Governor of Maine
Encyclopedia
The governor of Maine is the chief executive
of the State of Maine
. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts
and the governor of Massachusetts
was chief executive.
The current governor of Maine is Paul LePage
, a Republican
.
, which provides in Article V, Part 1 that:
.
.
is the official governor’s mansion. It became the official residence in 1919, and is named after James G. Blaine
. It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1964, and it was built by Captain James Hall in 1833. The home is located directly across the street from the Maine State House
.
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
of the State of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and the governor of Massachusetts
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
was chief executive.
The current governor of Maine is Paul LePage
Paul LePage
Paul Richard LePage is an American businessman and politician who is serving as the 74th and current Governor of Maine. A Republican, he was previously mayor of Waterville from 2003 to 2011, and was a city councilor before that...
, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Eligibility
The office of the governor is established in the Maine ConstitutionMaine Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Maine established the "State of Maine" in 1820 and is the fundamental governing document of the state. It consists of a Preamble and ten Articles , the first of which is a "Declaration of Rights"....
, which provides in Article V, Part 1 that:
- At the beginning of the governor's term the governor must be at least 30 years of age; a citizen of the United StatesCitizenship in the United StatesCitizenship in the United States is a status given to individuals that entails specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between the United States and the individual...
for at least 15 years; a Maine resident for at least five years, and a resident of Maine at the time of election and during the term for which elected (Section 4). - No person holding any other office under the United States, Maine, or any other power, shall become governor (Section 5).
- The governor shall receive a compensationRemunerationRemuneration is the total compensation that an employee receives in exchange for the service they perform for their employer. Typically, this consists of monetary rewards, also referred to as wage or salary...
which cannot be increased or decreased while that governor is in office (Section 6).
Elections and terms of office
- The governor is elected directly and has a term of officeTerm of officeTerm of office or term in office refers to the length of time a person serves in a particular office.-Prime Minister:In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister has no term limits...
of four years. There is a term limitTerm limitA term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
of two consecutive elected four-year terms (Section 2). There is not, however, a limit on the number of total terms a governor may serve. - The gubernatorial election is conducted in the same manner prescribed for members of the Maine LegislatureMaine LegislatureThe Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate...
. The Secretary of State of MaineSecretary of State of MaineThe Secretary of State of Maine is elected by the Legislature in that U.S. state. The Maine Secretary of State is responsible for administering elections, the Maine State Archives, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, and for chartering corporations. The Secretary of State is elected to no more than two...
receives votes and delivers the lists (and the ballots if the Legislature so elects) to the Maine House of RepresentativesMaine House of RepresentativesThe Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state. Each voting member of the House represents around 8,450 citizens of the state...
and SenateMaine SenateThe Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than...
. The Legislature determine the number of votes duly cast for governor, and declares the plurality of all of the votes returned. If there is no plurality and there is a tie between the two persons having the largest number of votes for governor, the House of Representatives and the Senate meet in joint sessionJoint sessionA joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally-separate decision-making groups meet together, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose....
and elect one of the two persons governor (Section 3).
Executive Powers
- The governor acts as commander-in-chiefCommander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of "the army and navy of the State, and of the militia" (the Maine National GuardMaine National GuardThe Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management is a government agency of Maine. It comprises the two components of the Maine National Guard, the Maine Army National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard, the Bureau of Veterans' Affairs, and the Maine Emergency Management...
), "except when the same are called into the actual service of the United States" (Section 7). - The governor has the power to appoint officers, to appoint all judicial officers subject to confirmationAdvice and consentAdvice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
except probateProbateProbate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
judges and justices of the peace if their manner of selection is otherwise provided for by the constitution or by law, and to appoint and all other civil and military officers whose appointment is not by this constitution, or otherwise provided for by law (Section 8). - The Governor will have power to grant reprievesPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
, commutationsCommutation of sentenceCommutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
and pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
s, except in cases of impeachmentImpeachment in the United StatesImpeachment in the United States is an expressed power of the legislature that allows for formal charges against a civil officer of government for crimes committed in office...
. The power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons also includes juvenile offenses (Section 11).
Cabinet
The Governor oversees the executive branch, which includes Maine's state agencies. His cabinet is often considered to be the state's commissioners, which are generally nominated by the governor but legally chosen by the Maine LegislatureMaine Legislature
The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate...
.
Current Cabinet
As of September 2011, the current cabinet is:| The LePage Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive.... |
Paul LePage | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Administrative & Financial Services | H. Sawin Millett Jr. | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture | Walter E. Whitcomb | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Conservation | William Beardsley William Beardsley William Beardsley was one of the first settlers of Stratford, Connecticut .-Biography:He was born 1605 in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire; England in 1631 he married Mary Harvie in St... |
2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Corrections | Joseph Ponte | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management | John W. "Bill" Libby | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development | Philip Congdon | 2011 |
| George Gervais | 2011 Current | |
| Commissioner of the Department of Education | Stephen Bowen | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection | Darryl Brown | 2011 |
| Patricia Aho (acting) | 2011 Current | |
| Commissioner of the Department of Health & Human Services | Mary Mayhew | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife | Chandler Woodcock | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources | Norm Olsen | 2011 |
| Patrick C. Keliher | 2011 Current | |
| Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety | John Morris | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Transportation | David Bernhardt | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Labor | Robert J. Winglass | 2011 Current |
| Commissioner of the Department of Professional & Financial Regulation | Anne Head | 2011 Current |
| Director of the State Planning Office | Darryl Brown | 2011 Current |
Succession
Maine is one of seven states that does not have an office of lieutenant governor. Under current law, if there is a vacancy in the office of governor, the president of the Maine Senate becomes governor. The current Senate president is Republican Kevin RayeKevin Raye
Kevin L. Raye is an American politician. Raye is a Republican member of the Maine Senate, representing the 29th district in northeastern Washington County...
.
Official Residence
The Blaine House in AugustaAugusta, Maine
Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
is the official governor’s mansion. It became the official residence in 1919, and is named after James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
. It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1964, and it was built by Captain James Hall in 1833. The home is located directly across the street from the Maine State House
Maine State House
The Maine State House in Augusta, Maine is the state capitol of the State of Maine. The building was completed in 1832, one year after Augusta became the capital of Maine...
.