Council Chair Had Misgivings About Town Manager Over Bowie Recall

Steve,

 

After several days of thought, I am forced to write to you with severe misgivings about your letter to the Ethics Committee dated November 15th (and emailed to the Council on the 17th).

 

(Letter from Town Manager,  Original was written on Town Letterhead.)

November 15, 2010

David Bowie, Chairman
Town of Lisbon, Ethics Committee
300 Lisbon Street
Lisbon, ME 04250


Dear David,

Twila Lycette, Town Clerk for the Town of Lisbon has received a petition that requests that Michael Bowie, Council Chairman, be recalled from his Council seat.  The petition reads to recall Michael Bowie from the office of Councilor for the following reasons:

 A. denying any councilor the right to place an item on the agenda (sec 2.04)

B. not consulting with the councilors when dealing with the town manager (charter, sec. 2.04)

C. improper influence and/or conflict of interest regarding use of town funds (chapter 12)
   
D. failure to properly preside over a town council meeting.

I am requesting that the Ethics Committee review this petition and offer an opinion on several criteria.
1.     That the reasons A – D are sufficient and valid to having a Councilor recalled.
2.    That the petition was misrepresented to the individuals who signed the petition.
 I have had 1 Councilor (not Michael Bowie) question the validity of the four reasons in the petition.   The Councilor has also questioned whether it is ethically appropriate to misrepresent the reasons for removal. I have sufficient evidence to prove that the petition was misrepresented to the signers.  If possible I request that the Ethic Committee provide their recommendation prior to the Town Council Meeting scheduled for December 7, 2010.

Sincerely,


Stephen G. Eldridge
Town Manager

 

 

 

You write to Mr. David Bowie asking for the Committee's advice on the recall petition of Michael Bowie, yet we on the Council were never even informed that such a petition had been received by the Town or certified by the Town Clerk. We had a meeting on November 16, the day after you sent your letter, yet you failed to inform us of such a development. Additionally, from the letter, it appears that at least one unnamed Councilor has seen and been informed of this filing. I am personally hurt and frustrated by your failure to treat all Councilors as equals and provide us all with the information we need to do our jobs correctly. Why were we, the Council, not asked for our opinion before you took it upon yourself to make formal inquiries?

 

Secondly, the filing with the Ethics Committee is inappropriate as the Committee does not even have any jurisdiction in this matter. The ordinance empowering the Committee, Section 12-3 of the Lisbon Code, only authorizes the Committee to adjudicate disputes over Conflicts of Interest involving public officials and employees; it has no say on political matters involving private petitioners.

 

You ask that the Committee advise us on the merits of the reasons and their sufficiency, but the Charter merely states (Article VIII, Part 3) that a reason must be given, not that we as a Council or anyone else find that reason subjectively sufficient. A recall is a purely political device, not a judicial one such as impeachment. The voters could decide to recall a Councilor for any reason, even something as silly as disliking the color of his hat. It is not up to us to judge the voters, merely to count their votes.

 

Furthermore, advice from the Committee would be pointless, as we the Council have no discretion in this matter. If the petition is certified as legal by the Clerk, then we MUST schedule a date for an election within 30 days of that certification - any other action would be illegal under the Charter and Maine State law. If the Clerk does not certify the petition, it would be up to the petitioners to file an appeal. The only person with an opinion that would matter here would be the Town Attorney. Have you consulted with him on the matter?

 

I personally have had no involvement with the recall petition in any way, but I feel that your actions here are both inappropriate and ill-advised. We are the servants of the people, not their masters.

 

 

Mark Lunt

Town Councilor, Lisbon, ME

 

(The original letter is attached.)