I am responding to the Portland Press Herald’s April 22 front-page story “Women’s vote could be key for candidates.”

Gov. LePage sent his daughter, Lauren, to represent him April 17 at a Women’s Legislative Council of Maine meeting. The other two candidates for governor, Rep. Mike Michaud and independent Eliot Cutler, attended the meeting in person.

Gov. LePage probably thought his daughter could swing some women voters toward him. As I read her comments, she listed the governor as lowering the employment rate. Really? How did he do that, by eliminating training programs?

She then went on to mention pension reform and repaying the hospitals $750 million without increasing taxes. Nowhere did she mention that it was on the backs of state employees and state retirees. I know this, because I am a Department of Labor retiree who worked almost 30 years for the state.

She mentioned schools and said that to better fund them, the state should look for cuts in the Department of Health and Human Services. The state is not a corporation that just has to meet the bottom line; it has to meet the needs of its people.

She also went on to say that her father, Gov. LePage, thinks fast, and state government works very slowly. Her father is not the state’s CEO; he works for the people of the state of Maine. Perhaps if he had slowed down and worked with both parties in the Legislature, we would all be better off.

Women’s votes are important, and, therefore, this woman will be voting for Mike Michaud.

Shirley Rosen
Portland

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