PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Independent governor’s race candidate Eliot Cutler accused Republican Gov. Paul LePage on Tuesday of leaving taxpayers on the hook for $15.9 million over seven years with a failed deal that aimed to save a pulp and paper manufacturer that recently filed for bankruptcy.

Cutler said that LePage negotiated a bad deal with Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Cate Street Capital, which manages the Great Northern Paper Co. mills in Millinocket and East Millinocket. The East Millinocket paper mill shut down in January, and last week the company declared bankruptcy.