By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Gov. Paul LePage told a Saco audience last week that Democrats are to blame for many problems facing the state, from pension shortfalls to school consolidation.

LePage spent March 18 in York County for his second “Capitol for the Day” event. He plans to visit each of the state’s 16 counties to meet with business owners and host a town-hall style meeting.

After unveiling an “open for business” sign in Kittery and visiting businesses, LePage met with nearly 300 people at Thornton Academy. During the day, LePage visited Shipyard Brewery in Eliot, Stonewall Kitchen in York, Arundel Machine and Sweetser in Saco.

LePage was joined at the evening meeting by Commissioners Stephen Bowen of the department of education, Darryl Brown of the department of environmen-tal protection, Mary Mayhew of the department of health and human services, David Bernhardt of the department of transportation, and Philip Congdon of the department of economic and community development.

Most of the crowd was comprised of LePage supporters who loudly applauded his answers to audience questions.

Several teachers asked LePage about his proposal to require teachers pay 2 percent more of their salaries into the pension system due to the state’s unfunded pension liability. The proposal also includes a three-year freeze on cost-of-living increases for retirees and an increase in the retirement age from 62 to 65 for new teachers.

Barbara Noone, a teacher from Lyman, said teachers have no control over the “pension fund debacle” and feel they are being demonized in the press.

“Being demonized in the press, welcome to the party,” LePage said. “I feel bad for teachers and state employees. You’ve been sold a bill of goods.”

LePage said teachers and state employees were “promised the Brooklyn Bridge.”

 “The promises made were so rich the state could never afford it,” he said.

LePage said Democrats caused the pension shortfall with support from teachers’ unions. He said Democrats for 35 years were elected to power in Augusta with large donations from unions.

LePage and the commissioners answered questions on a variety of topics, including transportation, education, insurance and business. Questions were submitted in writing before the meeting and chosen at random.

Ed Geoghan of Kennebunk said he is “appalled” businesses have to jump through so many hoops to move to Maine.

“People give up in frustration,” he said. “Can we do something to limit the time a company has to go through to get the necessary approvals?”

LePage said his administration is working to streamline the approval process and still protect the environment.

 “There are a lot of people out there who say this governor is going to destroy the state. That is the opposite of what we want to do,” he said.

LePage said he supports allowing Mainers to purchase health insurance across state lines and buy insurance plans to cover specific issues.

“I could never understand why a nun in the state of Maine is required to buy maternity insurance,” he said.

When asked by Brett Davis of Hollis Center about school choice and vouchers, Commissioner of Education Bowen said both he and LePage “are moving in the direction of school choice.” He said they also want to change the school consolidation law. He said there are savings to be had by consolidating some services, but the “one-size-fits-all model” does not work for Maine.

“We need to do a far better job educating our children. We have to come back to number one (in the world),” LePage said. “We need to find the very best teachers we have here in the state of Maine, pay them more and challenge them to take more kids in their classrooms.”

LePage took aim at food stamps and the media during the 90-minute meeting.

The governor said he wants to split the department of health and human services into two departments. The department of human services would be highly specialized to provide services to maintain a safety net for Mainers and identify and stop abuses of the system, he said.

LePage said he has seen receipts for sales made on EBT cards and supports developing a list of foods allowed for purchase with food stamps. He said one receipt showed a person bought $154.59 worth of live lobster, which he said was then sold for 50 cents on the dollar.

“I can’t afford to buy $155 of lobster. I need to find a way to get on welfare,” he said.

When a resident said they were concerned about information circulating in the media about cutting welfare, LePage’s response was followed by loud applause from the audience.

“If you buy a newspaper in Maine, it is like paying someone to lie to you,” he said.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 213.