Paul LePage is the nations lowest-paid governor, making $70,000 a year
First lady Ann LePage works three days a week and is trying for more shifts
Shes trying to keep a low profile but is working extra hard because of who I am
Ann LePage chats with diners after taking their order at McSeagulls restaurant, Thursday, June 23, 2016, in Boothbay Harbor. The wife of Americas lowest-paid governor has taken a summer waitressing job and is saving for a car. Robert F. Bukaty AP
Associated Press
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BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine
The waitress bounded with a cup of chowder and a plate of fish and broccoli.
It was Ann LePages first double shift at McSeagulls, a bustling restaurant touting double-wrapped bacon scallops and views of Boothbay Harbor.
The wife of Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage had kept a low profile for the first few weeks of her summer job. But then her husband told a crowd at a recent town hall that his wife took a job to supplement his $70,000 salary, the lowest of any U.S. governor.
The LePages live with their dog, a Jack Russell terrier mix named Veto, in the Augusta governors mansion and bought a $215,000 Boothbay home two years ago. The governor recently tried but failed to increase his successors salary to $150,000, above the nearly $135,000 average for all 50 state governors in 2015.
Ann LePage said being a waitress is something Ive always, always wanted to do.
Her daughter Lauren made $28 an hour last summer at McSeagulls. LePage said she spent years taking care of her mother, who long suffered from scleroderma and passed away in October.
Now its time to follow through on her interest, LePage said, adding: I know shed be proud of me.
Wearing a black McSeagulls T-shirt and sneakers with pink shoelaces, LePage greeted customers with an easy: Hey, how are you?
LePage, whos saving up for a Toyota RAV4, works three days a week, and is asking for more shifts.
Because of who I am and who Im married to, I want to work extra hard just so I can show them I can do the job, she said.
She doesnt tell customers, or co-workers, who she is unless they ask.
But when a reporter revealed her identity Thursday, the news just confirmed a customers inklings.
I knew, thats why I kept staring! exclaimed Nina Stoddard, of Bridgton, a Republican.
She later wondered: I mean, is she really here just making money?
Her friend Laurie Green, of Casco, said she loved it.
I really hate a lot of our politicians nowadays that have the wealth, the money, said Green, an unaffiliated voter. They have no clue what the average person out in the world is doing.
Stoddard agreed and suggested LePage herself should run for office: Its the best of Maine, the best of who we are. Two feet on the ground.
Read more here: www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/national/article86076837.html#storylink=cpy