On the anniversary of a Vaseline jar-tossing incident directed at Gov. Paul LePage, former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey said Monday that she hadn’t decided whether she will attend the governor’s town hall forum Tuesday night in her hometown.

Last year, the incident in which Twomey dropped a jar of Vaseline on the stage at Thornton Academy where LePage was sitting made national headlines and brought a sudden, chaotic end to the forum.

In 2013, LePage made headlines when he said of Democratic state Sen. Troy Jackson: “Senator Jackson claims to be for the people but he’s the first one to give it to the people without providing Vaseline.”

Twomey would not commit to attending Tuesday’s town hall meeting at Biddeford High School, but suggested she might bring another type of ointment if she did.

“I’m thinking that maybe I should use Preparation H tomorrow night, if that’s what it takes to get people’s attention,” Twomey said Monday in a telephone interview. “But that shouldn’t be the story. The story is, his policies are hurting people.”

She said her friends and political advisors have cautioned her against going. Twomey is one of two Democrats running in the June 14 primary for the Senate District 32 seat.

“You may see me and you may not see me. You never know who is going to show up,” Twomey said.

LePage’s staff said the governor will talk Tuesday evening about his vision for moving Maine forward. The event is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Seating will begin at 5:30 p.m.

At last year’s forum in Saco, Twomey confronted the governor, accusing him of promoting budget proposals that were hurting low-income Mainers. As she got out of her front row seat and approached the stage, she was met by security officers.

Twomey scuffled with them before dropping a jar of Vaseline onto the stage. The Vaseline landed near LePage’s feet as the officers removed Twomey from the meeting.

Twomey said she doesn’t regret her actions. She said she has been an activist her entire life, and doesn’t plan to stop.

“(Last year) was about standing up and protesting his bankrupt policies,” Twomey said. “I wasn’t trying to assault the governor. I was trying to tell him his policies were hurting people.”

Earlier this month, Twomey was certified by the Secretary of State’s Office to run in the Democratic primary in Senate District 32. She will be opposed in the primary by Democrat Susan Deschambault.

Twomey served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 and as Biddeford’s mayor from 2006 to 2011.

LePage has spent the past several months hosting town hall forums in communities throughout Maine. On Thursday, he abruptly canceled a scheduled forum at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. LePage’s staff said the governor felt he needed to stay at the State House while the Legislature continued working toward adjournment.

 

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