Maine House Speaker Mark Eves says he’s not discouraged after having his lawsuit against Gov. Paul LePage dismissed by a federal judge. In fact, Eves says he’d consider taking the case — which alleges LePage abused his power and cost Eves a job as president of a charter school — to the highest court in the land, if necessary.
Eves says he is not seeking monetary damages from the governor, but is continuing the suit on appeal to the federal First Circuit because of what he calls the dangerous precedent of allowing LePage to use public money to punish his political opponents. The appeal was filed Wednesday.
Eves was hired in May of last year as the president of the Good Will-Hinckley School, but the school rescinded its offer the following month when LePage threatened to cut off its state funding, which was in a discretionary fund.
“This is some pretty egregious stuff that happened. The governor has admitted it. He needs to stand trial. We need to continue to stand up and say enough is enough,” Eves says.
And he says it has been tough taking on the governor, whose actions, he says, resulted in the loss of a job that he and his family were looking forward to.
“Me and my family are fine, and will be fine. And the reason why we filed the lawsuit, the reason why we are continuing to fight is not because of our family and the impact of the governor’s decision, it is the awful precedent that will be set moving forward that a governor can use public money to blackmail anybody,” Eves says.
U.S. District Court Judge George Singal ruled against Eves on every count in the lawsuit, but Eves says he’s undeterred. He says the issues at the center of the case are fundamental to good government, and if the appeals court also rules against him, he will consider asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
“The governor said bring it on. And now he is hiding behind immunity. All we want is a day in court where a jury of his peers to determine if he abused his power,” Eves says.
LePage, through his attorney Patrick Strawbridge, says he is pleased with the court ruling dismissing the lawsuit. In a statement, Strawbridge says he is ready to argue the matter in the appeals court.
“We remain confident that this case is without merit,” he says, “and will continue to defend it vigorously should the speaker decide to appeal.”
It will take months for the case to progress through written arguments and written replies. If there are oral arguments that adds more time.
On average, a civil matter in the federal appeals court takes 12-18 months.
