More than 3,000 spectators are expected to gather Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center to watch Gov. Paul LePage take the oath of office and listen as he outlines his objectives for a second term.

Although much of the pomp and circumstance of LePage’s second inauguration will be the same as his first in January 2011, there are notable political differences as Maine’s blunt-talking Republican governor officially begins his second four-year term in the Blaine House.

LePage will have to work with a divided Legislature – with Republicans controlling the Senate and Democrats holding the House – rather than the Republican majorities he enjoyed in both chambers during the initial two years of his first term. But the governor enters office with what he and supporters regard as a voter mandate after winning re-election with more than 48 percent of the vote despite two well-funded and well-known competitors. Maine’s economy and unemployment rate are also significantly better than in 2011.

Brent Littlefield, LePage’s senior policy adviser, said the governor will lay out how he hopes to move Maine forward.

“The governor is going to talk in broad terms … about jobs, the economy and what we need to do to make sure the economy in Maine continues to move in the right direction,” said Littlefield, co-director of the LePage Inaugural 2015 committee, which is organizing the inauguration and Wednesday evening’s party. Littlefield said the LePage administration also will focus on what the most successful states have done as the governor seeks to “replicate the best” rather than reinvent the wheel.

Tickets are required to attend the two events and are no longer being distributed. Attendees must have registered for the events and received an electronic ticket, or e-ticket, that will be presented to security before they are allowed to enter.

The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Augusta Civic Center. The Downeast Brass band will play as individuals make their way to their seats before the ceremony, and will be followed by the 195th Maine Army National Guard Band as program participants and invited guests enter the auditorium. Because Maine’s governor is sworn in during an official meeting of the Legislature, House and Senate members will file into the auditorium before convening.

In a twist on tradition, first lady Ann LePage will deliver a speech in which she is expected to honor Maine’s veterans, a theme of Wednesday’s ceremony. Senate President Mike Thibodeau, a Winterport Republican and close ally of the governor, will administer the oath of office. LePage will then deliver his inaugural speech.

In 2011, LePage had a pre-ceremony coffee and tea at the Blaine House with four of his gubernatorial predecessors: Democrats John Baldacci and Joseph Brennan, Republican John McKernan and independent Angus King. McKernan, who is married to former Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, is the only former governor expected to attend this year’s inauguration.

In the evening, an estimated 2,600 people are expected to attend the inaugural party at the civic center. LePage opted for a “party” rather than a black-tie inaugural ball, and he specifically requested a performance by the Moon Dawgs, a 1960s band that originated in LePage’s hometown of Lewiston.

The LePage administration has said the inauguration and party are being paid for with private funds raised through the nonprofit LePage Inaugural 2015 committee.

For complete coverage of Wednesday’s inauguration – including a live video stream of the ceremony – go to www.pressherald.com.

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