LaPage Gov

oops, duplicate node<header class="padding-bottom-x4" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); line-height: 21.59375px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.2em; color: black;">Maine guv freaks out after local media report on his corrupt environment chief</h1><p class="byline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">By <a href="http://grist.org/author/claire-thompson/" title="Posts by Claire Thompson" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none;">Claire Thompson</a></header><section class="author-bio clear margin-bottom-x4" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; clear: both; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 1.5em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><section class="article-body" style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 0.95em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It’s almost surprising that Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has never run for national office. In the realm of GOP presidential aspirants, he could give Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann a run for their money when it comes to political ineptitude and pure crazy. He’s told the NAACP to “kiss my butt,” and he recently used a violent <a href="http://www.wmtw.com/news/vaseline-comment-sparks-controversy-at-maine-state-house/-/8792352/20647280/-/12malidz/-/index.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">sodomy analogy</a> to describe a state lawmaker at a public rally.But alas, we could be hearing less from LePage in the future: His spokesperson announced on Tuesday that <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/politics/LePage-spokeswoman-.html?pagenum=1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">the governor’s office will no longer communicate with three leading Maine newspapers</a>, because their parent company, MaineToday Media, “made it clear that it opposed this administration.”Evidence of this alleged opposition came in the form of a <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/special/Lobbyist_in_the_henhouse_DEP_series.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">seven-month investigation of Patricia Aho</a>, commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and a former corporate lobbyist, the results of which were published in the Portland Press Herald, theKennebec Journal, and the Morning Sentinel. The papers reported that Aho “has scuttled programs and fought against laws that were opposed by many of her former clients in the chemical, drug, oil, and real estate development industries.” The commissioner stalled a 2008 law to keep dangerous chemicals out of children’s products, weakened enforcement of real-estate and development laws, rolled back recycling programs, and oversaw a purge of information from the DEP’s website and a restriction of its employees’ ability to communicate with lawmakers, the public, and each other.Aho’s performance lines up with LePage’s well-established allegiance to corporations before citizens. Elected in a low-turnout, four-way 2010 contest with only 38 percent of the vote (a whopping 216,000 people), LePage <a href="http://grist.org/article/2011-01-27-paul-lepage-new-maine-guv-takes-aim-at-the-environment/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">started his term off with a bang</a> by issuing a list of environmental safeguards he hoped to weaken or destroy, including a phaseout of BPA in children’s products (<a href="http://grist.org/food-safety/2011-02-24-maine-governor-on-bpa-worst-case-is-that-some-women-may-have-lit/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">“the worst case is some women may have little beards,”</a> he declared of the chemical’s safety risk). He went on to <a href="http://grist.org/list/2011-12-21-maine-bans-leed-in-state-buildings-at-timber-industrys-behest/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">ban the use of LEED green-building standards for state buildings</a> to keep Maine’s timber industry happy.Cliff Schechtman, executive editor of the Portland Press Herald, said the newspaper wouldn’t be doing anything differently as a result of the governor’s new edict (aside, I assume, from not calling LePage or his spokesperson for a quote) and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/06/19/us/ap-us-maine-governor-newspapers.html?ref=news&_r=0" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">offered the Associated Press</a> a simple assessment of the situation:<blockquote style="border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 1.4em 42px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; width: auto !important;">This is about probing journalism that examines how powerful forces affect the lives of ordinary citizens. That makes the powerful uncomfortable. That’s what this is about.