On Gov. LePage’s website under “Priorities,” he says: “During my business career I followed simple, but effective, rules: you pick your team, make your decisions and you stand accountable for things that matter.”
That’s a good and positive way to proceed in any walk of life. And it’s also right in line with the Maine Constitution.
Under Executive Power, Article V, Section 8, on the issue of appointing officers, it states: “The Governor shall nominate, and, subject to confirmation as provided herein, appoint all judicial officers … and all other civil and military officers whose appointment is not by this Constitution, or shall not by law be otherwise provided for.”
The word “shall” is a legal job requirement.
But as Steve Mistler of the Portland Press Herald points out in his Sept. 23 article “Appointee holdbacks extended by LePage,” our governor has vacant seats on state commissions and boards. The governor also has a roster of seven vacancies for Maine judges.
So far, Gov. LePage has picked his team, but he hasn’t made a job decision about those judicial vacancies. And judges are among the “things that matter.”
Ordinary Mainers need access to the courts, and a lack of judges stands in the way of ordinary Mainers’ access to justice.
Gov. LePage has made excellent judicial nominations in the past. If there is a reason why the governor is not doing his Article 5, Section 8 job by nominating seven judges, an explanation would be a good idea just about now.
Alison Briggs
Tenants Harbor
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