BANGOR’S ELECTION SNARL

Bangor’s school committee had an opportunity last week to clear up through a public hearing doubts about the recent election and the quick departure of its top vote receiver. The committee rejected that opportunity, and now faces an unhappy public. Rather than allow this situation to fester, the Bangor City Council can answer most questions through a brief investigation of the events.

On the surface, the issue began shortly after the Nov. 7 election with a leadership vote on the board. Three members wanted longtime Chairwoman Martha Newman to continue in her post; three did not. (One member was absent.) Dan Tremble, who had finished first in the recent election, sided with the opposition.

Two days later, Superintendent Robert Ervin informed Mr. Tremble that because his wife was employed by the school system, it appeared he would have to decide whether to leave the committee or ask his wife to resign her position. State law was clear on the issue, and Mr. Tremble resigned.

That brought a strong public reaction and accusations of conspiracy over when Mr. Tremble was informed, who knew about the situation before Election Day, and whether officials kept silent to prevent another candidate from winning a seat on the committee. The reason for this reaction is an underlying frustration, recently expressed in letters to the editor and elsewhere, over Chairwoman Newman’s long leadership of the committee.

Indeed, the committee’s rejection of a public hearing and a subsequent statement read by the superintendent looked like an assertion of control – would the committee or the public decide whether this issue deserved more attention? The point of a hearing is not to assign guilt but to determine what happened. Further, talk of a recall election against the chairwoman leaps to conclusions unsupported by what is known to date.

The matter is now before the City Council, where several members seem reluctant to give the public a chance to follow the sequence of events for itself. Given that 6,400 Bangor voters supported Mr. Tremble’s election and given the public’s inability to settle this issue another way, an investigation narrowly tailored to the election problems and how they may be prevented in the future is warranted.

The alternative of greater suspicion and frustration has already made itself known.