BELGRADE — The town will not hold a new vote on a closely contested March decision by residents to fund a full-time librarian’s position, despite allegations by a former selectman and a resident that the town violated their free speech rights when a clerk temporarily removed their sign that urged residents to vote against the proposal.
Ernie Rice, a selectman until he resigned from the position last month, and Kathryn Brown, corresponding secretary for the Friends of the Belgrade Public Library, complained in a letter to the town a sign placed along the driveway to the Town Office, where the March 16 Town Meeting’s secret ballot voting took place, was removed improperly by a town official. They said removing the sign violated their free speech rights and if the town doesn’t hold a new vote, they would pursue legal action.
Selectmen voted 4-1 Tuesday night against holding a new vote to resolve the issue, at least voluntarily.
Selectmen said Rice and Brown can circulate a petition to force the question back before residents for another vote.
Town Manager Dennis Keschl apologized for the sign being taken down but said officials thought they were protecting the integrity of the election by taking down the sign, which a clerk thought was too close to the polls, had no malicious intent, and fixed the problem by putting the sign back up as quickly as they could once they realized they had erred.
“I truly believe in the Constitution and freedom of speech, I was very concerned about that sign being removed,” Keschl said. “I want you to know we, the elections clerk, the town clerk, the board, and I personally, take this very seriously and I apologize it was removed. It was an honest error. The clerk didn’t even know who put it up. That didn’t even enter into her thoughts. She wanted to protect the election process.”
Rice said their constitutional rights were violated and a new vote is the easiest and cheapest way to address that violation.
The proposal to create a full-time librarian’s position was approved by a vote of 179-162. The sign, which stated “Vote NO on Article 5 what will it do for you?” was taken down for about two hours the morning of the voting.
“You’re not looking at just Ernie and Kathy; you’re looking at 162 voters who voted, who for two hours were cheated out of representation,” Rice said Tuesday, before the vote. “We’ve researched the laws and know what our avenues are. A re-vote is the least expensive way for the town to go. Our rights were violated. Based on the Constitution of the United States, there are no excuses for that. We are prepared to accept your vote, any way you want to go. And the town is going to have to be prepared to accept what’s coming down the road.”
Keschl has told selectmen that Town Clerk Cheryl Mitchell, who is also the elections clerk, saw the sign early the morning of the vote and thought it was too close to the Town Office, so she took it down.
Maine statute says campaigns signs may not be placed on any public property within 250 feet of the entrance to a voting place.
Rice said the sign was 350 feet away, thus well outside the minimum distance away.
Town officials measured the distance on the day of the vote, after Mitchell told Keschl she had taken it down, and determined it was 30 to 40 feet beyond the minimum distance. So Keschl contacted Rice to see if he wanted it replaced. Brown called back and said to do so.
Keschl said he then put the sign back up. He said elections clerks indicated 16 ballots had been cast in the roughly two hours the sign was down.
Rice said the removal of the sign was more significant because of the closeness of the vote. He noted the results of the vote could change if only nine residents changed their votes.
Residents approved the proposal by a 17-vote margin, creating a full-time librarian’s position and adding $21,000 to the library budget to fund the change.
Keschl previously told selectmen that he checked with state elections officials, who said they do not get involved with municipal elections, so he consulted with Maine Municipal Association and the town’s attorney. The attorney indicated the town had made an error but did so in good faith in trying to comply with state election law, and it took steps to correct the error as soon as officials learned the sign had been located properly.
Keschl said Rice and Brown could request a recount or take the issue to superior court. He also said the board could put it out for a new vote, or Rice could circulate a petition to collect about 170 signatures from Belgrade residents to force a new vote.
Brown said they did nothing wrong and they had measured the distance from the sign to the polls to make sure it was well outside the minimum distance away. She said they were wronged by having the sign taken down, so they should not be punished by being required to solicit petition signatures to bring the issue back for another vote.
She said they’re not saying town officials acted maliciously, just that a mistake was made and the easiest way to address that mistake would be to honor their request for a new vote.
Selectman Michael Barrett said the town voted to approve the article and it should not be easy to upset the results of a vote.
Whether to add the full-time position has been a hotly contested matter in the past. Selectpersons voted 3-2 against recommending passage of it, and a similar proposal was rejected in 2016 before it made it to the ballot.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
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