When it comes to politics, the dishonesty and the game playing are among the parts of the job I dislike the most. This has never been more prevalent than with LD 1649, a bill dealing with solar energy expansion in Maine.

I voted in favor of LD 1649 which would have expanded solar energy throughout Maine. Gov. LePage vetoed the bill and I voted to override his veto but in the end, the veto was sustained.

My decision to support the solar bill came after a lot of thought. When it was first introduced at a public hearing, experts testified that would cost Maine ratepayers up to $22 million by 2022. I was pleased when the bill was amended in the final days of session to lessen the cost to ratepayers and ultimately I was comfortable supporting the measure.

I was angry when my position on this bill was mischaracterized by special interest lobbyists like the Natural Resource Council of Maine and most recently the Portland Press Herald.

When it was apparent the House would sustain Gov. LePage’s veto by a very slim margin, House Democrat Leader Jeff McCabe, switched his vote at the last possible second in a coordinated plot with the Maine Speaker of the House Mark Eves. Being a freshman legislator, at first I could not figure out why Jeff McCabe, who fully supported the bill, would suddenly vote against this piece of legislation. It didn’t take long for his motives to become clear.

By switching his vote at the last second, Jeff McCabe voted to sustain the Governor’s veto, putting him on the prevailing side of the vote. According to House Rule 511: “…any member who voted with the prevailing side, or in the negative on a tie vote, can move to reconsider on the same or succeeding day.” Soon after he switched his vote, Jeff McCabe called the bill back up for reconsideration.

I found the conduct of Jeff McCabe and his colleagues to be yet another representation of politics as usual in Augusta. I take the Maine Constitution and the oath I took when we were sworn in very seriously. After voting in favor of the solar bill twice, and wanting to see it pass, I could not in good conscious support this type of dishonesty. I did not participate in Jeff McCabe’s games and along with four of my fellow House members chose to abstain from that final vote.

However, our decision to not cast a vote on that final reconsideration did not impact the outcome of the solar bill whatsoever. There were 148 members present and voting in the House that day, meaning 50 nays sustained the veto. If you check the roll call votes you will see that both the vote I participated in and Jeff McCabe’s forced vote had 50 members vote “no.” This notion that my not participating in that final vote is patently false and anyone who says that is lying to you.

In life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But I do not believe in changing the rules to rig the game in your favor. That is not democracy. I don’t believe this bill was perfect and in fact the majority of my caucus members did not support it. My hope is that a much better bill to help move renewable energy will come forward in the next session. But when that day comes, let’s all hope that the dishonesty and trickery are left out of the process.

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Rep. Brian Hobart represents House District 55: Bowdoin, Bowdoinham and Richmond (part), plus the unorganized territory of Perkins Island Township.