Maine inaugurates its first Republican governor in 16 years

The former Waterville mayor and favorite of many tea partiers took office with promises to put people first; shape a leaner, more focused state government; and ease regulations that he believes hamper business growth and discourage job creation.

The crowd rose to its feet when LePage mentioned what he described as a bloated state government.

“It’s time to make state government more accountable,’’ he said. “It’s time to deliver value to our taxpayers.’’

LePage’s address, interrupted by applause more than 40 times, lasted 24 minutes and contained no new policy announcements. The event represented a departure from past practice by being staged in the daytime with four past governors — two Democrats, one Republican, and one independent — on the stage. In keeping with the mood of economic austerity, LePage decided to skip an inaugural gala in favor of a simpler, same-day reception.

In his address he cited a woman who rose from poverty with some government assistance, but mostly through hard work, as an illustration of his desire to create a culture in which individuals can succeed with public assistance if needed, but without long-term dependence on social programs.

He pushed his people-first theme repeatedly.

“The word people appears in the Maine Constitution 49 times,’’ he said. “You cannot find a single mention of the words politics, Republican, Democrat, Green, or Independent ’ in 37 pages of preambles, articles, and sections of our Constitution. The framers had it right.’’

LePage pledged to listen to and work constructively with anyone bringing forth sincere solutions to the state’s problems, which include a looming revenue shortfall estimated in the $1 billion range in a state budget that has already been whittled by hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.