Maine’s tourism income is the goose that lays the golden egg. The return on investment is very good and much of the income is in the form of dollars from out of state. Seeing Maine as a vacation destination (Sept. 29) is dependent upon the stereotype of a serene environment with laid-back, sensible people.
When people find out I’m a Mainer they ask, “What’s wrong with your governor?!” It isn’t simply that Paul LePage could never be mistaken for a diplomat. He could never be mistaken for laid-back and sensible.
His hysterics not only misrepresent Mainers, but are false advertising of what visitors might expect from us. If folks wanted to vacation with a vulgar person they would never leave the city.
When out-of-staters start seeing Maine as being as crazy as the city, will it still be their vacation destination? And when tourist dollars stop paying the bills, who will have to?
Tom Bulger, Canandaigua, N.Y.
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