Since taking office, Governor Janet Mills has made expanding access to broadband in rural Maine a top priority. After creating the Maine Connectivity Authority, using COVID-19 relief money to connect rural students to broadband, and proposing a voter-approved bond that has now connected 11,000 Maine homes and businesses, Mills recently made headlines with a bold new goal to make high speed broadband internet accessible to all Maine people by the end of 2024. These efforts to expand broadband are just one instance of Governor Mills and Democrats in the legislature fighting to improve the lives of rural Mainers in ways her predecessor, Paul LePage, failed to do.
During LePage’s tenure in office, he:
-
Vetoed or refused to sign multiple bills to expand broadband access in rural areas
-
Pushed funding cuts for rural hospitals
-
Opposed funding to support rural small businesses
-
Appointed a commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development who admitted that rural development was something “I haven’t thought about.”
-
Oversaw an economy where rural Maine consistently lagged behind the rest of the state in growth and unemployment
“In one of the most rural states in the country, we need a Governor who fights to make sure all of Maine’s zip codes have access to opportunity,” said Drew Gattine, Chair of the Maine Democratic Party. “Ensuring that every Mainer has access to broadband is just the latest example of Governor Mills fighting for rural Mainers in ways that Paul LePage never did. We can’t let LePage drag us back to a time when the Blaine House was so willing to leave our rural areas behind.”
In addition to extending broadband access, Governor Mills has expanded opportunity in rural Maine by increasing funding for rural hospitals, investing in rural Maine businesses, and devoting significant state attention to long term rural economic development.
###