True confession: If it is between you and my buddies that I coached with in kindergarten soccer, you lose. I have a bond with the other adult males (and one female) who toiled away amid the crazy, screaming 5-year-olds. There are any number of ways that my loyalty to them over you – and over what is right versus wrong – could manifest itself.

What does this have to do with anything?

We just learned this is how Gov. LePage operates.

We now have a big issue in the election (which I predict , unfortunately, will not hit home with voters, either because it has been raised too late, or will be too hard to understand).

The issue concerns Great Northern Paper in East Millinocket. The Governor got taken for a ride. He asked us to trust some clowns from Wall Street – just like in similar circumstances I might ask you to “trust” my fellow kindergarten soccer coaches – and give them free soccer balls, equipment, fields, and water bottles, etc.

If you ran your private business exercising the type of judgment the Governor exercised with Great Northern, you would be bankrupt in 90 days.

Gov. LePage is a Republican. Traditionally, Republicans like businesses. Fine.

Great Northern Paper Co. is a Millinocket business with a century of great service to the state, cutting trees down, turning them into paper products, and employing hundreds of people. You drive by it when you go to Mt. Katahdin.

The Internet Age killed the paper business. You know why.

The governor – to his credit – wanted to save the mill. Admirable.

But he wanted to save it with your money and mine. No thanks, Bubba.

Gov. LePage was prepared to – as my late mother would say – “throw good money after bad.”

A Wall Street company called Cate Street Capital came forward. They wanted tax breaks and special treatment. There were no other bidders. Despite this, the governor said OK to everything.

The governor was dealing with his buddies, the business community. That colored his judgment and put his guard down. I’d have done the same with kindergarten soccer coaches if they wanted money to start a rec program. Go get ’em, boys!

Here are the ugly facts that Gov. LePage’s opponents this month should hammer him on:

• He okayed $l5.6 million in so-called New Market tax credits to a company with $50 million debt collectively to 100-plus creditors;

• The Wall Street crowd went out and got “investors (a.k.a. suckers). “ You thought investors took risks, right? Wrong. The investors get paid back via these tax credits – even if they never pay a penny in income taxes!

• The governor also OK’d state property tax rebates under the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program. More lost revenue. By the way, the company ended up never paying property taxes;

• There is no chance the Governor could have vetted Cate Street Capital. Did it have enough money to come in, run this gigantic business, take on mammoth debt, and pull off a turnaround – with millions of dollars of our taxpayer dollars involved? No way.

If there are debates in this election, the governor’s opponents should say to him: “Mr. LePage, can you explain to us now, in detail, why you think you exercised good judgment when you gave this Wall Street company $l5 million or more in tax breaks – and the right to have a lawn sale of equipment if the thing finally went down the toilet?”

Then sit back and watch as the Governor says, “Abba-dabba-dabba-dabba,” or similar phrasing borrowed from The Three Stooges.

We all try to help our buddies.

Most of us aren’t governor, though. Most of us are kindergarten soccer coaches.

Dan Warren is a Scarborough lawyer. He can be reached through private Facebook message at the Jones & Warren page, or by email at jonesandwarren@gmail.com.