</blockquote>Indeed, LePage has never had what one would call a comfortable relationship with the press. Last month, he kicked reporters out of the ceremonial signing of a unanimously supported suicide-prevention bill — after complaining that the press wouldn’t want to cover the event. Even before this week’s gag order, the governor refused comment on a myriad of issues and funneled most media requests through his spokesperson, Adrienne Bennett. This is not atypical for a governor, but <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/politics/LePage-spokeswoman-.html?pagenum=1" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">as the Press Herald reports</a>, LePage’s mistrust of the media verges on the paranoid:<blockquote style="border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 1.4em 42px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; width: auto !important;">LePage has had a rocky relationship with the press since the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, storming out of a news conference amid questions about his paying property taxes in Maine.LePage also said that he would like to punch a reporter from the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, during a taped interview with the network. …In 2012, during a presentation at Waterville Junior High School, LePage told 150 eighth-graders that reading newspapers in Maine is “like paying somebody to tell you lies.”In February, during a <a href="http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/lepagereads-to-students_2013-02-01.html" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">reading with schoolchildren</a> at St. John Catholic School in Winslow, LePage said: “My greatest fear in the state of Maine: newspapers. I’m not a fan of newspapers.”</blockquote>Bennett pointed out that the MaineToday newspapers can still use the state’s Freedom of Access Act to obtain information about the administration. (The best way to do research on a deadline, as any reporter knows.)How ironic that the same camp accusing a media outlet of biased reporting has decided to make balanced newsgathering impossible by refusing to offer their point of view. It’s a back-asswards stubbornness that journalists run into frustratingly often, and that sources don’t seem to realize will backfire. When does “no comment” ever make you look good? (At a <a href="http://grist.org/climate-energy/push-to-derail-coal-export-plan-draws-strength-from-all-corners-of-cascadia/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(157, 157, 157); text-decoration: none; max-width: 100%;">public hearing on proposed coal terminals in Washington state</a>, for example, some of the few terminal supporters in attendance only talked to me after I pointed out that their refusal to be quoted would force me to write a more one-sided story.)From the AP:<blockquote style="border-width: 0px 0px 0px 1px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 1.4em 42px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; width: auto !important;">Kelly McBride, a media ethics specialist from the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism think tank, said such storms between politicians and the media tend to blow over. But in the meantime, she said, the governor’s posture will serve only to make him appear petty and to increase readership of the newspaper series.“Publishers and editors face belligerent sources all the time. As long as they continue to be loyal to their audience, rather than their sources,” she said, “it usually works out for the journalist.”</blockquote><div id="jp-post-flair" class="sharedaddy sd-like-enabled" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; max-width: 100%; clear: both; zoom: 1; border-radius: 0px !important;" /></section>chart <a href="https://twitter.com/HectorSolon/status/386893601864552449/photo/1">https://twitter.com/HectorSolon/status/386893601864552449/photo/1</a>bowen levesque lapageLETTER FROM PORTLAND How Did Mild-Mannered Maine Get America’s Craziest Governor? Paul LePage, explained. By COLIN WOODARD January 08, 20143/6/2015 Paul LePage America's Craziest Governor POLITICO Magazine http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/paullepagemainegovernorcrazy101923_full.html?print#.VPnnCvnF_Qw 2/6 http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/paul-lepage-maine-governor-crazy-101923_full.htmlWhat better way to start a governorship than to refuse to attend a Martin

