LePage was reacting to Gattine’s response to statements the governor made last Wednesday at a town hall meeting in North Berwick, where he told a member of the audience that more than 90 percent of those arrested for drug trafficking in ME since January were black or Hispanic. The governor made the remark at a town hall in North Berwick, Maine, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
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LePage won re-election in 2014 over two other candidates with the most votes in ME history, and his unfiltered zeal for dismantling “political correctness” and tackling welfare and immigration policy has long appealed to his base of conservative, Tea Party-inspired supporters. However, Alfond says LePage should step down immediately anyway.
Paul LePage, in Boston on Monday for a conference with other New England governors and Canadian premiers, linked the heroin and fentanyl epidemic in his state to drug dealers crossing the border from MA, as well as NY and CT.
ME horror writer Stephen King is chiming in on recent controversial remarks by Gov. Paul LePage, saying the Republican is “a bigot, a homophobe and a racist”.
LePage also said he kept a three-ringed binder with booking mugshots of those charged with drug crimes as proof.
LePage also declined to say whether he will serve out the remainder of his term.
A day later, in an expletive-filled voicemail, the governor lashed out at a state legislator who the governor says called him a racist.
Democratic lawmakers last week warned that LePage was coming unhinged and called for a political intervention with LePage.
King maintains his Bangor residence.
– Republican Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday that he plans to meet with a Democratic lawmaker to try to make amends for leaving an obscene voicemail message and that he isn’t ruling out resigning.
Republican Senate President Mike Thibodeau (THIH’-buh-doh) says LePage should take “corrective action” for his “unacceptable” conduct. “And I would hope that we could come up with something that ends well for the governor as well as the people of the state of Maine”.
Thibodeau and House Minority Leader Ken Fredette said Monday they want to meet with LePage before deciding what to do.
LePage apologized Friday to “the people of Maine” but not to Democratic Rep. Drew Gattine, told CNN on Monday that LePage is probably not fit for office.
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LePape apologized for the voicemail in a statement last Friday, but justified his reaction saying the label of racist is “the absolute worst, most vile thing you can call a person”.
