“It wouldn’t be appropriate for the governor to decide what local property taxpayers choose to pay for.” That was the official response of the Committee to Re-Elect governor Paul LePage through spokesman and political consultant Brent Littlefield as to why our governor did not vote in the June 10 primary election. Littlefield added that there were no contested primaries in the 1st Congressional District — more specifically Augusta — where the governor is registered to vote, and that while he lives in the Blaine House, he does not pay property taxes in Augusta because he does not own the governor’s mansion.

There are two parts that appear to have gone into LePage’s calculus when he made the deliberate decision not to vote. Number one: Our governor’s view is that if any given ballot has no contested candidates on it, you should not cast a single vote for any candidate whose name appears on said ballot. I wonder why, then, the LePage campaign would spend its money on signs to display across the state for this very same primary election. The governor did not have a primary challenger, and by state statutes all of these political signs must be removed from public ways no later than next Tuesday. He also cannot put them back up until September 23 (under the provisions of Title 23 MRSA §1913-A). This seems to be a waste of time and resources for a primary election that should have no importance to any Maine voter. Moreover, LePage brags on his Twitter feed that he has only spent around $260,000 on his re-election so far. His view is that he has spent less than his opponent, therefore, he would govern better. This is a nonsensical notion, but the question we have to ask is if uncontested races are so insignificant that they justify not voting, why did he spend a quarter of a million dollars on his own? Fiscal responsibility?

More contemptible, though, is part two of our governor’s explanation. In short, he apparently believes that it is inappropriate to vote in a municipal election if you do not pay property taxes to the municipality. The LePage family was fortunate enough to be able to sell their $215,000 dollar home in Waterville and live in a taxpayer-funded mansion in Augusta. But what about the single mother who is struggling to pay rent? The high school student who is beyond excited to vote for the first time? The college grad who lives at home? The elderly parents who live with their children? Is it inappropriate for these individuals to vote? Our governor is shaming thousands of Mainers who either do not have the means or have made a decision not to own property and who simultaneously exercise their right to step into a voting booth. Voting rights are tied to legal residency, not property ownership.

If LePage had just forgotten to vote that would be a sign of complete incompetence, but that is not really anything new from the current occupant of the Blaine House. Although, if we take LePage at his campaign’s word that he intentionally made the decision not to vote, that represents a complete lack of understanding of what it means to be a member of a democracy — what it means to be an American. Voting is our most fundamental right and it is our civic duty to respect that right by exercising it. The governor actually agrees with me on this point. This is what he posted on his official Facebook page on election day: “Please be sure to do your civic duty and vote before the polls close tonight.” The governor chose not to vote, thus, he did not do his defined “civic duty.” Our governor and all of our elected leaders should, by example, be encouraging, not discouraging, the people of Maine to vote.

Benjamin Gagnon
Durham