BANGOR — Gov. Paul LePage has no plans to retire or to be impeached by the “socialists up in Augusta,” he said at a town hall-style meeting Tuesday night at Husson University.

LePage addressed the recent impeachment drama surrounding him after a resident of Portland asked him when he planned to retire, to which LePage responded: “I believe in 2018, when my term is up.” 

He then took a rather passionate shift to set the record straight. “I take my job seriously,” he said. He said the “socialists” in the Legislature need to stop this “silly, childish, impeachment stuff.”

He laughed and added, “I could’ve told you that question was from Portland.”

Other topics of discussion included crowded prisons, the drug epidemic and income taxes. 

The governor said he wants to initiate a program to address prison overcapacity in which nonviolent offenders are released with a tracking bracelet, similar to house arrest. They would be able to go to work and then go home. 

He wants to get the nonviolent drug addicts and people suffering from mental illnesses out of prison and into treatment. 

“We are definitely working on it full speed ahead,” he said.

LePage also wants to get Maine citizens off drugs and prevent drug overdoses.

“Where is your outrage?” he said. “Five people every week in Maine die from a drug overdose.”

LePage was asked how he feels about high energy costs. He responded that it is important to find a solution, with solar and wind energy. The governor believes the current high costs are pushing businesses and mills out of the state, eliminating jobs and incomes. 

LePage also said he believes that “our welfare reform is working.” He said many people were excited to have their pictures on their welfare cards because most people aren’t using them incorrectly or illegally. “But the few that do cost us a lot of money.”

LePage also reiterated his desire to eliminate the state income tax, which would mean a raise in sales taxes. 

Sandy Robin of Troy was concerned that this would only shift the tax burden, but LePage said it would give Maine people more control over what they pay in taxes. He hopes that by increasing income from wealthy tourists, property taxes wouldn’t have to be increased.