The Maine Democratic Party is once again calling out Paul LePage for spreading rampant misinformation on the campaign trail.
Yesterday, LePage delivered remarks at the Bangor Rotary Club where he continued to get basic facts wrong and lie to Maine people.
LePage’s latest inability to tell the truth—a prominent feature of his two terms as Governor when he boasted about lying to the press—comes just two days after Maine Democrats called out LePage for lying on conservative radio.
Here are LePage’s latest lies:
LePage reprimanded a Rotary club member for saying that Governor Mills was the first governor to fully meet the state’s 55% public education funding obligation.
QUESTIONER: This is the first time last year, I believe, under the current administration, that the schools have actually been funded at the law, which is 55%—
LEPAGE LIE: I will challenge that, that is absolutely incorrect. That is absolutely, unequivocally incorrect.
FACT: It is correct. Governor Mills and the Legislature fully funded education for the first time in Maine history.
LePage lied about Maine’s economic recovery.
LEPAGE LIE: Maine right now is 50th in the recovery from the pandemic.
FACT: In fact, Maine's recovery has been highly ranked—even according to conservative economists and Maine’s average economic growth under Governor Mills has far exceeded that under Paul LePage
LEPAGE LIE: You should research this, when you look, they say that the property taxes in New Hampshire are outrageous. But let me tell you, they're the ninth highest in the country. So they are high. Guess where Maine is. Number 10.
FACT: We did research it, and the 2022 Property Taxes by State report by WalletHub found that New Hampshire and Maine have the 3rd and 16th highest property taxes in the country, respectively (not 10th). While LePage’s policies caused property taxes in the state to increase during his tenure, Governor Mills and Democrats in the legislature have countered the rise with popular property tax relief policies.
LePage lied about the cost of renewable energy.
LEPAGE LIE: Wind is not a solution, solar is not a solution—they're very, very expensive.
FACT: In fact, solar and wind are the two cheapest forms of energy production, and renewable energy sources, including solar, are contributing to a reduction in electricity rates.
“With fewer than 100 days left until the election, it’s clear that Paul LePage’s only strategy is to spew increasingly ridiculous lies,” said Misha Linnehan, spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party. “He’s clearly figured out that the reality of his failed record isn’t resonating with Maine voters, so his only way forward is to try and pull the wool over their eyes. It’s not going to work.”