RELEASE: Poliquin: Who Wrote Otten “Jobs Plan”?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2010
CONTACT: BRIAN PHILLPS
207-272-0363
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Brunswick – Today, Bruce Poliquin, candidate for Maine Governor, responded to new evidence that Les Otten plagiarized portions of his “Jobs Plan”.  Poliquin also called on major news outlets to investigate the evidence, much of which has been left to bloggers to expose.

Revelations surfaced Saturday that sections of Otten’s economic plan central to his campaign had been lifted from work done by the Maine Heritage Policy Center.  In one instance, research done by the Center comparing health care premiums is copied word for word with no mention of the original author.  There are other striking similarities in the publication that strongly resemble work done by the Center without the benefit of citations. 

“The evidence of plagiarism creates a difficult question for Mr. Otten, ‘Who wrote the Jobs Plan?’, ” said Poliquin. “If it came directly from Mr. Otten, then he needs to explain why he attempted to deceive voters about the research.  If it came from someone else, such as a campaign staffer, it suggests parts of his economic plan are not his own ideas.”

The controversy stems from answers Otten submitted last week to a blogger’s questionnaire on education policy.  Otten’s answers were found to have come directly from work done by the Maine Heritage Policy Center, though Otten made no attempt to cite the research.  Early attempts by Otten’s campaign to characterize the plagiarism as an “inadvertent oversight” were quickly dispensed by the author of the original work and a subsequent apology by Otten. 

As of this release, Otten has not yet apologized for the incidents of plagiarism in his “Jobs Plan”. 

This is not the first time charges of plagiarism have been leveled at Mr. Otten.  At the start of his campaign, Mr. Otten was also widely criticized by bloggers around the country for using a logo that closely resembled that of President Barack Obama’s campaign.  Since the flap over the similarities, Mr. Otten’s logo and website have been changed. 

In stark contrast, Poliquin’s campaign has been centered on telling voters the truth about the current state of economic affairs in Maine and being honest about the tough choices that will have to be made to improve the state’s job prospects. 

“There cannot be looming questions about the integrity of our Governor on his or her first day in office,” said Poliquin. “There are too many difficult decisions ahead that require clarity of purpose, the courage to do what’s right, and a sound moral compass.”

“Plagiarism is a serious offense and it should be taken seriously by Maine’s major news outlets,” Poliquin added. “My hope is that they send a message to our elected officials, or those wanting to be elected, that theywill be held accountable.”

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