Luther King, Jr. Day breakfast and, when the NAACP complains, tell

them, on camera, to “kiss my butt”?

That’s how Maine’s governor, Paul LePage, introduced himself to the nation three

years ago, and the Republican Tea Party favorite quickly followed up with a series of

intemperate remarks and questionable actions that arguably garnered him more

negative national media attention than any Maine politician since Sen. James G.

Blaine, the socalled “continental liar from the State of Maine” whose 1884

presidential run was derailed by graft and corruption charges.

LePage’s first major initiatives as governor—to roll back all state environmental

laws to weaker federal standards and stop a ban on bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine

disruptor, in baby bottles—were drafted by his special adviser, a registeredlobbyist for many of the affected industries. LePage defended the restoration of

BPA in bottles by saying, with a smirk, that the worst that could happen was that

“some women may have little beards.” Even as that effort collapsed, crowds of

protesters were on the steps of the statehouse condemning LePage’s removal of a

mural illustrating the history of Maine’s labor movement from the Department of

Labor because an anonymous letter writer had likened it to North Korean efforts to

“brainwash the masses.”

And that was just his first 100 days. LePage has since threatened to move his office

out of the statehouse (over a dispute involving a television used to promote his

policies in a public space), refused for months to allow his commissioners to testify

before legislative committees and ordered state employees not to speak to the

state’s largest newspaper chain (a move that earned national attention but went

unimplemented).

He is skeptical of wind power—and sabotaged a $120 million offshore wind

investment by Norwegian energy giant Statoil last year—perhaps in part because of a

declared belief that some turbines “have a little electric motor that turns the

blades [when the wind isn’t blowing] … so that they can show people wind power

works.” A champion of charter schools and voucher initiatives, he has advised

students: “If you want a good education, go to private schools. If you can’t afford it,

tough luck. You can go to the public school.”

As for President Barack Obama, LePage said on the campaign trail that the president

could “go to hell” and reportedly told supporters at a private fundraiser that Obama

“hates white people,” a remark LePage later apologized for, even as—in a feat of

gymnastic oratory—he declined to confirm or deny having said it.

In June, LePage denounced a Democratic state senator for always wanting to “give

it to the people without Vaseline.” He has likened the Internal Revenue Service to the

Gestapo and, when criticized for the remark, claimed the agency’s enforcement of

Obamacare would cause a slaughter comparable to the Holocaust. He told

schoolchildren that Maine’s newspapers are full of lies and joked about bombing the 
3/6/2015 Paul LePage America's Craziest Governor largest of them, the Portland Press Herald, where I work and have been covering

LePage’s antics.

LePage’s behavior has been all the more jarring because Mainers have long seen their

state as a bastion of practical, commonsense politics. It’s a place whose most revered

politicians in recent years have been consensusminded, congenitally civil U.S.

senators, like moderate Republicans Margaret Chase Smith, Bill Cohen, Olympia

Snowe and Susan Collins; independent Angus King; and centrist Democrats Edmund

Muskie and George Mitchell. Firebrands rarely win statewide office here. But from the moment he became governor three years ago, Paul LePage has turned

those assumptions upside down. (I asked to speak with him about his effect on

Maine’s political landscape, but the governor rarely grants interviews, and I didn’t

hear back from his spokesperson.) “For decades,” says state Senate president Justin

Alfond, a Democrat who often tangles with the governor, Mainers have felt “pride

that our politics weren’t like other states. Paul LePage has changed all of this.”

How a man who can make even the most hotheaded conservative talk radio

hosts seem reasonable won the governor’s mansion in our quiet, levelheaded state

goes back to another unusual facet of Maine politics: our tradition of strong thirdparty

candidates, who can split the vote and increase the risk of the election of a

candidate whose polices or personality lack wide support. Republicans are the smallest of Maine’s electoral blocks (28 percent of registered

voters) after independents (37 percent) and Democrats (32 percent). But LePage had

the luxury in 2010 of running against not just one independent but three. He won the

election with 38 percent of the vote and a 1.7 percentage point margin over

independent Eliot Cutler.

LePage campaigned on a promise to improve the economy by scaling back taxes,

welfare and regulations—and he’s accomplished much of it. In 2011, he signed a $150

million tax cut, the largest in state history, which reduced the top income tax rate and

doubled the estate tax exemption from $1 million to $2 million. Under LePage, a fiveyear

limit on welfare benefits was imposed—in order to stop Maine from being a

welfare “destination state”—and laws restricting bigbox stores and mining were3/6/2015 Paul LePage America's Craziest Governor POLITICO Magazine

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/paullepagemainegovernorcrazy101923_full.html?print#.VPnnCvnF_Qw 4/6

repealed.

Other LePage initiatives have been nonstarters, though. Maine trades on its natural

beauty, and his plan to roll back environmental regulations—including the BPA ban—

was rejected by the thenRepublicancontrolled legislature. Shortly after he signed a

bill to end sameday voting registration, it was overturned in a popular referendum

by 65 to 35 percent. More recently, LePage said he would like to lower the legal

working age from 16 to 12—a plan unlikely to get traction in the Democraticcontrolled

statehouse—and he has promised renewed pushes to reduce welfare fraud

and pass “right to work” legislation, which prohibits closed union shops.

