MACHIAS — Gov. Paul LePage was warmly received at his town hall meeting at Rose Gaffney Elementary School on Wednesday night.
As he was introduced, about half the crowd of 80 to 100 people stood and clapped. The audience laughed at his jokes and applauded occasionally as he spoke.
“The roads in the urban areas are in better shape than the roads in the rural areas. I figured that out tonight,” LePage said to applause and laughter.
Later, in response to a question about roads, LePage said, “We need to figure out a new method of getting the resources we need to take care of our roads.”
Although he said he doesn’t have all the answers, LePage suggested having local people do the plowing rather than the state.
He noted Maine is “very rich” during the summer with tourists who don’t pay any income tax. This is one of the reasons his proposal to raise sales tax makes sense, he said.
“We’re going to be looking to them to pay more,” he said.
LePage also touched on the need for Maine to attract businesses and come up with ways to create inexpensive energy. Interspersed with such comments were pleas for citizens to get more involved.
“I can’t do it without your help,” he said of initiatives to get inexpensive energy in place.
“You send someone to Augusta, there’s 181 people. They vote. They get a simple majority. Then they say, ‘I didn’t do it. They did it,’” LePage said.
He said many in Augusta are liars, but he no longer calls them that. Instead, he calls it “ideological fabrication.” The audience laughed and applauded.
Whether they agree with him or not, LePage said, members of the audience and Maine residents should contact their legislators and express their wishes.
“If they can ignore it, they will ignore it until you force them to do something,” he said.
On any given day, anywhere from none to about half of the state’s legislators will support him. he said, adding that he doesn’t have the real power.
“The real muscle comes from people who call their legislators or write them letters,” he said.
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