Good morning, I am Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

In the past five years at least one thousand six hundred thirty people in Maine have died from drug overdose – more than the population of Chesterville, or Eastport or North Berwick.

418 in 2017 alone – more than one a day.

You know, these people are not “junkies.” They are our neighbors, our co-workers, family members, school mates, graduates of our high schools, our CTEs, our universities and colleges.

They are our sons and daughters. They are people without labels, citizens without stereotype.

History will note that we have lost an entire generation of people to the opioid epidemic and that we have simply failed to address this preventable disease.

It is time to mobilize Maine state government to stem the tide of this deadly epidemic.

As Attorney General, and as a candidate for this Office, and now as a newly sworn Governor, I promised to take action to address the opiate problem.

I’ve said before that as Governor I would make sure there was one person whose sole responsibility would be to flesh out what is working and what is not, to draft a blueprint for change and to report to me every day, every week about our progress.

So I have appointed Gordon Smith to be that person.

Gordon Smith has been Executive Vice President of the Maine Medical Association, he is former Chair of the American Society of Medical Association Council. He has held many other high-ranking positions.

He is an experienced, well-respected, and highly qualified public health expert.

As the Director of Opioid Response, I have complete confidence in his ability to work across departments and to knock down the silos that have prevented us from combating this crisis and protecting Maine families.

Gordon Smith will work closely with medical providers, treatment experts, law enforcement, educators and community members to figure out what is working, and what is not, and determine the concrete steps we can take to change things around.

I think it is time for action. And that that action should begin right now.

Gordon will convene a Prevention and Recovery Cabinet to include all of our commissioners and the Attorney General, in consultation with legislative leaders and will determine our needs and coordinate an effective and prompt response.

And within the next two weeks, with input from Gordon Smith, and our new commissioners Jeanne Lambrew, Michael Sauschuck, Randall Liberty and others, I will issue an Executive Order to direct the specific steps we will take to address this crisis.

Among other things, we will be partnering with hospitals and treatment providers, with jails and community members to increase access to Medication Assisted Treatment, increase availability of life-saving naloxone, to promote effective education and prevention measures, to establish a robust hotline that works and take traffickers off our streets.

In my Inaugural Address, I spoke directly to Mainers suffering from substance use disorder.

I speak to them again and to their loved ones when I say, you are not alone.

You have my word. Wherever you are, we will do everything in our power to bring you back to make our communities, our families and our state whole once again.

We will confront this epidemic together.

I am Janet Mills, governor of the state of Maine.

Thank you for listening.

Good morning, I’m Governor Janet Mills, thank you for listening.

It was the highest honor of my life to take the oath of office to become Maine’s 75th governor.

I am so proud to have joined with thousands of you in reaffirming our shared love for our great state and our commitment to building a brighter future together.

There are many in this state who are “the unsung” as poet Wes McNair has called them.

They are the firefighters and teachers, the techies and hotel workers, the farmers and fishermen, the waiters and loggers, and the barbers and millworkers of our towns.

They are our friends, our neighbors. They are immigrants. Laborers. Veterans. People with disabilities. People from away. People we rely on every day. And many who rely on us.

This governorship is about them, it is about you - the men and women of Maine.

Many days I awake you know to see the mist rising from the Sandy River as it steers its course to the Kennebec, the winter’s breath unveiling a new day in my hometown, a new day in this state.

Then I hear the familiar sounds of chickadees, church chimes and Jake brakes.

This is home in Maine.

We are all in this together.

We all want Maine to have a beautiful environment; happy people; and prosperous communities.

And though we all agree on the goal, we differ about how to get there.

We are Republicans, Greens, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents, and many more besides.

Our diversity is a virtue – one that we should harness to advance good public debate and good public policy.

We welcome the voices of newcomers as well to the public conversation — the young as well as the old, immigrants as well as Native Americans and people who have been here a while, people of color, people of different cultures, people of different orientations.

All are important members of the Maine family.

Now our state must find its own common ground, expand our horizons and become one Maine again.

From the tree streets of Lewiston to the rolling fields of the County, from the Bold Coast to the Height of Land, from Cross Rock in Allagash to Portland’s Promenades, our people will once again find unity of purpose.

It is the bond we all share for our state, for our children longing for security, for newcomers seeking to belong, for all of those who feel left behind and who long for respect and dignity.

One thing we all love is our great state.

And when a family, a community, a state believe in each other, help each other, love each other, great things can happen.

Maine people have greatness within them.  Maine is our home.

We are connected by the rivers and the land, the forests and the mountains.

We are connected by love.

We are one Maine, undivided, one family from Calais to Bethel, from York to Fort Kent.

So now we rise— like the mist over the Sandy River — to seek adventure, with hope in our hearts and love in our souls for the brand-new day.

To you, the people of Maine, I say, welcome home.

Welcome Home.

I’m Governor Janet Mills, thank you for listening.