Recently, Randi Tolman challenged my reasons for saying it’s hard to trust anything Gov. Paul LePage says (Jan. 13, “Craven needs to prove her point”). In her letter, Tolman asked that I “clearly state what those lies are.” I thank her for providing me the opportunity.
In Maine and across this country, media have spent considerable time outlining the misinformation by Gov. LePage. He has become infamous for his antics, which have made him and, unfortunately, Maine a national laughingstock.
Last spring, he claimed the windmill at the University of Maine is powered by an electric motor. A university spokesperson said LePage was not correct.
LePage claimed that Maine students who apply to a Virginia college were required to take a special test just because they were from Maine. The college said there are no different requirements for Maine students.
When talking about Forbes’ ranking of Maine, LePage said Forbes blamed the state’s welfare problems for the bottom-of-the-pack grade. In fact, the editor at Forbes never said any such thing and clarified that the ranking has nothing to do with welfare.
Gov. LePage said that he stashed away $47 million from Democrats. The governor’s staff later back-pedaled from that statement.
Those examples are far from being an exhaustive list of when Gov. LePage spoke inaccurately.
The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Knowing that, people have very little reason to trust what LePage says.
State Sen. Margaret Craven, Lewiston
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