Janet Mills in 2018 ME Governor's race


On Drugs: Investigate role of opioid manufacturers in drug abuse

Mills said the coalition is investigating what role opioid manufacturers may have played in creating or prolonging the drug epidemic. "We need to get the genie back in the pill bottle; our society is awash in pills and it is killing us." She went on to say that the vast majority of people arrested for possession of heroin or fentanyl tell authorities that their substance abuse disorder began with painkiller prescriptions.
Source: Press Herald on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Oct 15, 2017

On Environment: Joins coalition to reject proposed cuts in funding to EPA

Atty Gen Janet Mills joined a coalition of 13 states calling on the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to reject "deep and damaging" cuts in funding for the EPA and anti-environmental riders. "Maine has been a leader in the fight for clean water and clean air since Senator Ed Muskie championed the original Clean Water Act," said Atty Gen Mills. "In Maine, we hunt, fish, and hike year-round and these proposed cuts will severely damage Maine's environment and economy if passed."
Source: WAGM-TV on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Oct 15, 2017

On Energy & Oil: Wean ourselves off fossil fuels

Several Democrats running for governor agreed that Maine should have better health care, a better economy, more broadband internet service and better opportunities for all Mainers. Mills said it's important to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and increase use of electric vehicles. On health care, all agreed that the costs of insurance and prescription drugs are too high. Keeping people in Maine and attracting new people was also important to the candidates.
Source: Press Herald on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Sep 28, 2017

On Abortion: No comment on lawsuit to expand abortion access

Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is not commenting on a lawsuit designed to expand abortion access in Maine. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood filed the lawsuit Wednesday. It targets a state law that requires abortions be performed solely by physicians. That means advanced practice registered nurses can't perform them. A spokesman for Mills says the office has not been served with the lawsuit and has no comments on the merits of the case.
Source: U.S. News & World Report on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Sep 20, 2017

On Health Care: Her office took on drug manufacturer Mylan on price gouging

Last year, generic drug manufacturer Mylan jumped the price of a 2-pack of EpiPens, from about $100 in 2007 to over $600 last year. Last winter, the Maine Atty General's Office and Atty general's in 19 other states sued Mylan and 6 other generic drug companies for conspiring to artificially inflate prices and reduce competition for an antibiotic drug and an oral diabetes drug. Just because a drug is cheap for them to make does not mean any savings will be passed on to consumers.
Source: Mills OpEd in Press Herald on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Jun 28, 2017

On Civil Rights: Decries proposal to eliminate Civil Rights Funding

Maine Atty Gen Janet T. Mills decried Gov. Paul LePage's proposal to eliminate funding through the Atty Gen's office for a project that supports civil rights teams in schools. The Civil Rights Team Project works with civil rights teams and also offers training for school administrators at schools throughout the state with the goal of reducing bias and harassment. "The Maine Attorney General's Office enforces the Maine Civil Rights Act in order to protect the rights of all Mainers." Mills wrote.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race May 27, 2017

On Immigration: Condemns President's ban on refugees

Maine Atty Gen Janet Mills was among a group of the nation's leading Democratic legal officers who condemned President Trump's executive order restricting refugees from entering this country for 120 days, calling it "unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful." "We're not talking about people who are our enemies," Mills said. "These are people who have been friendly to the American government." She also called Trump's decision to give preference to refugees who are Christian "disturbing."
Source: Press Herald on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Jan 29, 2017

On Welfare & Poverty: Demands release of publically funded welfare study

Atty Gen Janet Mills demanded in a letter that Gov. Paul LePage release a publically funded report crafted by the controversial Alexander Group to anyone who requested it. When asked how he responded, LePage said: "Tell her to sue me." The letter was sent to LePage and Mary Mayhew, whose Dept of HHS signed a $925,000 contract for the Rhode Island-based Alexander Group to study Maine's welfare system, including the possibility of expanding Medicaid as allowed by the federal Affordable Care Act.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Jan 29, 2017

On Education: Commission on Education Reform must follow open meetings law

Maine Atty Gen Janet Mills filed a complaint in district court charging the Blue Ribbon Commission on Education Reform with violating the state's open meetings law. Mills says the DoEd asked her office whether the first meeting of the commission could be closed as Governor Paul LePage wished and her answer was clear that it could not. "We allege that there was a willful violation in good part because they were informed directly, specifically that of course the meeting was a public meeting."
Source: MainePublic.org on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Jul 8, 2016

On Corporations: Won $21.5M settlement against S&P's mortgage practices

Maine is receiving more than $21.5 million as part of a $1.375 billion multi-state settlement of a lawsuit against credit ratings agency S&P. Maine Atty Gen Janet Mills says it's the largest one-time settlement in Maine history. "Holding S&P accountable for these practices tells Wall Street we will not tolerate acts that deceive investors and devastate our economy." Their practices ultimately led to the proliferation of low quality mortgages and the housing bubble and subsequent crash.
Source: MainePublic.org on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Feb 4, 2015

The above quotations are from 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
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Page last updated: Nov 12, 2019