Some of LePage’s more controversial positions are informed by his unusual life

story. The eldest of 17 children in a workingclass FrancoAmerican family, LePage

fled his tenement home in Lewiston, Maine after his father dislocated his jaw. He was

just 11 years old and lived for a time on the streets.

Eventually, LePage received helping hands from private benefactors: the neighbors

who took him in; the businessman who gave him work; another businessman—

Olympia Snowe’s future husband—who got him into Husson College, despite his poor

grades, and paid his first year’s tuition; his first fatherinlaw, who put him in control

of a family sawmill in Canada. LePage worked hard, excelling in college and at

business while some of his siblings, by his account, became welfare dependents and,

in some cases, criminals. This appears to inform his dim view of social assistance. LePage’s extreme distaste for environmental and labor regulations follows a career in

the resource extraction sector, where he worked variously as financial controller at a

large firm and as the court appointed manager of smaller firms that were in

bankruptcy. In interviews with the press, he has blamed such regulations as obstacles

to business, and on the campaign trail he embellished them, claiming (erroneously)

that the state had once required him to do a wildlife survey of black flies, a

ubiquitous nuisance in the Maine woods. “LePage seems to go out of his way to alienate people who disagree with him,” says

Sandy Maisel, chair of the government department at Colby College in Waterville,

Maine, a workingclass town of 16,000 where LePage was mayor and managed a

chain of salvage and surplus stores until moving to the governor’s mansion. “He’s “

turned off tons of people, including a lot of people who would otherwise be with him

in terms of economic policy.”

Dan Demeritt, LePage’s former communications director, agrees with that

assessment. “LePage seems like the kind of guy who will poke the establishment in

the eye, bite the hand that feeds him and refuse to carry water for anybody,” he says.

“That’s created a very stable core underneath him, but also a hard ceiling in terms of

the political support he can rally.”

* One might assume that LePage is doomed in his 2014 reelection campaign,

given that polls show him to be one of the country’s most unpopular governors—one

recent one gave him a 54 percent disapproval rating. The fact that in 2012 Maine

voters returned Democrats to power in both chambers of the state legislature

only increases the sense of foreboding in conservative circles here.

Certainly LePage himself is well aware of the big target sign he carries. Earlier this

year, he told supporters that he expects to face a barrage of “vicious” negative ads

financed by labor unions “because I am going to be the next Scott Walker in this

country, because I am challenging the status quo.” LePage’s supporters are praying that independents split the vote just as they did in

2010—and that looks like a real possibility. Eliot Cutler, the candidate who narrowly

lost to LePage last time around, is running again, as is fiveterm U.S. Rep. Michael

Michaud, a conservative Democrat who until recently drove a forklift at a northern

Maine paper mill.

LePage creates a headwind for every Republican seeking

election in Maine.”

But LePage is widely seen to have damaged the brand of the Republican Party as a

whole in the state, and conservatives are worried about the GOP’s prospects in downballot

races. “LePage creates a headwind for every Republican seeking election in

Maine,” says Demeritt. “And every one apart from him won’t have the luxury to position themselves in a threeway race.” State Republicans in the LePage era have been internally divided by an insurgency of

libertarian activists—many of whom supported LePage in 2010—who seized control

of the last two state party conventions, passing platforms demanding a “return” to

Austrian economics, the sealing of the borders, prosecution of those found colluding

in the “global warming myth” and vigilance against “efforts to create a one world

government.” The 2012 state GOP convention devolved into chaos, with the

party’s U.S. Senate candidates unable to deliver their speeches.

But some on the libertarian right have since grown disillusioned with LePage and

statelevel politics in general, says Andrew Ian Dodge, former state coordinator of the

Tea Party Patriots, who says that Maine’s Tea Party movement—which was never

terribly large to begin with, LePage’s election being essentially the group’s most

concrete achievement—has fizzled. “This could be a complete blowout for the

Republicans,” Dodge predicts.

