AUGUSTA, Maine - Allegations that Gov. Paul LePage used his authority to coerce the Good Will-Hinckley charter school into firing Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves continued to stir emotions at the State House Thursday. Some lawmakers are calling for an investigation into whether the governor has abused his power as the state's chief executive and want to determine whether there are grounds for impeachment.
Meanwhile, LePage's office declined comment on the allegations after Eves cited the possibility of legal action.
Whether the governor's power play is just another example of white-knuckle politics at the State House or something else is still unclear - but not as far as Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves is concerned.
I only hold one person accountable for this and that was the person who levied this political vendetta: That is the governor, who blackmailed Good Will-Hinckley, who blackmailed myself and my family," Eves says. "And that's who I hold accountable for this."
On June 9, Good Will-Hinckley, an organization in Fairfield that serves at-risk kids and includes the Maine Academy of Natural Sciences as a charter school, announced Eves had been selected as its new president. His term was to begin July 1. Gov. Paul LePage objected to the hiring, and wrote a letter to the board complaining that Eves was a charter school opponent.
A week later, the Harold Alfond Foundation, one of the school's private funders, also wrote a letter warning of its concerns about a "likely state funding loss" and the institution's financial viability. And this week, Good Will-Hinckley announced that it was rescinding its offer to Eves, saying the organization did not want to become embroiled in political controversy.
Eves says the real reason was because LePage had written a second letter to Good Will-Hinckley Board Chairman Jack Moore threatening to block $500,000 in discretionary state funding to the school.
"So I haven't seen anything in writing, but what was communicated to me last Friday at the board meeting was that the governor did put in writing to the board chair that this would happen," Eves says. "That was communicated at the board meeting. I clarified that with all board members there - there's about a dozen witnesses to that, that this is clearly what was happening. They acknowledged that this was an awful scenario for everybody but there was no mystery or mistake what was happening. The board was fully informed of the decision that they were making."
Eves said the loss of that $500,000 would have threatened another $2 million in private funds for the school that were contingent on the state money. Now the House speaker says he is weighing legal action against the governor for depriving him of a $150,000-a-year position at a private school because of his political statements - an action he says could amount to a potential violation of his free speech rights.
And the threat of a lawsuit was enough to prompt a "no comment" response to Eves' allegations from LePage. "I can't talk about it, I've been advised by my attorney to stay away from that. Let him do what he's got to do," said LePage.
Others at the State House, however, were talking about it. Rep. Charlotte Warren,a Hallowell Democrat, is calling for an investigation. "Allegations have been made - let's find out what happened," Warren says.
Warren is among a half-dozen lawmakers who want an official probe into whether Eves allegations against the governor - and other activities by LePage - rise to an abuse of power by the chief executive. Depending on how the investigation plays out, Rep. Jeff Evangelos, an independent from Friendship, says the House could have the option of drawing up articles of impeachment against LePage. He says this is permissible under the Maine Constitution.
"The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment," Eveangelos says. "From that point there, the House makes its rules and presumably they would do the normal process and appoint a committee to investigate. And if the investigation led to grounds, the committee would make a recommendation and the House could move forward."
Some lawmakers were calling for Legislature's non-partisan Government Oversight Committee to intervene in the issue, which is likely to dominate discussions when lawmakers reconvene at the State House Tuesday.