Paul LePage

Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who is the 74th and current Governor of Maine. Born in Lewiston, LePage grew up with seventeen siblings. After some initial difficulty entering college due to speaking French as his first language, he succeeded in obtaining a Bachelor of Science in business administration in finance and accounting from Husson College, later earning a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maine. LePage worked for a lumber company in New Brunswick, Canada, from 1972 to 1979 and then for Scott Paper in Winslow, Maine. He later founded the business consulting firm LePage & Kasevich, and in 1996 he became general manager of Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a Maine-based discount store chain. A member of the Republican Party, LePage's political career began when he served two terms as a city councilor in Waterville, Maine, before being elected Mayor of Waterville in 2003, serving until 2011. During his eight-year tenure as mayor, LePage reorganized city hall, lowered taxes, and increased the city's rainy day fund balance from $1 million to $10 million. In 2009, while still mayor, LePage announced that he would run for governor of Maine in the 2010 election. LePage defeated six other Republicans to win the party's nomination with 37.4% of the vote. He won the general election with another plurality, 37.6%, in a five-candidate rac