LEWISTON, Maine —  Maine's tourism director is taking flak from an outspoken critic of his department for having a license plate that says"I Love New York."

The vanity plate, which Searsmont blogger Lance Dutson claims is inappropriate, appears on an SUV jointly registered to Dann Lewis and his wife, Sherry, who drives the vehicle.

Dutson claims the head of the Maine Office of Tourism is sending the wrong message by expressing affection for another state while he should be promoting Maine.

Lewis said he and his wife have lived in New York City and he was involved in its famous"I Love New York"campaign. He said his wife, a native New Yorker, got the plate sometime after the Sept. 11 attacks in a show of solidarity.

Lewis says there's nothing wrong with the plate, and his boss, state development director Jack Cashman, agrees. He says it's not a crime to love New York.

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