Now that the dust is starting to settle after the work of the 126th Legislature, one thing is startlingly clear: In spite of the collaborative, bipartisan work of the Legislature, Gov. Paul LePage has chosen politics over people at every opportunity.
He has vetoed more pieces of legislation than any other governor in Maine’s history. Many of those bills, like the budget and bonds, received broad, bipartisan support. Fortunately, enough Republicans were willing to stand up against his veto spree to pass some important laws.
Most importantly, we were successful in overturning LePage’s veto of the $32 million budget fix. The governor repeatedly refused to participate in the process. He did not propose a budget to fill shortfalls at his departments, would not allow his commissioners to provide information to the budget committee in public, and provided inaccurate information on the budget shortfall in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Democrats and Republicans stood together to override his veto of the budget. The ability of the state to pay its bills and continue to serve the people is too important for political games. The Legislature was able to put aside partisan bickering for the good of our state. It’s a shame that Gov. LePage chose not to join us.
We were also able to overcome his veto of a bond to support small businesses. The bond includes $8 million for flexible loans to create jobs, revitalize downtowns and strengthen Maine’s rural economy, and $4 million to spur small business investment and entrepreneurial innovation.
Small businesses are the foundation of our economy. If we want to build up, we need to make sure the foundation is strong. This money will be used by small- and medium-sized businesses to create jobs and make critical investments in the companies’ futures. This bond will provide the right tools to get the job done.
Those are just two of the 14 vetoes the Legislature overturned last week. Democrats and Republicans worked together to make sure that good, bipartisan legislation to move Maine forward could become law.
Unfortunately, there were some good bills defeated by Gov. LePage’s veto pen and Republicans who flipped their votes; after previously supporting the bills, they caved to the governor and supported his vetoes instead of standing up for Maine people and standing by their original votes.
The people of Maine should matter more to those lawmakers than the whims of this governor. If the bill was a good idea the first time they voted on it, it’s still a good idea the second time.
The people of Maine deserve a government that can tackle tough issues and find common ground to move forward. Time and again, Gov. LePage has chosen not to work with others to do this. Governing by veto is no way to govern. In fact, he vetoed 182 bills, more than the previous record of 118 vetoes by one-term Gov. Longley. The people of Maine deserve better.
— Sen. David E. Dutremble is a Democrat who represents the communities of Arundel, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. He lives in Biddeford with his wife and children. His column appears on the first Monday of each month.
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