Impeachment Initiative ‘Uncharted Territory’

Governor Paul LePage is renowned for his brash offensive comments, controversial political tactics, and open confrontation with the Legislature, Rep. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship, said at the July 16 meeting of the Lincoln County Democrats.


None of his previous actions, however, rose to the level of an impeachable offense – until now. LePage’s threat to withhold state funding to a private school due to their decision to hire a political opponent crossed the threshold of politics as usual, Evangelos said.


LePage’s effort to withhold approximately $530,000 in state funds from Good-Will Hinckley due to a job offer extended to Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves in June rose to the level of abuse of power, misuse of state funds, an act of intimidation, and conduct unbecoming of a public official sworn to uphold the law – all impeachable offenses, Evangelos said.


“We’ve never seen Augusta so divided,” Evangelos said. “We’ve never seen our state like this.”


Democrats and Republicans on the Government Oversight Committee, however, joined together July 1 to unanimously authorize the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, OPEGA, Augusta’s independent watchdog agency, to investigate LePage. Four legislators requested the investigation, including Evangelos.


Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, a member of the Government Oversight Committee, joined Evangelos at the July 16 meeting to discuss OPEGA’s investigation, whose authority over the executive branch has already been challenged by the governor’s office, before the committee even took their vote.


OPEGA will proceed with the investigation and answer a carefully crafted question asked by the Government Oversight Committee, Johnson said.


The investigation and its outcome will be determined by the rules of law, the evidence, and the facts involved, Johnson and Evangelos both said. Evangelos and Johnson agreed to speak with the Lincoln County Democrats about the investigation and the possible push for impeachment that may result as a courtesy, they said.


The legislators are not interested in “barn-raisings,” and do not want a bi-partisan power struggle to usurp the investigation and the resulting action, they said. “For the faith and trust of the Legislature, it’s important we do this right,” Johnson said.


Good-Will Hinckley is a private school and farm founded in Fairfield in the 1800s. The school operates the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, a charter school, which receives state Department of Education funding to cover the cost of room and board for at-risk youth.


According to the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, the day Good-Will Hinckley announced Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves would serve as their President, LePage attempted to reverse an approved payment of $100,000 to the school, the first quarter payment of the approximate $530,000 the school is slated to receive for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.


A confidential source in the Department of Education told the Center for Public Interest Reporting that Suzan Beaudoin, director of school finance and operations, was called to the governor’s office and instructed to stop the first quarter payment.


Beaudoin in turn instructed Joanne Allen, school finance and compliance coordinator, to stop the payment. The funding was eventually received, however, Good-Will Hinckley rescinded their job offer to Eves.


The information published by the Center for Public Interest Reporting was the first official source to claim formal action had been taken by the governor to withhold state funds to the school. The information provided by the source will be a key piece of evidence in OPEGA’s investigation, Johnson said.


OPEGA will return a report from their investigation to the Government Oversight Committee in September, Johnson said. The committee has standard protocols which it follows,
such as turning the report over to the attorney general’s office, requesting OPEGA expand its investigation, or the committee utilizing its own subpoena authority to investigate further.


Evangelos, Rep. Ben Chipman, I-Portland, and Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, requested, if the allegations were substantiated, they be referred to the House of Representatives, “for consideration under the authority vested in the Constitution of the State of Maine, Article 4, Part 1, Section B,” or the power of impeachment.


The call for impeachment if the allegations are substantiated was echoed by the Portland Press Herald in an editorial on June 25.


“We’re in unchartered territory,” Evangelos said. “Impeaching a governor in Maine is unprecedented.”


Impeachment is a formal charge of wrong-doing against a public official brought by a lower house of government and tried in an upper house of government. According to the impeachment process in Maine, the House of Representatives must pass a bill of impeachment, which will then be sent to the Senate for trial.


Two-thirds of the Senate must vote in favor of impeachment to discipline LePage, which could include removing him from office. The senate is composed of 20 Republicans and 15 Democrats. A successful impeachment initiative in Maine would need to be a bi-partisan effort, Evangelos and Johnson said.


According to Evangelos, the only impeachment initiative in Maine on record was for a sheriff in the 1920s accused of bootlegging. Any effort by the Legislature to move forward with impeachment will not be because of politics, Evangelos and Johnson said. The push for impeachment will be based on the findings of the OPEGA investigation.


“We’re focused on the facts and where they’re going to lead us,” Johnson said. “We don’t want to get into a partisan thing. This has to bring both parties together if it’s decided something needs to be done.”


“This is not fun,” Evangelos said. “This is a tragedy for our state.”


Calls to the chairman of the Lincoln County Republican Committee seeking comment were not returned by press time.