First, I want to publicly condemn, in the strongest possible way, Gov. Paul LePage’s vitriolic message he left on state Rep. Drew Gattine’s answering machine several weeks ago. There is absolutely no excuse for any elected official to use such language, even in the heat of debate or policy differences. I know Rep. Gattine and while we may not always agree on policy matters, I have always found him to be a gentleman. I am glad that the governor did personally apologize for his actions toward Rep. Gattine.

I also reject the governor’s use of race and ethnicity regarding drug dealers. It matters not the color of their skin, their ethnic background or where they live, all drug dealers need to be dealt with through aggressive law enforcement, period.

Now comes the question of what can the Legislature do about the governor’s actions? That has been the political football being tossed around the State House for the past two weeks.

First, the Legislature cannot censure the Governor. We can only, constitutionally, censure our own members. Since the governor is in the executive branch, we have no power or authority over him or his actions. He does not work for us or answer to us. He answers to the citizens of Maine.

We could take up impeachment, which requires that the governor has committed a high crime or misdemeanor. In discussions with individuals within the legal realm, it was their opinion that the governor’s actions, although showing poor judgment, do not rise to the level needed for impeachment proceedings.

Many have suggested that they believe the governor is no longer fit to serve due to mental incapacity or some other issues. If that were to be pursued, by anyone, it would be the Secretary of State through the Maine Supreme Court, where any action would or could take place. Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, a registered Democrat, has determined that the governor’s actions, although wrong, do not warrant invoking this constitutional measure. This is not a legislative option.

The Legislature could pass a joint resolution condemning the governor’s words and actions. It would carry no legal consequence but would let the governor know we object to his actions and his words. That’s something I would have considered had we been asked. This would require a special session of the Legislature, which had been discussed. Unfortunately, the speaker of the House issued his own proposal without the consent of the president of the Senate. And therein lies the problem.

The decision not to vote on the pending question from the speaker of whether or not to seek a special session of the Legislature to deal with the Governor was difficult for me, but it ultimately came down to the legality and constitutionality of the proposed question.

I sent the following email to Speaker Eves explaining my concerns: “Throughout the past five days I have sought legal advice as to the question you have posed. Both opinions have stated that the only constitutional provision for calling a special session is for the speaker of the House and the Senate president to call for a special session, jointly.

Since it is my understanding that the Senate president has not agreed with your unilateral call, then I’m afraid your question is unconstitutional as posed according to the legal opinions I have sought. I therefore cannot respond until such time as a joint question is posed by the leaders of both bodies that meets the constitutional requirements. I would urge you and the Senate president to work together to determine if in fact a proposal can be issued such that we can vote on something that meets the constitutional provisions provided for such events.

I would be happy to consider such a proposal.”

When I took office as a state representative I swore my oath to protect and defend the constitution of the State of Maine. I just could not break that pledge by responding to the question posed to us that did not meet the constitutional standards for such action. There will be those that will disagree with me and that is OK, I understand. In the end, I need to be assured that the issues I vote on or the questions I’m asked to weigh in on, at the legislative level, meet the constitutional requirements that I swore to uphold. Unfortunately, the question posed to us did not.

There is talk of proposing a constitutional amendment that would provide for a citizen’s recall of an elected state official. I will be interested in looking at this proposal and how it is structured. It may be the ultimate answer to the questions being asked.

— State Rep. Bob Foley, R-Wells, represents House District 7, which includes part of Wells.