Issue

Eliot Cutler (I) Mike Michaud (D) Paul LePage (R)

Eliot is socially progressive, scally
conservative and independent, just like
Maine. Eliot doesnt have a party, an
ideology or ties to special interests.
Eliot is unbought, unbossed and ready
to solve Maines problems with new
ideas, not the same old politics.
Michaud has taken an average of
$1,000/day in special interest PAC
money every day for his 12 years in
Congress from Big Tobacco, the NRA,
National Right to Life, Monsanto and
other special interests. Michaud is tied
to an ideology that failed to solve
Maines problems.
LePage is ideologically aligned with the
most conservative elements of his
party. His difcult temperament and
strict adherence to the Tea Party
ideology has prevented him from
working with members of either party
in the legislature to solve Maines
problems.
Eliot has started eight successful
businesses, opened new markets for
Maine products, created jobs for Maine
people and managed complex
organizations with billion-dollar
budgets. Read Eliots book A State of
Opportunity, to learn more about his
plan to create jobs and opportunity for
Maine people.
Michaud has broken his promise to
Maine people by failing to create jobs
or bring economic development to our
state. Maines economy has declined
every year that he has served in
Congress. Michaud has never started,
built or managed an enterprise, nor has
he managed large budgets.
LePage has presided over the slowest
growing economy in New England.
Maine ranks third in GDP growth and
has only recovered 58% of jobs lost
since the Great Recession, while New
England has recovered 124% of jobs.
Maine is falling further behind under
LePage.
Eliot has a plan to cut property taxes by
20-40% for Maine homeowners, and a
way to pay for it. Eliots commitment to
comprehensive tax reform starts with
property tax relief.
Michaud opposes Eliots property tax
relief plan and has failed to put forward
his own tax reform proposal.
LePage cut income taxes for wealthy
Mainers and paid for it by sharply
reducing state aid to towns and cities,
resulting in increased property taxes.
Eliot supports universal access to
preventive health care for all Mainers
and wants to reward providers for
better performance, not more
procedures. As governor, one of Eliots
rst priorities would be legislation to
insure 70,000 uninsured Mainers and
create our own health exchange.
Michaud voted for the Affordable Care
Act as a Member of Congress. Now
Michaud says he has concerns about
the law, but he has offered no
legislation to x problems within the
law.
LePage rejected $150 million in federal
money and refused to set-up a Maine-
based health exchange under the
Affordable Care Act. LePage paid down
the states hospital debt by reselling its
liquor contract, a temporary x that
now has Maine back in the red. LePage
has no long-term plan to manage the
hospital debt.
Eliot has a plan to provide quality
education for all children regardless of
zip code or family income. Eliot has
proposed to expand early childhood
education, improve student
performance and reward effective
educators. Eliot has identied a way to
pay for his education proposals.
Michaud supports taking away
education policy decisions from elected
school boards and making them subject
to collective bargaining with teachers
unions. Michaud has failed to tell voters
how he intends to pay for any of his
education proposals.
LePage has implemented a system of
letter grades for schools. Not
surprisingly, schools with the poorest
grades struggle with the highest rates
of poverty.
Eliot has a 21-point plan to rebuild our
roads and bridges and to expand
broadband and cellular service. He
wants to reduce waste in state
infrastructure projects with smarter
approaches like a dig once policy for
transportation and communications
improvements.
Michaud has failed to produce a plan to
x our roads and bridges.
LePage has failed to take advantage of
the lowest interest rates in modern
history to x our infrastructure. LePage
has failed to release bonds approved by
voters.
Issue
AUTHORIZED BY THE CANDIDATE AND PAID FOR BY CUTLER FOR MAINE
2014 Gubernatorial Candidate Comparison
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Eliot helped Senator Ed Muskie write
the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
Eliot founded and built the second
largest environmental and land use law
rm in the world. Eliot understands a
prosperous economy depends on the
vigorous protection of our air and
water quality, coastal resources and
wildlife habitats.
