Four state legislators are calling for a formal investigation of Gov. Paul LePage over allegations that he threatened to withhold state funds from a private charter school if the school’s board didn’t rescind its job offer to Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, and a group of two independent and one Democratic representatives filed separate requests with the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee on Monday. The group included Reps. Jeffrey Evangelos, I-Friendship; Ben Chipman, I-Portland; and Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell.
“We consider this to be an act of intimidation, misuse of state funds, abuse of power, conduct unbecoming of a public official sworn to uphold the law, and a violation of Mark Eves’ 14th Amendment rights,” the latter group’s letter said.
The calls for investigation come after Good Will-Hinckley, a private nonprofit that operates the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences in Fairfield, withdrew its job offer last week to Eves as the organization’s new president. LePage had threatened to withhold $530,000 in annual funding from Good Will-Hinckley if the organization hired Eves, arguing that he wasn’t the right fit for a job and that his connections with the school’s board “represents the kind of political corruption” he came to Augusta “to fight against.”
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