BATH

Robert Winglass agreed to take the reins at the state Department of Labor with the understanding that he would serve, at most, for two years.

It won’t come to that.

If all goes as he and Gov. Paul LePage plan, Jeanne Paquette will succeed Winglass as labor commissioner in early September — 15 months after he took the job. The Labor Committee, and then the state Senate, will have the final say on that.

Winglass, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and former state legislator, will have done his duty — once again. The position had gone unfilled for five months following LePage’s inauguration.

“I offered my help to the governor,” Winglass recalled. “It’s a big department.

It needed a commissioner and directors. I stepped forward.”

Winglass, who recently moved from Bath to Surry, announced last week that he was stepping down. He has nominated Paquette, the current deputy commissioner, to succeed him.

“With a new Legislature coming in,” Winglass said, “it looked like an appropriate time for a new commissioner to settle in.”

When he took office, Winglass faced a challenge not unlike most other labor commissioners in the country: a high unemployment rate, albeit one that was already decreasing. He will leave Augusta pleased that the number of unemployed has shrunk from 31,000 to 19,000.

“We did cut the extended benefits program,” he admitted, “and that affected the numbers. But that was a big hill to climb.”

And then there was the mural — a distraction if ever there was one. Winglass became commissioner three months after LePage removed the mural, depicting scenes from the state’s labor history.

The resulting furor in the labor community, and in the press, lasted for months. And still, the matter is not settled. A federal court has backed LePage’s right to removal the mural, but that judgment is being appealed.

The issue — to say the least — was a distraction.

“It’s doesn’t contribute to the things we’ve got to do,” Winglass said. “There’s an opportunity cost when you have to deal with things like that.”

His job, Winglass said, was to find work for people.

“Our staff and I have visited activities around the state and met lots of people,” he said. “I’ve been able to gain a real grasp of our situation. People who are unemployed are in need of training in order to get a job. Our job bank has over 4,000 openings.”

Chris Boudreau, director of the Center for Workforce Research and Information and a veteran of more than two decades in the DOL, said that Winglass took data from the center seriously.

“His insightful questions about labor market data, usually written in his trademark purple felt-tip pen, were routinely used to support the Department of Labor’s decision process,” Boudreau said.

Paquette also appreciates her boss.

“He’s been a great mentor for me,” she said. “He’s a strategic thinker and asks good questions, which challenges people and helps facilitate critical thinking. He’s been a loyal leader and will be missed.”

Winglass, 76, and his wife, Norma, have sold their house in Bath and moved to Surry, not far from Norma’s hometown of Ellsworth.

“We feel very much at home up there,” he said.

Until a successor is identified, he will take up residence in Augusta motels during the week.

Winglass and his wife are the parents of three sons — Robert Jr., Andy and Ted — and a daughter, Laura Recupero. Andy Winglass is a city councilor in Bath, and owns Mae’s Cafe and Bakery, a popular Bath eatery.

Winglass was the deputy chief of staff for Installations and Logistics, Headquarters Marine Corps. Washington, DC.

lgrard@timesrecord.com