November 08, 2024
Archive

Ex-governor not shy about sharing views

PORTLAND – Two years after leaving office, former Gov. Angus King is trying to balance a desire to avoid the limelight with the hope of using his lingering political influence to effect change.

King says he is careful about choosing the issues on which he takes a public stance. He worries about becoming “the governor who never left” and says he isn’t pining for higher political office.

King spoke out last week at a state conference on urban sprawl because he believes it threatens Maine’s future. He publicly opposed the casino referendum in 2003, and the Palesky tax-cap initiative this year. And he campaigned for John Kerry this fall, after voting for President Bush in 2000.

“There was nothing in that for me,” says King. “But if I felt the country was moving in the wrong direction and I had even a tiny influence on (the election), I didn’t want to wake up the next morning and think, ‘Gee, I wish I had done something.'”

Few Mainers expected the popular, two-term independent to drop out of sight after he left office. And King makes no apologies for going public with his feelings on issues involving politics and public policy.


Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

comments for this post are closed

You may also like