Members of the Maine House of Representatives defeated the effort to impeach Governor Paul LePage by a landslide, bi-partisan vote of 96-52 after a contentious three-hour floor debate. Impeachment efforts would have required a simple majority in the House of Representatives and a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
During the Debate, Representative Lawrence Lockman (R-137) suggested that Governor LePage deserves a public service award for blowing the whistle on the cronyism that has plagued Augusta for years, citing the fact that it has come out that Bill Brown, a paid member of Speaker Eve’s staff, was on payroll at The Maine Academy of Natural Resources while coaching Speaker Eves on how to get the job. Governor LePage has said that “this back-room deal between cronies is exactly the kind of political corruption I came to Augusta to fight against.”
Representative Stanley Short (D-106) was among legislators that vocalized the desire to move beyond this issue so that legislators can address some of the real problems facing our state today such as job creation and the growing illegal drug problem.
In light of today’s House Order, Governor LePage said on WVOM-FM that it would be “silliness” for him to deliver his State of the State address before lawmakers who just debated impeachment a few weeks prior and stated that he will instead be sending a letter.
“I can’t say that I blame the Governor” said Senator Mason (R-22), “liberals in the House of Representatives have been playing political games, distracting lawmakers from addressing real issues by raising the specter of impeachment.”
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