Still, Democrats are clearly worried about Cutler’s bid, with Vermont Gov. Peter

Shumlin, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, already warning, “A vote

for Cutler is a vote for LePage.” One thing is for sure, though: If LePage’s detractors

fail to coalesce around a single candidate this November, the governor could be with

them for a whole lot longer. Colin Woodard is the author of American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival

Regional Cultures of North America. He is State & National Af airs Writer at the

Portland Press Herald, where he won a 2012 George Polk Award for hishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePagePaul Richard LePage (born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Republican Party</a> politician who has served as the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Maine" title="List of Governors of Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">74th</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_of_Maine" title="Governor of Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Governor of Maine</a> since 2011.The General Manager of the 14-store discount chain Marden's Surplus and Salvage (1996-2011), LePage served as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Council" title="City Council" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">City Councilor</a>in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterville,Maine" title="Waterville, Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Waterville</a> for two terms before serving as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor" title="Mayor" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Mayor</a> of Waterville (2003-11). He was elected Governor with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality(voting)" title="Plurality (voting)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">plurality</a> in a four-candidate race <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_gubernatorial_election,2010" title="Maine gubernatorial election, 2010" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">in 2010</a> and was re-elected with a stronger plurality in a three-candidate election <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_gubernatorial_election,2014" title="Maine gubernatorial election, 2014" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">in 2014</a>.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; font-size: 13.3000001907349px; display: table; zoom: 1; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="color: black; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; font-size: 13.3000001907349px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3; background: none;">Contents</h2>  [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Early_life_and_education" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1 Early life and education</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Business_career" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2 Business career</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Local_politics" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">3 Local politics</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Governor_of_Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4 Governor of Maine</a><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#2010_election" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.1 2010 election</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#2014_election" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.2 2014 election</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Tenure" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3 Tenure</a><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#General_notables" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.1 General notables</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Hiring_of_family_members" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.2 Hiring of family members</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#2011_MLK_Day_activities" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.3 2011 MLK Day activities</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#.22Little_Beards.22" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.4 "Little Beards"</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Renaming_conference_rooms_and_removing_murals" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.5 Renaming conference rooms and removing murals</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Criticism_of_state_employees" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.6 Criticism of state employees</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Education_reform_efforts" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.7 Education reform efforts</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#.22The_new_Gestapo.22_remark" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.8 "The new Gestapo" remark</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Jobless_benefits_work" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.9 Jobless benefits work</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Alleged_censorship_and_office_move" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.10 Alleged censorship and office move</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Vaseline_comment" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.11 Vaseline comment</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Views_on_newspapers" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.12 Views on newspapers</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#President_Obama" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.13 President Obama</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Federal_government_shutdown_response" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.14 Federal government shutdown response</a></li><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Meetings_with_a_group_alleged_to_be_connected_with_the.22Sovereign_Citizen_movement.22" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3.15 Meetings with a group alleged to be connected with the "Sovereign Citizen movement"</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Political_positions" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5 Political positions</a><ul style="line-height: 1.6; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Abortion" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.1 Abortion</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Campaign_financing" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.2 Campaign financing</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Capital_punishment" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.3 Capital punishment</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Drug_policy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.4 Drug policy</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Economy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.5 Economy</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Education" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.6 Education</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Energy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.7 Energy</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Environment" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.8 Environment</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Government_reform" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.9 Government reform</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Health_care" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.10 Health care</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#LGBT_issues" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.11 LGBT issues</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-35" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Taxes" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.12 Taxes</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-36" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Welfare_reform" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5.13 Welfare reform</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-37" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Awards_and_honors" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">6 Awards and honors</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-38" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#Personal_life" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">7 Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-39" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#References" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">8 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-40" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">9 External links</a></li></ul></div>=Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Perkins held various positions in New York State government. She had gained respect from the political leaders in the state of New York and during 1919 she was added to the Industrial Commission of the State of New York by Governor Alfred Smith.