MAINE GOV CLAIMS HIGHWAY ROBBERY
LePage blasts ‘shakedown’ over toll collection
Maine Gov. Paul LePage is accusing Massachusetts of highway robbery, equating the Bay State’s out-of-state toll collection practices with a “shakedown” of Mainers.
“What began in the spirit of cooperation between our states has resulted in the harassment of Maine citizens,” the oft-bombastic Maine governor wrote in a pagelong letter to Bay State Gov. Charlie Baker.
LePage’s road rage stems from what he sees as a couple of different issues with Massachusetts’ adherence to the memorandum of agreement the two states approved in 2015 regarding out-of-state toll deadbeats.
The Maine governor’s office has received complaints that Maine drivers’ payments aren’t processed in a timely manner, leading to extra fees; also, when Maine asks Massachusetts for the addresses of offenders not paying tolls in the Pine Tree State, the information sent back often isn’t accurate, said LePage spokeswoman Julie Rabinowitz.
“We find many of the Massachusetts addresses that are sent to us are bad,” Rabinowitz told the Herald yesterday.
LePage ended his letter by calling for Baker to provide “improved oversight” to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Mass Pike. And the rubber better meet the road soon, LePage declared before signing off.
“If this harassment of Maine drivers continues, we will respond to the full extent of the law,” LePage wrote.
Baker’s office yesterday declined comment, referring inquiries to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
“The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has processed nearly 900 million transactions since transitioning to All Electronic Tolling in October 2016 and components of the system are designed to be more than 99.9 (percent) accurate,” MassDOT spokesman Patrick Marvin wrote in a prepared statement. He did not answer further questions directly about LePage’s claims.
LePage cited the case of one particular Mainer to illustrate the cause of his road rage: The resident, who should have had to pay Massachusetts $6 in tolls, ended up getting charged two late fees — for a total of $26 — because the Mass Pike didn’t process his payment in a timely manner. LePage wrote that the Maine resident was then subjected to threats of license suspension.
“This unprofessional behavior looks more like a shakedown than the legitimate collection of tolls,” LePage said.
Rabinowitz insisted the governor’s office hears this issue is systemic rather than a one-off.
“The (Maine) secretary of state is dealing with the complaints — it is of a level that concerns the governor,” Rabinowitz told the Herald.
But LePage’s Maine Turnpike Authority chief, Peter Mills, said he doesn’t see widespread issues.
“I am aware of one single complaint,” Mills said — the one LePage offered up in the letter.
Mills is a former political rival of LePage, running against him in the 2010 Republican primary; LePage appointed him executive director of the turnpike authority the following year.
Mills said his agency and its Bay State equivalent have a solid working relationship, and each often has to call up the other to get fines taken care of.
“I mean, God in heaven, the volume is staggering,” Mills said. “Occasionally there’s a mistake made.”