Paperwork problem stalls Millinocket recall petition

MILLINOCKET – An attempt to institute a recall vote on three Town Council members because of their membership on a regional economic development board has been set back temporarily by an apparent hitch in the paperwork.

Councilors Matthew Polstein, Gail Fanjoy and Avern Danforth have been accused of a conflict of interest over their membership in the Millinocket Area Growth & Investment Council during votes to fund that organization, among other things. But the documents provided by the people behind the recall petitions were not legally sworn, the attorney hired by the town has ruled.

“The documents that I saw had the word ‘affidavit’ typed at the top,” Town Attorney Dean A. Beaupain of Millinocket said Friday. “That does not make the documents affidavits.”

According to the town charter, affidavits are necessary for a recall to begin, Beaupain said.

This pronouncement miffed Ken Anderson, owner of the Magic City Morning Star and the Hard Drive Cafe, and other petitioners.

Anderson, who is one of the leaders of the recall petition drive, said he and others worked closely with Town Clerk Roxanne E. Johnson to make sure the paperwork was done properly.

“What’s interesting is that we gave them copies of the affidavits two days in advance, and the town clerk was on the phone with Mr. Beaupain, so I assume she was getting advice from him as to how to proceed,” he said. “No matter: We will go back and we will be on the ballot.”

Beaupain denies giving anyone advice as to how to handle the affidavits.

Anderson and the petitioners claim that the three councilors form a voting block that has pushed tax breaks to Brascan, a local mill, voted for a funding raise to MAGIC, and failed to listen to residents in regard to those votes.

The petitions also accuse Polstein of using his council seat to further personal negotiations with Brascan and his own personal business.

Polstein has denied conflicts of interest and has recused himself from votes. When he returned a reporter’s call late Friday, he dismissed the recall effort as political.

According to his read of state ethics statutes, there is no conflict of interest unless he would benefit directly and personally – something, he said, that has not happened because of MAGIC or his seat on the council.

“I see my time on the board as a natural extension of my service of the town,” Polstein said.

The Maine Municipal Association found no conflict of interest when the question was raised two years ago, he said.

The other town councilors subject to the recall and Town Manager Eugene J. Conlogue did not immediately return telephone calls Friday.

The petitions need 30 qualified town voters to force a recall vote. Anderson said he has about 50 for each councilor.