City of Portland has no plans to remove graffiti of Gov. Paul LePage in Ku Klux Klan hood
However, the city's mayor says he would liked to see the graffiti removed.
Knowing Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s previous response to be labeled a racist, he probably won’t like this.
The city of Portland says it has no plans to remove a new mural depicting the combative Republican governor in a Ku Klux Klan hood and cloak, along with the words “racist,” “homophobe,” and “moron.”
The graffiti, which was first spotted late last week, is painted across the side of a public wall along Portland’s Eastern Promenade Trail, a popular walking trail. The words “Dump LePage” are spelled out in giant block letters, punctuated with the depiction of the governor in KKK garb.
And it’s back: Anti-#LePage graffiti on Portland Eastern Prom sewage plant, days after similar @ I-295 #mepolitics pic.twitter.com/kPDK0uoRwe
— Gregg Lagerquist (@GreggWGME) September 2, 2016
As the Portland Press Herald first reported, the wall is part of a sewage treatment plant and it’s owned by the Portland Water District. According to the Press Herald, the city turned the wall into a public space for street art more than a decade ago after local officials became tired of constantly painting over graffiti.
And in the name of free speech, officials said Tuesday they have no plans to remove the mural.
City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin told Boston.com that police typically would not remove graffiti unless it constituted hate speech, due to possible First Amendment challenges.
“Though that doesn’t mean we condone [the mural],” she added, calling the issue “challenging.”
Portland Mayor Ethan Strimling told the Press Herald that despite his own frustration with LePage, he would like to see the mural taken down.
“It is not reflective of our values,” Strimling said. “The KKK has a long, problematic history in the state of Maine and equating the governor and his rhetoric, as much as we disagree with it, is a step too far.”
Michelle Clements, a spokeswoman for the water district, told the Press Herald that the district does not “monitor or police” the outside of their walls, but was working with the city to see what could be done.
Similarly worded graffiti, albeit without the KKK imagery, popped up underneath a I-295 overpass in Portland earlier last week.
Here’s some better shots of the “Dump LePage” graffiti underneath an over pass on I-295. @MaineDOT1 will remove pic.twitter.com/P6tMiJ7SsH
— Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) August 29, 2016
As WGME reported at the time, the Maine Department of Transportation planned to clean it up, but an unknown individual beat them to it.
Two weeks ago, LePage garnered national media attention after he left state Rep. Drew Gattine an expletive-laced voicemail and subsequently wished he could challenge the legislator to a 19th century-style duel.
The governor, who later apologized, said he reacted angrily because he thought Gattine called him a racist. For his part, Gattine denied calling LePage a racist; rather, he said the governor’s earlier comments about drug dealers were “racially charged.”
The new mural seems a bit less nuanced.
LePage’s office did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
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