As a former four-term Republican state representative (119th through 122nd), I urge my colleagues of either party, regardless of when they served, to speak up about what has happened to House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick.

In the Maine Legislature, each day begins with a highly scripted ceremony. Members formally request permission to speak, and when they do, they address their fellow legislators with respect. The content of floor speech is limited to the merits or faults of the issue, and never the motives of the supporters or opponents.

That is the key to how the process works – debate the effects of an idea and nothing else! Treat each other with respect and remember that your fellow legislators may be your opponent, but they are not your enemy.

This is where our governor has failed us. By injecting himself into Good Will-Hinckley’s decision to hire who they want to lead the school, the governor has attacked Rep. Eves as his enemy.

By specifically attacking the motives of the Good Will-Hinckley board in selecting Rep. Eves for employment, the governor has crossed the line. It may be up to a court to determine the strict legal infraction, but he has certainly crossed the line of State House decorum.

The direct effect on Rep. Eves is to make his family suffer economic loss and insecurity.

To the Maine Legislature, this now creates a precedent that however you act, in addition to being held to account by your constituents, you now risk an attack on you and your family by the executive branch itself.

This is wrong.

I specifically challenge former legislators, especially my fellow Republicans, that instead of mounting a hyperpartisan defense of the governor, show moral courage and demonstrate allegiance to the body in which we once served.

Call what is wrong, wrong!

Robert Daigle

former Republican state representative

Arundel