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-Kennedy.2C_Susan_E_2000-6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a> In 1929 the newly elected New York governor, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D.Roosevelt" title="Franklin D. Roosevelt" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>, appointed Perkins as the inaugural Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> Having earned the cooperation and respect of various political factions, Perkins ably helped put New York in the forefront of progressive reform. She expanded factory investigations, reduced the workweek for women to 48 hours, and championed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage" title="Minimum wage" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">minimum wage</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unemployment_insurance" title="Unemployment insurance" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">unemployment insurance</a> laws. She worked vigorously to put an end to child labor and to provide safety for women workers.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-Kennedy.2C_Susan_E_2000-6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: 'Linux Libertine', Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cabinet career<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate; font-family: sans-serif;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Cabinet career" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tleft" style="float: left; clear: left; margin: 0.5em 1.4em 1.3em 0px; width: auto; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; font-size: 13.1599998474121px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 202px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; font-size: 12.370400428772px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frances_Perkins_TIME_FC_1933.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);" /></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frances_Perkins_TIME_FC_1933.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);">Secretary of Labor Perkins on the cover of </a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time(magazine)" title="Time (magazine)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Time</a> (August 14, 1933)</div></div></div>
In 1939 she came under fire from some members of Congress for refusing to deport the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_USA" title="Communist Party USA" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">communist</a> head of the west coast <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Longshore_and_Warehouse_Union" title="International Longshore and Warehouse Union" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">International Longshore and Warehouse Union</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Bridges" title="Harry Bridges" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Harry Bridges</a>. Ultimately, however, Bridges was vindicated by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Supreme Court</a>.
As Secretary of Labor, Perkins played a key role in the cabinet by writing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal" title="New Deal" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">New Deal</a> legislation, including minimum-wage laws. Her most important contribution, however, came in 1934 as chairwoman of the President's Committee on Economic Security. In this post, she was involved in all aspects of the reports including her hand in the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps which<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-Kennedy.2C_Susan_E_2000-6" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a> ultimately resulted in the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Act" title="Social Security Act" style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px; text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Social Security Act</a> of 1935. On the day that bill was signed into law, her husband escaped from a mental institution.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-Shiff-12" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[14]</a>In 1933 Roosevelt appointed Perkins as Secretary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Labor" title="United States Department of Labor" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Department of Labor</a>, a position she held for twelve years, longer than any other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_Labor" title="United States Secretary of Labor" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Secretary of Labor</a>. She became the first woman to hold a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet(government)" title="Cabinet (government)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">cabinet</a>position in the United States and thus, became the first woman to enter the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession" title="United States presidential line of succession" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">presidential line of succession</a>. With few exceptions, President Roosevelt consistently supported the goals and programs of Secretary Perkins.<h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: 'Linux Libertine', Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Later life<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate; font-family: sans-serif;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Later life" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Following her tenure as Secretary of Labor, in 1945 Perkins was asked by President <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Truman" title="Harry Truman" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Harry Truman</a> to serve on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Civil_Service_Commission" title="United States Civil Service Commission" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United States Civil Service Commission</a>, which she did until 1952, when her husband died and she resigned from federal service. During this period, she also published a memoir of her time in FDR's administration called The Roosevelt I Knew, which offered a sympathetic view of the president.Following her government service career, Perkins remained active as a teacher and lecturer at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University_School_of_Industrial_and_Labor_Relations" title="Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations</a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University" title="Cornell University" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cornell University</a> until her death in 1965 at age 85. She is buried in the Glidden Cemetery in Newcastle, Maine.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: 'Linux Libertine', Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Legacy<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate; font-family: sans-serif;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Legacy" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; font-size: 13.1599998474121px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 202px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);">
