I’ve written at least half a dozen columns about Gov. Paul LePage during his tenure as Maine governor, most of them critical. Now that LePage is on his way out thanks to term limits, it seems a good time to evaluate his tumultuous eight years in office with the advantage of perspective.

On the positive side, LePage proved himself the most fiscally responsible governor in a generation. As a longtime business manager and consultant, he was adept at financial analysis. He believed fervently in actually keeping expenditures in line with revenues rather than using bookkeeping gimmicks to create the illusion he was doing so, and he had no hesitation about vetoing proposed legislation he felt state government couldn’t afford. Whenever legislators were considering raising taxes or spending, he admonished them, in the words of the physician’s Hippocratic oath, “Do No Harm!”

At the time LePage took office in 2011, the state was still in the grip of the Great Recession of 2008. He acted decisively. During his initial term, as he recounted in his proposed 2016-2017 biennial budget “Vision for Maine” statement, “we took the first step toward significant tax relief. We also reduced the state’s unfunded public pension liability from $4.1 billion to $2.4 billion — a decrease of 41 percent. We paid off, in its entirety, the long overdue welfare debt of $748 million to Maine’s hospitals.”

In his proposed 2018-2019 biennial budget vision statement, he was able to tout his structural budget reforms, which had brought spending nearly in line with revenues, permitted reduction of the top income tax rate to 7.15 percent (from 7.95 percent), and raised the Budget Stabilization (“rainy day”) Fund from zero to $122.7 million.

LePage also had clear, rational policy priorities, all designed to promote economic growth. These included, in addition to tax reduction, streamlining regulations, lowering energy costs, and retaining and attracting young people to Maine through tuition debt repayment incentives. He was also a vocal champion of veterans, the elderly and troubled youth.

On the negative side, LePage often displayed a streak of coarseness and vindictiveness reminiscent of President Donald Trump. (In fact, he boasted that he was “Donald Trump before Donald Trump.”)

He attacked, insulted and demonized those in politics and the media who opposed or criticized him (including many within his own GOP party), reserving his most vicious verbal sallies for state Democratic legislative leaders. On one occasion, he memorably remarked to reporters that state Sen. Troy Jackson had “no brains” a “black heart” and was the “first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.” On another, he sabotaged House Speaker Marc Eves’ prospective employment as a charter school president by threatening to withhold state funding from the school.

Not surprisingly, LePage’s style had a deeply divisive impact on Maine politics, exacerbating the already overheated rhetoric emanating from Washington, D.C.

LePage also had a tendency to act high-handedly, as if he alone knew what was best for the people of Maine. At times this entailed running roughshod over the legal process, using protracted litigation as a political weapon, and ignoring the will of the voters as expressed in initiative and referendum ballots.

For instance, he doggedly resisted implementing the expansion of Medicaid in Maine (under the Affordable Care Act), approved by initiative ballot in November 2017 — first by insisting that the Legislature had to authorize funding for it, next by vetoing a $60 million funding bill it enacted for that purpose, then by refusing to file a plan for Medicaid expansion with the U.S. Department of Health and Education (which oversees the program) and finally by appealing a state court order requiring him to file such a plan.

This month LePage refused to sign an election certificate to the U.S. House of Representatives showing that Democrat Jared Golden had won the 2nd District seat in the November election, calling the rank-choice voting system that led to Golden’s victory “repugnant” to constitutional rights despite a federal court decision upholding its constitutionality.

When Attorney General (now Gov.-elect) Janet Mills declined to have her office represent LePage in several non-meritorious lawsuits, he opted instead to retain outside counsel, incurring hundreds of thousands in needless legal expenses for the state.

During the early years of his administration, LePage refused to issue bonds approved by voters in referendum and tried to pressure Department of Labor hearing officers to decide cases in favor of business owners over employees.

LePage could also be cavalier about environmental protection when it conflicted with the goals of developers and other business interests. He worked to weaken environmental regulations, took steps to thwart the construction of land and off-shore wind power facilities, and vociferously opposed (albeit unsuccessfully) the creation of the federal Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Was he, on balance, a good governor? I expect most Republicans would insist he was, citing the “flawed vessel” theory, which goes something like this. “Yes, he could be a difficult person, but look how much he did to grow the state’s economy.” Most Democrats and many Independents, on the other hand, would disagree, portraying him as a petty tyrant who gave short shrift to minorities, the poor and the lower middle class.

My opinion is somewhere in between.

I liked LePage’s core vision for reviving Maine’s economy, his sense of fiscal responsibility and his willingness to lead rather than pander. But I intensely disliked his mean-spirited behavior and felt he left much to be desired in terms of showing respect for the rule of law, implementing the will of the voters, and acting as a responsible steward of the environment.

As always, history will be the judge. For my part, I’m glad LePage was at the helm in Augusta during a time of severe economic crisis but hope he remains in retirement after he leaves office.

Elliott Epstein is a trial lawyer with Andrucki & King in Lewiston. His Rearview Mirror column, which has appeared in the Sun Journal for 10 years, analyzes current events in an historical context. He is also the author of “Lucifer’s Child,” a book about the notorious 1984 child murder of Angela Palmer. He may be contacted at [email protected]