Michaud received an abysmal 55%
score on environmental issues during
his 20 years in the State Legislature.
Michaud advocated for damming the
Penobscot River and he voted against
Right to Know legislation, against
energy efciency standards, against
wetlands protection and against GMO
labeling.
LePage put an oil industry lobbyist in
charge of Maines Department of
Environmental Protection and vetoed a
bill giving Maine people the Right to
Know if toxic chemicals are present in
childrens food and beverage
containers.
Eliot has a comprehensive energy plan
to increase efciency and lower energy
costs by investing in alternatives like
natural gas and renewables.
Michaud has proposed a new
government program to expand solar
energy, but refuses to tell voters how
he would pay for it.
LePage drove away a $2.5 billion
investment in offshore wind by one of
the worlds largest energy companies.
Eliot supports strong labeling laws and
believes that Maine consumers have a
Right to Know whether the food they
consume contains GMOs or articial
hormones.
Michaud took thousands of dollars in
contributions from Monsanto and
voted for a Monsanto-backed bill that
would have overturned Maines food
labeling laws.
LePage has vetoed bills to protect
consumers, such as the phase out of
toxic chemicals in childrens toys and to
require BPA warnings on childrens
food packaging.
Eliot has a plan to cut red tape, reduce
property taxes and bring down energy
costs. Eliot supports the reforms that
have made Maines system of workers
compensation less litigious, less costly
and more predictable, and he will veto
any attempt to reverse those hard-won
victories.
Michaud received a 0% rating from the
Chamber of Commerce on his workers
compensation votes in the state
legislature. Michaud sponsored failed
legislation that would have cost
businesses over $30 million annually in
workers compensation premium
increases.
LePage has offered no substantive
proposals to lower the cost of doing
business in Maine, only publicity stunts
and highly publicized red tape audits.
Eliot has a plan to develop a permanent,
iconic, umbrella Maine brand, and a
way to pay for it.
Michaud has no comprehensive plan for
building the Maine brand.
LePage has damaged the Maine brand
with his repeated outbursts and
ideologically driven policies.
Eliot has a plan to move people from
welfare to work. Eliots plan reduces
fraud, xes the cliff effect, provides
incentives for job training and requires
former welfare recipients to pay back a
small percentage of their income to
invest in education and childcare.
Michaud has proposed creating a costly
new bureaucracy, the Ofce of
Inspector General, to audit DHHS for
welfare fraud at a cost of $578,000 to
taxpayers.
LePage has failed to x the problems
with Maine's welfare system. Instead,
he has scapegoated the poor and used
this issue to drive a wedge between
Maine people.
Eliot is the only candidate for governor
who has always been unequivocally
pro-choice, regardless of ability to pay.
Eliot has testied in support of buffer
zones around health clinics that offer
abortion services.
Michaud has voted against codifying
Roe v. Wade, against including abortion
coverage in the Affordable Care Act
and to prevent MaineCare recipients
and women in the military from
accessing abortion services.
LePage has consistently opposed a
womans right to choose.
Eliot supports the 2nd Amendment and
Maines strong tradition of responsible
gun ownership, but he is the only
candidate for governor who supports
legislation requiring universal
background checks on the sale and
transfer of rearms.
Michaud has taken $27,900 in
contributions and has boasted his A
lifetime rating from the NRA. Michaud
is the only member of Maines
delegation who has failed to co-sponsor
or vote in favor of universal background
checks. Michaud had openly touted his
support from the NRA until he decided
to run for governor.
LePage is opposed to any gun safety
legislation and has an A rating from
the NRA.
Eliot Cutler (I) Mike Michaud (D) Paul LePage (R)
Issue
AUTHORIZED BY THE CANDIDATE AND PAID FOR BY CUTLER FOR MAINE
Learn more: eliotcutler.com/issues
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