Gov. Paul LePage told the few dozen attending his Boothbay Harbor town meeting that Attorney General Janet Mills is suing Education Department officials over the first private meeting of the education commission created by the Legislature earlier this year.
The meeting was held at the Blaine House with the governor, some staff and members of the education commission. Reporters and members of the public were banned from attending.
LePage says Mills, at the urging of House Speaker Mark Eves, is filing suit against commission chair Bill Beardsley and the commission for violating the state’s open meetings law.
“When it first happened she said, ‘Oh there is nothing here, I am not going to sue them.’ But the speaker of the house, I am told, and I am repeating this as I am told, the speaker of the house has been lobbying hard to sue the administration. It’s a $500 fine. Give me a break,” LePage says.
He says taxpayers will end up paying legal fees for both the attorney general and the commission, as well as paying whatever fine is actually assessed if a violation is found.
