I am stunned by the recent accusations of our governor that his own middle managers are corrupt and beyond his control.
Paul LePage made these accusations without providing a shred of evidence to support them.
Who are these corrupt employees, and just how are they corrupt? Instead of wringing his hands and whining about how he cannot do anything, he can investigate these employees, and, if such charges are substantiated, terminate them.
My guess is that the governor has no such evidence. He would rather blame the bureaucracy than provide the leadership that supports and encourages the best from each employee.
LePage speaks about the “bureaucracy” being in the way of his creating a new culture in state government. What kind of culture does he want to create?
Does he want to model this new work culture on the values of the private sector with managers prepared to do anything for profit? Remember Enron, Goldman Sachs and the infamous Bernie Madoff?
Government is not a business, and it cannot be run like a business. Government is not about profit; government is about service.
Contrary to the governor’s belief, our state government is filled with talented and dedicated public servants who did not go to work at the state for the money, status or appreciation for the myriad public services they provide for the citizens of Maine.
In fact, their own boss believed he had the right to publicly humiliate them.
Many of our state employees are committed to performing their jobs well in spite of the intimidation, ridicule and bullying that is LePage’s style of leadership, as he works to create his “new culture” of state government.
Gail Mackinson
Palermo
Send questions/comments to the editors.
