Westbrook, MAINE – As more and more Republicans, including Governor Paul LePage and former Maine GOP Chairman Rick Bennet, come to the defense of Waterville Mayor Nick Isgro, the Maine Democratic Party today called on the Republican gubernatorial candidates to stand up for decency and condemn Isgro and his long history of inappropriate and inflammatory online remarks:

        “Under Governor LePage and President Trump, the Maine Republican Party has moved to the extreme right, endorsing conspiracy theories, pushing outright lies, and, now, abandoning any sense of decency to defend a mayor who insulted a school shooting survivor,” said Phil Bartlett, Chairman of the Maine Democratic Party. “Given that the Republican candidates for governor have been so intent on mimicking Paul LePage, it’s not unreasonable to ask if they, like most Maine people, believe Isgro’s behavior is out of line, or, like LePage, believe his conduct is worth defending. Their responses will reveal a lot not only about their character, but about the type of leader they will be if elected governor.”

Governor Paul LePage, along with former Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennet, are defending Mayor Isgro. Yesterday, Governor LePage sent a letter to the CEO of Skowhegan Savings Bank, who dismissed Isgro from his job over his comments, saying that he had “fallen pray [sic] to the leftist hate ideology that refuses to recognize free speech.”

To defend himself, Isgro has been lashing out at his constituents who are spearheading an effort to recall him and doubling-down on a litany of the far-right’s most pervasive conspiracy theories, saying that the “media”, “wealthy political elites” and “dark money funded outsiders” are the problem. To deflect from answering questions about his comments, he even told a Morning Sentinel reporter that she is “fake news” and called Waterville City Councilors “absolutely non-respondent and elitist.”

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