Androscoggin Chamber president: LePage comments against delegation ‘deplorable’

LEWISTON — The president of the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce reacted Friday morning to news that Gov. Paul LePage had allegedly said Lewiston lawmakers should be “rounded up and executed in the public square.”

“I want to be clear: the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce finds it absolutely deplorable to wish violence upon a public servant of our community — or any community,” Matt Leonard said in a press release. “We recognize and support our state legislators for the service they provide to our community. Our state legislators work hard for LA. Our state legislators are honorable members of our community. If our citizen representatives have had violence threatened upon them it is unacceptable.

“As an individual, I’ve spent the majority of my life serving our country training and participating in the act of bringing violence to the enemies of our country. Wishing violence upon another human being is never a ‘joke.’ If violence has been threatened upon our delegation, whether seriously or as a flippant remark, I stand in support of Senator Nate Libby and Representatives Peggy Rotundo, Heidi Brooks, Jared Golden, and Michel Lajoie.”