In an interview with The Portland Press Herald, Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) admitted that his decision to take down a mural from the Maine Department of Labor building was poorly timed, saying it should have been done “later on.”
“The timing was bad,” he told the Press Herald in his first interview since the mural came down. “It should have been done later on, not when we are trying to get a budget passed.”
The paper said LePage wants the public to focus on “his political agenda, such as streamlining regulations and providing tax relief for Mainers.”
LePage had previously defended his decision, and his office has released a complaint it received in which the mural was compared to North Korea. The mural, an 11-panel installation, depicted figures like Rosie the Riveter and FDR-era Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, plus scenes from several strikes.
The Press Herald reports that a protest scheduled for today at Maine’s State House Hall of Flags has been postponed to Monday due to weather.
