help the people of our state,” said Gaetan Davis, Executive Director of the Maine Democratic Party. “Paul LePage’s attempt to turn bipartisan agreement into political division is a reminder of how when he was Governor, his constant squabbling with Democrats and Republicans repeatedly got in the way of progress. We can’t let LePage drag us back to a time when partisan fights took precedence over results for Mainers.”

Bangor Daily News: The Republican idea that Paul LePage is calling a Janet Mills campaign stunt
By Jessica Piper
February 14, 2022

Key Points:

  • A key Republican idea is in the Democratic governor’s budget proposal. The Republican running to oust her in 2022 is calling that a campaign stunt.

  • In most years, Gov. Janet Mills’ embrace of legislative Republicans’ plan to send $500 relief checks to 800,000 Maine taxpayers would be cause for a victory lap, but former Gov. Paul LePage, who is running against Mills in November, is hitting her for his party’s proposal.

  • Those implicit differences between Republicans mirrored the beginning of LePage’s second term in the Blaine House. He floated a 2015 budget plan with an income tax cut offset by an expanded sales tax. Senate Republicans resisted it and he spent the rest of his tenure largely at war with them. Democrats have controlled Augusta since Mills won office in 2018.

  • Top legislative Republicans praised Mills’ inclusion of the relief checks, although some want a bigger giveback and have criticized increased state spending during the governor’s tenure. Senate Minority Leader Jeff Timberlake, R-Turner, did not respond to a Friday request for comment on Mills’ embrace of the checks. When reached by phone, Assistant Senate Minority Leader Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, read from a prepared statement.

  • But LePage strategist Brent Littlefield characterized the proposed checks as a “campaign gimmick” for Mills on Friday, saying the one-time money would not address the harms of inflation nor the workforce challenges. LePage used the proposal to re-up his call to phase out Maine’s income tax, with the cushion of the surplus helping as a start.

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