Community group criticizes county commissioners

The nonpartisan community group, PROACT!, announced that they presented the Piscataquis County  Commissioners with a petition signed online by over 300 people asking the commissioners to rescind  their January ‘Resolution of Protest.’ The group’s petition was delivered via certified mail on March  19, but after repeated official requests to have the petition put on the commissioner’s agenda  PROACT! has received no response.

“As citizens of Piscataquis and constituents of the Commissioners,  we deserve and expect a response,” said Eric Boothroyd a member of PROACT!, “The Maine  Constitution states ‘The people have a right at all times…to give instructions to their representatives,  and to request…redress of their wrongs and grievances.’ The Commissioners have a constitutional  responsibility to respond to us and they are ignoring that responsibility.” 

The PROACT! petition asks the commissioners to immediately rescind their resolution of protest  which not only cites false information about the COVID-19 virus, and urges actions contrary to public  health and scientific consensus, but also uses racist and potentially dangerous language, calling  COVID-19 the “Wuhan-virus.”  

The commissioners have consistently violated Maine’s Free and Open Access Act by holding “two-tiered” meetings: allowing some residents to attend in person while denying equitable  opportunity for Zoom attendees, who are unable or do not feel safe to attend an in-person meeting, to  identify speakers, ask questions, or evaluate written materials being discussed. Requests from  PROACT! members for access to relevant documents prior to meetings have been ignored.  

Commissioners also continue to come under fire from residents in Piscataquis County for other actions  which many feel are outside the scope of their authority, are based on personal vendettas and represent  an abuse of power. The state attorney general has been in contact with the commissioners regarding  how they conduct their meetings.

“The commissioner’s resolution and the disrespectful way they  conduct meetings is a disservice to our residents and frankly an embarrassment to Piscataquis County,” said PROACT! member Kent Black.  

PROACT! Is a non-partisan community organization based in Piscataquis County. For more  information on PROACT! please visit their Facebook page or email proact@nonpartisan.com.