Paul LePage in 2022 ME Governor's race


On Tax Reform: No to treating forgivable PPP loans as taxable state income

His target was Mills' supplemental state budget proposal, which treated forgivable loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program as taxable state income. Many Maine businesses want conformity with the federal tax code, but the Mills administration said matching the federal policy would cost the state $100 million in tax revenue. In a letter issued by Littlefield, his political consultant, LePage blasted the Mills budget proposal, calling it "a $100 million hit" on Maine's small businesses.
Source: Press-Herald on 2022 Maine gubernatorial race Feb 8, 2021

On Tax Reform: Threatened to veto bills unless state income tax abolished

In Maine, former GOP Gov. Paul LePage vetoed more bills than all his predecessors going back more than 100 years combined. He threatened to veto all bills from the Democratic Legislature unless it abolished the state income tax. It didn't, and he didn't.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race Dec 7, 2020

On Health Care: COVID: Spoke against shutdown while quarantined in car

An anti-shutdown rally in the state capital featured a prominent Republican face, or at least his voice. Former Gov. Paul LePage, who recently returned to Maine from Florida, addressed a crowd of several hundred people in Augusta from inside a Lexus SC430 parked about 30 feet away. LePage remained in the car because he is self-quarantined, and his remarks were broadcast via cellphone.
Source: Portland Press Herald on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race May 16, 2020

On Health Care: Almost eradicated public health nursing in Maine

During LePage's time the number of public health nurses in Maine fell from 59 to below 20. These are the nurses who set up more than 200 immunization clinics in 2009. Working with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, they were monitoring public health and doing their best to keep us safe. By 2017, LePage had almost succeeded in eradicating public health nursing here. LePage refused to allow the CDC to hire new nurses as experienced nurses retired, left or were driven out.
Source: Portland Press Herald on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race Apr 4, 2020

On Energy & Oil: Paid $7500 by lobbyists to advocate for hydropower corridor

LePage confirmed that he was paid in 2019 to advocate for Central Maine Power Co.'s hydropower corridor. The Republican was paid $7,500 by Mitchell Tardy Jackson, a lobbying firm that has been working for the utility since last year to fend off proposals aimed at killing the $1 billion proposal. The project would bring Hydro-Quebec power to the regional grid through a 145-mile transmission line, but it is under threat from a bid to put a question killing the project on the November ballot.
Source: Bangor Daily News on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race Feb 24, 2020

On Budget & Economy: Graded A by Cato Institute for cutting taxes, spending

The Cato Institute released the newest edition of its Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors. The publication rates state governors on their fiscal responsibility, including taxation and government spending policies. Governors receive high marks in the report for cutting taxes and spending. In previous years, former Maine Gov. Paul LePage ranked among the highest in the nation, receiving an "A" grade every time his policies were reviewed by Cato.
Source: The Maine Wire on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race Oct 1, 2018

On Energy & Oil: Imposed a moratorium on new wind turbine permits

LePage, who views wind power as a "boutique" energy source, has fought development as too costly and potentially damaging to tourism. He imposed a moratorium on new wind turbine permits, just as neighboring Massachusetts was rolling out its plan to boost renewables. LePage set up a commission ostensibly to study the issue, but one of its most outspoken members--a wind energy foe--resigned, saying it had not held a single meeting.
Source: Inside Climate News on 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race Oct 1, 2018

The above quotations are from 2022 Maine Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
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Page last updated: Sep 19, 2022