State Senator Cynthia Dill of Cape Elizabeth is a lawyer and a loudmouth. Being married to one of the former and genetically predisposed toward the latter, I can't criticize her for that. Besides, she has guts. Or else she's nuts.
Last year, when she was still a state representative, Dill used her blog to attack Robert Nutting, the incoming speaker of the House, for failing to return Medicaid overpayments his bankrupt pharmacy had received. "You have not repaid your debt to society," Dill wrote, adding that Nutting was "not taking personal responsibility for [his] actions." Considering that the speaker can make life miserable for a House member he doesn't like, that was both courageous and crazy.
Dill displayed no hesitancy in blogging about how she legally gamed the state's public-financing system, using Clean Election money to buy a laptop, website, and database for her 2010 campaign, all of which she continued to use after the election. Then, she bragged, "Oh, and I didn't knock on a single door."
Dill's record of bucking her party's positions will cost her in a primary. Her support for a national park in the Maine woods will make her a tough sell in much of the state north of the State House. Her inclination to speak (or write) without considering the consequences will draw uncomplimentary comparisons to LePage.
Dill could use a governor for her mouth, but, otherwise, doesn't seem like a great fit for that office.
Still, she's an improvement over Libby Mitchell.
I know when to shut up. When I'm out of space. If you've got something to say, emailaldiamon@herniahill.net.
