I don't think it wasn't that he wasn't a polished public speaker, he didn't show any depth of knowledge in terms of policy or public service.

It's easy to go up there and be like "we need more jobs, we need better schools, we need more programs" but that's just feel good blanket talking points. The only time he broke the mold was bringing up raising the Mill Rate & mentioned the Homestead Exemption, but the raising the mill rate is a) unpopular because you're putting bigger stress on local funding of the budget and b) likely illegal to manipulate because it can be legally argued as discrimination. That and Mills and LePage also already said they agreed with the homestead exemption. See Janet Mill's policy here.

I think people get starry eyed for having more "common" people work in high public offices, but in practicality you're mostly putting an underqualified person into a very important public service role that needs a much higher understanding of how public policy works.