Washington group ranks LePage No. 2 in list of worst governors

LEWISTON ? Maine's Republican Gov. Paul LePage was ranked among the 18 worst governors in the United States on Wednesday by a Washington, D.C.-based government watchdog group.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington listed LePage as having the second worst record based on a list of criteria that included corruption, transparency, partisan politics, pressuring public officials, cronyism, self-enrichment, scandal and mismanagement.

LePage was denoted as a "ringmaster," along with five others, while six others were dubbed "clowns" and six "sideshows" ?in the ranking.

Ranked in the top spot was Georgia's Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Sixteen of the governors on the list are Republicans; two, Democrats.

Based on media reports, financial disclosure reports, campaign finance reports and property records, the 102-page document details the most controversial decisions and statements made by LePage and the other 17 designated governors.

LePage was placed in the number two spot based on, "the pervasiveness and influence of lobbyists in his administration; personnel problems and retaliation against state employees; improperly bullying state Department of Labor employees; nepotism; reducing government transparency; repeatedly making rude, inappropriate and offensive comments and advocating for new voter identification restrictions."

The report dings LePage for hiring his daughter Lauren as an assistant to the chief of staff for his administration, paying her $40,455 year. The report also notes his administration hired Jody Ledoux, LePage's brother-in-law, to a $68,577 a year job with the state's planning office in 2012.

It notes LePage's comments earlier this year when he criticized state Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash,?using a vulgar metaphor.?

"When one reads the report and looks at the type of conduct we are talking about, I think a lot of the conduct is indefensible," said Melanie Sloan, the executive director of CREW. "It's outrageous conduct."

Sloan said her organization is a non-partisan group that focuses on ethics issues. The report is only the second they've issued on governors, she said.

She also noted that while some may criticize them for being driven by a liberal agenda, the report includes Democrats like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

She said there are also a large number of Republican governors who were not identified as being among the worst in the U.S.

LePage was out of the state in Pennsylvania on Wednesday attending ceremonies commemorating Maine's involvement in the Civil War battle of Little Round Top.

Brent Littlefield, a political consultant to LePage, dismissed the report as an attempt to target Republican governor's that are in high-profile reelection campaigns.

"There's no report, they are using hyperbole from public accusations," Littlefield said. "It's accusations on top of accusations from a partisan, ultra-liberal extremist group, trying to make false claims so they can be used by Eliot Cutler and Mike Michaud next year."

Meanwhile, Maine Democratic Party Chairman Ben Grant, wasted no time in seizing on the report.

?Once again, Governor Paul LePage is getting national attention for all the wrong reasons," Grant said in a prepared statement. ?"What we need is a governor who is a champion of job creation and who will always put Maine people first. Instead we have Paul LePage, now objectively one of America?s worst governors, who continually puts the interests of corporate lobbyists and his own party ahead of the interests of Mainers.?

sthistle@sunjournal.com

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