Tag Archives: Tom Saviello

Republican state senator to co-host fundraiser for Democrat Janet Mills

Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, said Tuesday that he has not decided who he will endorse for governor in the 2018 election, but for now he’s helping raise campaign cash for Janet Mills, who is running as a Democrat. Saviello, who has been friends with Mills for more than 20 years, confirmed rumors that he and […]

Why no one is happy even though the Legislature is finally leaving Augusta

Good morning from Augusta, where the 128th Legislature finally wrapped up its first session Wednesday with far less camaraderie and good will than on the day it opened nine months ago. Here’s a recap: Gov. Paul LePage won more than he lost on veto day, but he wasn’t satisfied after lawmakers bucked him to raise […]

Maine Democrats make their own state government shutdown threat

With less than a month left before statutory adjournment, Democrats have threatened to shut down government if state funding for schools doesn’t reach 55 percent. Fifty-two Democratic and two independent House members, along with four Democratic senators, have signed a pact to oppose any budget bill that doesn’t have “a progressive and sustainable funding source […]

Poll: LePage as popular as ever; King eclipses Collins

Good morning from Augusta, where Maine’s political pecking order was illuminated on Tuesday with the first nationwide popularity polls for governors and senators since the 2016 election. A new round of polling from Morning Consult found that Gov. Paul LePage is carrying a 48 percent approval rating and that Angus King is now the fifth […]

King still undecided on Gorsuch, but says filibuster not ‘out of line’

Good morning from Augusta, where we’ll have a busy week as action in the Maine Legislature ramps up and be looking to Washington, D.C., where Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, is expected to get a Senate vote this week. The Mainer to watch is independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, who hasn’t […]

GOP opposition, Constitution makes legislative action against LePage unlikely

Legislative leaders are meeting on Thursday to discuss reconvening the House and Senate to address Gov. Paul LePage’s latest controversy, but Republican opposition and the Maine Constitution place high hurdles ahead of the prospect of even returning to Augusta. It’s the eighth day of fallout from the Republican governor’s remarks on black and Hispanic drug dealers and subsequent profane voicemail to Rep. Drew […]

Can Maine GOP keep special election winning streak alive?

Good morning from Augusta. The Legislature has plenty to do here, with 280 bills left to act on and just three weeks left in the scheduled session. But on Tuesday, many will have their attention on York County, where a special election will decide who will be the 35th member of the Maine Senate representing Biddeford, Kennebunkport, […]

Medicaid expansion on Maine Legislature’s docket for 2016

Two Republican state senators will again push for Medicaid expansion in the 2016 legislative session, couching it as a way to fight drug addiction in Maine, according to the Portland Press Herald. It’s moving forward under a bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Saviello of Wilton that will be carried over from this year. It’s also backed by Sen. Roger […]

LePage: Rich Mainers likely ‘excited as hell’ over conservation funding

Gov. Paul LePage said last week that he’ll release $5 million in conservation bonds that he has been holding up, but he’s not terribly happy about it. In LePage’s weekly radio appearance on a WVOM talk show, host George Hale said a project that received a share of conservation money that the Republican governor released in October is […]

Maine poll: Wide support for welfare reform, less certainty on taxes

A recent poll shows wide support for changes to Maine’s welfare system, but respondents would rather see property taxes go down than get an income tax cut. It bodes well for the part of the Maine Republican Party’s proposed 2016 referendum to reform welfare in Maine. But there’s less certainty about the other half of that plan — to roll back the state income […]