ME-GOV: How Paul LePage, Running to Lead Maine, Benefited From Florida Tax Breaks

[RandySF]

Making a comeback attempt now against his successor, Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, Mr. LePage is focusing heavily in his campaign on a push to phase out Maine’s income tax. He argues that the change is needed to keep wealthy residents from moving to Florida for just long enough each year to take advantage of the Sunshine State’s tax breaks.

But Mr. LePage and his wife, Ann LePage, who have owned property in Florida for over a decade, have themselves benefited from that state’s tax laws while living in the Maine governor’s mansion, and again as he campaigns to return to the job. From 2009 to 2015, and also from 2018 through the end of this year, the couple received property tax breaks reserved for permanent Florida residents, public records show.

The properties in question, both in Ormond Beach, Fla., are a home that the LePages bought in 2008 and sold in 2017, and another that they purchased in 2018 and still own. For both homes, the couple have sought and received what is called a homestead exemption, which is meant to apply only to primary residences in Florida.

The sum the couple saved over the years is relatively small: A little over $8,500, according to a New York Times analysis of public records.

But this is not the first time the LePages have faced scrutiny over such a tax matter — in 2010, Florida officials fined Mrs. LePage $1,400 before rescinding the penalty — and Mr. LePage’s focus on taxes in the current campaign for governor could open him up to attacks from Democrats.



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/us/politics/paul-lepage-maine-taxes.html

[magicarpet]

1. LePage is a bloviating blustering buffoon of a Fascist,..

,.. just like his buddy buddy tRump.

With newly enacted ranked/choice voting,.. there is little chance LePage can sneak back into the governor's mansion again. The last two times LePage got in there - there were two Dems on the ballot (dem + indie) the vote was split. LePage sneaked in with 36.3% of the vote winning the governorship.

[Easterncedar]

4. Ranked choice doesn't apply to the gov race, alas

Common and dangerous misperception

[magicarpet]

6. Oh my,.. I did not realize this, thank you for the notice and correction.

The Maine Constitution stipulates that the office of governor is to be won by a plurality of the vote count during a state election.

Consequently the governor's office is specifically excluded from ranked/choice voting until or unless the Maine Constitution is changed to allow it. Which is a major undertaking requiring 2/3 affirmative votes in the Maine House and Senate and then voted on for citizen approvals.

+++×××+++×××+++

(Historical background info here - but there is more info below this - explaining the exclusion of the governor's office to Maine Ranked/Choice Voting.)

snip ----->

On November 8, 2016 Maine voters approved Question 5 and became the first state to enact ranked-choice voting for statewide elections for governor, state legislature, and Congress. Following a recount and certification of election results the law was enacted as IB 2015, c. 3, “An Act to Establish Ranked-choice Voting”, and codified at the statutory citations listed in the Implementation section to the left. It was to take effect starting with the 2018 statewide elections.
......end snip

Attributions/source/link,..

https://legislature.maine.gov/lawlibrary/ranked-choice-voting-in-maine/9509

+++×××+++×××+++

(Details of why the Office of Maine Governor was specifically excluded from Ranked/Choice Voting by the courts. In short,... the current wording of the Maine Constitution prevents enactment of Ranked/Choice Voting as pertains to the election of governor.)


snip----->

Republican Party is clearing the field to help former Governor (and current Trumpist caricature) Paul LePage mount a comeback attempt against Governor Janet Mills in 2022, social media once again saw a smattering of posts with a familiar but false idea: Ranked-choice voting will make it more difficult for LePage to win this time around.

“With RCV, LePage will have a very tough time,” tweeted one commenter. “Ranked Choice voting plus Mills’ high approval will make her a tough opponent to beat,” wrote another.

These posts make some sense – both of LePage’s electoral successes came with independent Eliot Cutler also in the race. In 2010, at least, he probably wouldn’t have won if ranked-choice voting had been in effect. His plurality victories by small margins in these races were a big part of the reason behind the implementation of ranked-choice voting in Maine through a citizen-initiated referendum in 2016.

Unfortunately, RCV doesn’t apply in general elections for governor.

In May, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in a unanimous opinion that a requirement in the state’s constitution that winners in gubernatorial and legislative general elections receive a “plurality” of the vote prohibits the use of ranked-choice voting in those races.

The rest of the law was, after years of legislative wrangling and a return to the ballot box, kept in place for federal elections and legislative and gubernatorial primaries. Last year it was also expanded to the presidential election. But if Mills, LePage and a third-party candidate all face off for governor in 2022, then the winner will still be whoever wins a plurality of the vote, just as it was in 2010.
.....end snip

Attributions/source/link,...

https://mainebeacon.com/no-ranked-choice-voting-wont-stop-lepage/

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. If you're rich enough, you can skip taxes.

Roe, Roe, Roe your vote
against theocracy!
Republicans revoke your rights
and kill democracy!

THESE are the races that will determine control of the House of Representatives:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217175231

Stick 'em up for a blue wave: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217078977

[DFW]

3. I ran into LePage 8 years ago in Maine

The guy is a total boor. Bad enough to even be an embarrassment to Republicans, if that’s even possible.