so...what has he, like, ever done, besides signing off on gay marriage?
Good question, and one of the reasons I started the thread. I don't know much about him either and I hoped other posters would. What I know is...
*Both times, he has been elected with under 50% of the vote. The second time around, this was due to active third and even fourth party candidates in Maine.
*He was an uncontroversial Congressman when he represented Maine's 2nd district.
*As governor, he raised state fees and cut spending to reduce an inherited deficit of just over one billion dollars.
*His position on gay marriage, which you referred to already.
*Perhaps his most controversial position within the state of Maine is a proposal to dramatically cut the number of local school districts and to require local governments to work with neighboring governments in addressing common problems. Of course, he would say this is aimed at reducing bureaucracy and cutting costs. Detractors would opine that such ideas lead to a reduction in a sense of local autonomy and a greater role for centralized governments. (As opposed to 12 volunteer fire departments across a couple of counties...there would be only one large department. Things like that.)
I know little else but hope for input from any Baldacci fans and critics. At least once, I have heard someone refer to him as "corruption-plagued". But I have not been able to find anything about scandal tainting his administration. That doesn't mean there isn't any...it just means my search was quite brief.
Poll
