In the recording of Gov. Paul LePage’s threatening phone message to Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, we all were exposed to what sounded like the voice of an angry man driven to thoughts of violence.

This was not the voice of a person fit to represent the beautiful state we love. It was not the voice of a leader who appreciates all the people who live and work in Maine and is focused on making Maine an even better place for us, our children, and generations beyond.

A governor must understand the past but work for the future. Unfortunately, Gov. LePage is mired in his own history, and it hinders him from seeing a better way forward. Time and again, based on personal prejudices, he has made decisions that hurt the people of Maine. As a result, our economy has floundered, dragging it to last place among the New England states in recovering from the Great Recession.

Incompetence is bad enough. Now, by leaving a vile and violent phone message, LePage demonstrated once again how his inability to control his emotions renders him unfit to be our governor.

His bullying attitude pervades his governance and has caused immeasurable harm. It damages Maine’s economy by scaring away employers and workers.

It shames Maine people by linking us – his constituents – to his intolerance. Perhaps worst of all, it muddies our young people’s understanding of the nature of leadership. The governor’s behavior is devoid of the dignity and respect that the holder of Maine’s highest elective office should embody.

Governor LePage once vowed he would resign if people wanted him to. I urge him to be true to his word. Thousands of people have called for his resignation. It’s time. He should resign.

Barbara Burt

Boothbay Harbor