<div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; font-size: 12.370400428772px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Dept_of_Labor.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);" /></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Dept_of_Labor.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);">The </a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins_Building" title="Frances Perkins Building" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Frances Perkins Building</a> is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Washington, D.C.</a> headquarters of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Labor" title="United States Department of Labor" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United States Department of Labor</a> and is located at 200 Constitution Avenue NW and runs alongside <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_395(District_of_Columbia%E2%80%93Virginia)" title="Interstate 395 (District of Columbia–Virginia)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Interstate 395</a></div></div></div><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; color: rgb(37, 37, 37); font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; font-size: 13.1599998474121px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 122px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; font-size: 12.370400428772px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,D.C." title="Washington, D.C." style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">ington, D.C.</a></div></div></div>Perkins would have been famous simply by being the first woman cabinet member, but her legacy stems from her accomplishments. She was largely responsible for the U.S. adoption of social security, unemployment insurance, federal laws regulating child labor, and adoption of the federal minimum wage.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_of_saints(Episcopal_Church_in_the_United_States_of_America)" title="Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church</a> honors Perkins with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_day" title="Feast day" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">feast day</a> on May 13. She was the winner of the "Golden Halo" in Lent Madness 2013,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[17]</a> an educational tool hosted by Forward Movement Publications featuring the saints of the calendar of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopal_Church(United_States)" title="Episcopal Church (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Episcopal Church</a>.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Character in Historical Context<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Character in Historical Context" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>As the first female member of the presidential cabinet, Perkins had an unenviable challenge: she had to be as capable, as fearless, as tactful, as politically astute as the other Washington politicians, in order to make it possible for other women to be accepted into the halls of power after her.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a>Perkins had a cool personality, which held her aloof from the crowd. Although on one occasion she engaged in some heated name-calling with Alfred P. Sloan, the chairman of the board at General Motors. During a punishing United Auto Workers strike, she called him up in the middle of the night, and called him a scoundrel and a skunk for not giving in to the union's demands. "You don't deserve to be counted among decent men. You'll go to hell when you die." Sloan's late-night response was one of irate indignation.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>Her results indicate her great love of workers and lower-class groups, but her Boston upbringing held her back from mingling freely and exhibiting personal affection. She was well-suited for the high-level efforts to effect sweeping reforms, but never caught the public's eye or its affection.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[20]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Memorials and Monuments<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Memorials and Monuments" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins_Building" title="Frances Perkins Building" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Frances Perkins Building</a> that is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. was named in her honor in 1980.<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://francesperkinscenter.org/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 51, 102); padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E) 100% 50%;">The Frances Perkins Center</a> is a nonprofit organization located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damariscotta,Maine" title="Damariscotta, Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Damariscotta, Maine</a>. Its mission is to fulfill the legacy of Frances Perkins through educating visitors on her work and programs, and preserving the Perkins family homestead for future generations. The Center regularly hosts events and exhibitions for the public.Perkins remains a prominent alumna of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Holyoke_College" title="Mount Holyoke College" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Mount Holyoke College</a>, whose Frances Perkins Program allows "women of non-traditional age" (i.e., age 24 or older) to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree. There are approximately 140 Frances Perkins scholars each year.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[21]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Perkins and the Maine Department of Labor mural<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; font-size: small; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frances_Perkins&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Perkins and the Maine Department of Labor mural" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mural" title="Mural" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">mural</a> depicting Perkins was displayed in the Maine Department of Labor headquarters,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a> the native state of both of her parents. On March 23, 2011, Maine's Republican governor, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_LePage" title="Paul LePage" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Paul LePage</a>, ordered the mural removed. A spokesperson for the governor said they received complaints about the mural from state business officials and from an anonymous fax charging that it was reminiscent of “communist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">North Korea</a> where they use these murals to brainwash the masses”.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-mural-23" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[23]</a> LePage also ordered that the names of seven conference rooms in the state department of labor be changed, including one named after Perkins.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-mural-23" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[23]</a> A lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court seeking "to confirm the mural's current location, ensure that the artwork is adequately preserved, and ultimately to restore it to the Department of Labor's lobby in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta,Maine" title="Augusta, Maine" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Augusta</a>".<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[24]</a> As of January 2013, the mural resides at Maine State Museum, Maine State Library and Maine State Archives entrance.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Perkins#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[25]</a>
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