Paul LePage in 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Drugs: We are losing War on Drugs; more enforcement & prosecution

We must confront a troubling epidemic. It is tearing at the social fabric of our communities. We are losing the war on drugs.

Over 20% of the homicides in 2012 were related to illegal drugs. We must address the problem of drug addiction and drug trafficking. We must act now.

We need to fully fund the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Our police chiefs tell us local law enforcement officials need more resources to fight the drug problem in our state.

My proposal adds four new special drug prosecutors and four new judges to sit in enhanced drug courts in Presque Isle, Bangor, Lewiston and Portland. Since local agencies do not have the manpower or resources they need to fight Maine's drug problem, we will add 14 MDEA agent positions.

We must hunt down dealers and get them off the streets. We must protect our citizens from drug-related crimes and violence.

Source: 2014 State of the State speech to Me. legislature Feb 4, 2014

On Families & Children: Focus on services for children, not on expanding welfare

Maine's welfare expansion resulted in $750 million of hospital debt. We just paid it off. Some want to repeat that mistake. Look at the facts. Welfare expansion will cost Mainers at least $800 million over the next decade. It will cost Maine taxpayers over $150 million in the next three years. Maine's current welfare system is failing:

Our children
Our elderly
Our disabled
Our mentally ill

Thousands of our most vulnerable citizens are on waitlists for services. They need your compassion.

Michael Levasseur of Carmel has autism and needs care 24/7. Michael is here tonight with his parents. With services, Michael could get a job coach, assisted-living accommodations and participate in a day program. Maine lawmakers must address these waiting lists.

We must set priorities on who will get services with our limited resources. Adding another 100,000 people to our broken welfare system is insanity. It is unaffordable. It is fiscally irresponsible.

Source: 2014 State of the State speech to Me. legislature Feb 4, 2014

On Free Trade: Make Maine more competitive vs. fierce global competition

We must keep our young people in Maine. Recently, I asked some Bowdoin College students, "What can we do to keep you here?" One of them was Gregoire Faucher. Comment ca va, Gregoire? Ca me fait plasir de vous avoir ici ce soir. Unfortunately, Gregoire hears more about job prospects in Boston or New York or even New Hampshire than right here in Maine. He wants to stay in Maine. But he may have to leave to find higher-paying jobs and better opportunities.

Recruiting job creators to come to Maine is not easy. The global competition is fierce. Investment capital goes where it is welcomed and stays where it is appreciated. Since we took office, we have made Maine more competitive.

We reduced bureaucratic red tape.
We cut the automatic increase to the gas tax.
We eliminated almost $2 billion in pension debt.
We right-sized government.
We found efficiencies within state agencies.

Source: 2014 State of the State speech to Me. legislature Feb 4, 2014

On Local Issues: Entrepreneurial "doers" create jobs all over the state

Because of our efforts, good-paying jobs are being created all over the state.

In Portland, the Eimskip shipping service.

In Wilton, Barclaycards.
In Brunswick, Tempus Jets.
In Nashville Plantation, Irving Forest Products.

More jobs have been added at such world-class companies as:

Maine Wood Concepts in New Vineyard.
Molnlycke Health Care in Wiscasset.
Hinckley Yachts in Trenton.

We are a state of entrepreneurial "doers." There are 40,000 small businesses in Maine. Our state has roughly 130,000 microbusinesses. They employ 170,000 people. They drive our economy. If they could each add one more job, that would transform our economy. Source: 2014 State of the State speech to Me. legislature Feb 4, 2014

On Principles & Values: We can do better than same failed policies of past 40 years

Our administration is working hard so young Mainers can continue to live and work in our state. We want our young families to enjoy a growing economy that allows them to prosper and succeed.

Mainers are a breed apart. Many of us value our individuality. We work hard. We take care of each other. I love my state. I am proud to call myself a Mainer. I want every Mainer to succeed and prosper. But Maine is at a crossroads. We have huge challenges.

Higher taxes and bloated government have not improved our lives. Higher energy costs have not attracted major investments to Maine. More welfare has not led to prosperity. It has not broken the cycle of generational poverty.

We cannot return to the same failed policies of the past 40 years. We are better than that. We must be bold. We must have the courage to make the tough decisions. We can do better. We will do better.

Source: 2014 State of the State speech to Me. legislature Feb 4, 2014

The above quotations are from 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches. Click here for other excerpts from 2014 Governor's State of the State speeches. Click here for other excerpts by Paul LePage. Click here for other excerpts by other Governors.
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Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018