Maine Governor withdraws ‘provocative’ nomination to Land for Maine’s Future board

Gov. Paul LePage abruptly withdrew his nomination of a former state lawmaker to the Land for Maine’s Future board on Friday, giving no reason for his action on a nomination that had drawn fire from environmentalists.  LePage, in a three-sentence letter to House Speaker Sara Gideon, wrote that he is no longer nominating former state Rep. Michael Timmons, R-Cumberland, to serve on the board.Timmons had been criticized by environmental groups for voting in 2015 to sustain LePage’s veto of a bill that would have required the governor to sell voter-approved bonds for the Land for Maine’s Future program.Timmons lost his re-election bid in November to Dale Denno, a Democrat from Cumberland, after angering environmental groups – and some constituents – with his vote to sustain LePage’s veto. Timmons’ district and hometown were banking on money from those bonds to complete a conservation deal to protect 215 acres around Knight’s Pond.