Last week, Paul LePage once again appeared on friendly conservative radio to attempt to rewrite history about his failed record. On issue after issue, LePage complained about Gov. Mills’ record on issues in Maine that, while he was governor, he ignored altogether or actively made worse. It’s no wonder the Bangor Daily News concluded months ago that LePage’s “early attack lines against the incumbent have been false and his tack so far is reminiscent of his eight years in office.”
“After spending eight years advancing cruel policies that helped worsen the opioid epidemic, trap Maine people in poverty, put Maine children at risk, and marginalize people experiencing domestic violence, he now wants to fool Maine people into believing that he’s the solution to the problems he helped create,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “Paul LePage hasn’t changed a bit. He lies and distorts reality for his own political gain. Governor Mills has led Maine through a pandemic, she has tackled the problems LePage helped create, and she is the steady, honest leader Maine needs right now. Paul LePage will only take us backward.”
Paul LePage’s lies:
Claim: “[Governor Mills] has done absolutely nothing to [help] drug addicts.”
Reality: While in office, LePage not only failed to address the opioid epidemic, with drug deaths more than doubling, but his policies likely worsened it and cost people their lives. He vetoed a number of potentially life-saving bills, including those to expand access to the overdose medication, naloxone–at one point saying the medication “does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose”--as well as less addictive painkillers.
After inheriting the crisis from LePage, Gov. Mills appointed a Director of Opioid Response and has fought back by making naloxone widely available and heavily investing in and expanding recovery programs. With the pandemic increasing drug overdose deaths across the nation, a return to LePage’s failed policies would cost Maine people their lives.
Claim: “She doesn't understand [child abuse and domestic violence] because she's never lived it, she's lived a pretty, you know, elite life… I've experienced it, I've lived it, and she's doing nothing about it.”
Reality: Despite his claim just moments earlier to run a policy focused campaign, LePage had no qualms taking a personal swipe at the governor, all while overlooking his eight years in office. During his tenure, LePage actively worked against efforts to prevent child abuse and domestic violence in Maine. He proposed eliminating 60 percent of the state’s child abuse investigators, attempted to slash funding for domestic violence prevention programs, and vetoed a number of bills aimed at protecting children from abuse. LePage also gutted the Department of Health and Human Services and successfully scaled back programs intended to help support and get Maine people out of poverty.
Gov. Mills, a survivor of domestic violence, has improved the state’s child welfare system in the wake of LePage’s cuts, made it easier to prosecute child abusers, is tackling systemic poverty, and played a major role in a campaign to reduce domestic violence in the state.
Claim: “In the early 80s, we were in the top five best education systems in the country. And now we're both we've fallen below 30…”
Reality: When LePage was in the Blaine House, the Maine Sunday Telegram dubbed him “an enemy of public education.” He oversaw a significant cut in K-12 funding, underfunded Maine’s commitment to pay 55 percent of the cost of education throughout his two terms, and his attempts at so-called education reform led to Maine schools seeing their grades plummet and Maine students suddenly falling well behind the national average in reading comprehension.
After taking over in 2019, Governor Mills increased the minimum teacher salary, proposed and signed into law a budget that for the first time in history achieves 55 percent of the cost of education, has expanded pre-K classes, and spearheaded a record investment in career and technical education.
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