Gov. Baldacci looks back on his first term

Editor’s Note: This is the first story in a two-part series based on an interview last week with Gov. John Baldacci.

AUGUSTA – From high approval ratings just after he was elected to the lowest approval numbers of any recent Maine governor, John Baldacci’s first term has been a roller coaster both politically and personally.

“There are those moments you remember where you made a difference. Those are the best times I remember looking back on these four years,” Baldacci said in an interview last week. “Watching those workers go back to work in Lincoln, watching the tears in their eyes as they went back to work, watching that transpire, that was personally the most gratifying. Knowing I had made a difference.”

The governor sent state troopers to block removal of plant assets at the Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. plant until a deal was worked out for the plant to be bought. He said the company has been a big success with the new owners investing in the first new papermaking machine in Maine in years and securing several new contracts.

Baldacci said that when the federal base closing commission voted to keep Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery open and to expand the Defense Department accounting facility in Limestone, they were not just highpoints for him personally, but were also important to the state. He said it was an example where the state’s leaders, in the Legislature and in the congressional delegation, put aside partisan differences and worked for the state.

“It was just a great moment,” he said. “I wish there had been more like that.”

He said the state faced serious budget problems when he took office with the gap between expected revenues and projected expenses in excess of a billion dollars. He said keeping his campaign pledge of balancing the budget with no major tax increases was a major policy achievement that he will remember, although he realizes to the public he was just doing what he promised to do.

“There were no tax increases. There were fee increases, but they were less than one-half of 1 percent, and I talked about that up front in my budget address,” he said.

He said that first bipartisan two-year budget was also a highpoint of his first term with the parties working together to pass a budget. He acknowledged there were a lot of skeptics that first year.

“There were a lot of writers that wrote articles that it was pie in the sky and it was not going to happen,” he said. “But we got it done.”

He said the budget provided needed investments in the state’s economy and maintained the safety net for the poor and disabled, although he said he would have liked to do more in both areas. His original budget proposals generated strong opposition for efforts to reduce Medicaid costs with public hearings at the Augusta Civic Center drawing hundreds of the poor and disabled, many in wheelchairs.

“We had to live with our means,” he said. “And we did. We and the Legislature worked hard on this, made changes that saved money but still protected people.”

He said the passage of the still controversial Dirigo program was an important accomplishment of his first term. He said many of the provisions of the Dirigo Health Plan go beyond the health insurance portion that is still undergoing changes.

“There are the quality forums and the cost controls,” he said. “There is the focus on preventative programs.”

Baldacci said investing both cash and bond funds in research and development was a major accomplishment, but only an installment in what is needed to make Maine’s economy grow.

“The development of the Pine Tree Zones as part of our economic development strategy was and is important to our future,” he said.

Baldacci said that among the worst times during his first term as governor was the accident he had on the way to a speaking engagement in Portland. The SUV driven by a member of his state police security detail hit a patch of ice, and the vehicle rolled over down an embankment. Baldacci was injured, including a bruised rib that plagued him for weeks.

“It is the first time I read newspapers that looked like I had already passed,” he joked. “They were already working on succession.”

Baldacci said that while the accident was a difficult time, the worst time during his first term was when his brother Paul died unexpectedly. He said it was personally a hard time for him.

“He was really a rock for me,” he said. “He was my kind-of Jim Carville. He knew what was going on and was a wonderful person and a wonderful brother.”

James Carville was a key political adviser to President Clinton. He was known for his blunt advice to the president when he thought Clinton was doing something that was dumb or when he thought the president was losing touch with the average voter who had elected him.

Paul Baldacci was the day-to-day manager of the family restaurant in Bangor. He liked to talk politics with patrons, and the governor said Paul often gave him a report card on how the folks back home thought he was doing.

“I miss him,” the governor said.

Baldacci said he was personally very disappointed that he could not get bipartisan support for his budget and bond proposals in the last year of his first term. He said some needed investments in Maine have been delayed.

“I have a responsibility to try and get the parties to work together,” he said. “This is my second and last term. I am not going to be on the ballot again, so I hope we can get by the politics.”

Tomorrow: Baldacci’s approach to his second term.