AUGUSTA — Maine needs “to start taking a hard look at other forms of government,” Gov. Paul LePage said Tuesday.
“There’s so much gridlock in government that our government no longer works,” the governor told Bangor-based WVOM radio during his regular weekly broadcast.
“I’m one of the ones who believes that the two-party system is broken,’ LePage said, “and I do believe that we’re probably going to be heading for a constitutional convention to fix our government.
“I really think that we need to start taking a hard look at other forms of government,” he added.
No one asked him for details as the hosts, Ric Tyler and George Hale, switched the conversation to a discussion of the marijuana-related issues roiling the State House.
But LePage mentioned that the marijuana issue has made it clear that the state’s political system is failing.
“It’s not working anymore,” LePage said, because lawmakers “do not care what the people of Maine need or want. They just care about their egos. I’m sorry, people, that’s what it is in Augusta.”
He complained that his office is working hard for the people while the House and Senate leaders “simply don’t want to do anything.”
Maine’s Constitution, in place since 1820, is one of the nation’s oldest functioning governmental foundations. It has been revised over the years, but its basic blueprint hasn’t changed much.
The state Constitution gives the Legislature the power to call a constitutional convention if both houses prove a two-thirds vote in favor of the idea.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
