VIDEO: Governor LePage Denies Access to a Public Meeting in Augusta
Think you've seen it all? Check this out.
According to the Maine Attorney General's office, Governor Paul LePage broke the law on Monday when his staff denied members of the public and the legislature entry to a meeting of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Education Funding at the Blaine House.
Yup... the Governor shut people out of a public meeting.
Title 1 Section 403 of Maine Law mandates that certain meetings held by state officials be open to the public and the media. Both the public and the media were turned away from this meeting on Monday morning in Augusta.
The video above was posted to YouTube by John Kosinski of the Maine Education Association, one of the members of the public denied entry to the Governor's mansion. Yes, someone from the Maine Education Association was barred from a public meeting about education funding reform.
...Seems sort of odd, right?
The video shows Aaron Chadbourne, a senior policy advisor to the Governor, barring several people from entering the meeting.
According to the Portland Press Herald, Maine Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond (D-Portland) said he objected to the closed-door policy as the three-hour meeting got underway. “After our introductions, I asked to speak and I said that ‘I am very uncomfortable having a private meeting doing the public’s work in the Blaine House.'”
Alfond said LePage told him that anyone who was uncomfortable was welcome to leave.
Allow me to translate the Governor's sentiment: "That's it! Don't like it? Just get out!"