BANGOR, Maine — A column written by City Councilor Joe Baldacci raised concerns among some Bangor officials Monday that he may have violated a city ordinance barring councilors from using their position to influence elections.
Council Chairman Nelson Durgin confirmed he met Monday morning with City Solicitor Norman Heitmann to review the city’s code of ethics in reaction to the opinion piece, which appears to support two City Council candidates.
“It’s not a clear-cut, black-and-white sort of thing,” Durgin said after the meeting.
Baldacci’s guest column, which was published Sunday on the Bangor Daily News website and ran in Monday’s newspaper, concerns his effort to raise the local minimum wage in Bangor, an issue that is likely to be decided by those elected to the council on Tuesday.
In it, Baldacci noted that only two of the seven City Council candidates — Meg Shorette and Sarah Nichols — openly support his proposed ordinance to raise the minimum wage at a local level. He did not name any of the other candidates in his column.
“By electing the right candidates, we can show Augusta, Washington, D.C. and the rest of the state of Maine that providing a livable wage to our citizens is not only morally right but economically right as well,” he wrote.
After Monday’s meeting, Durgin said it would be unreasonable to call a special meeting for the council to take a closer look at the issue with the election just hours away.
Three seats are open on the council. Swearing-in ceremonies and the new council’s vote to elect the next council chairman are set for 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at City Hall.
Durgin said he does not plan to pursue the matter personally even after the election, but other councilors are free to do so.
Asked about the column Monday, Baldacci, who is running for Congress, said that he did not directly endorse either candidate.
“I never said to vote for them,” he said. He declined further comment.
In his column, which was edited for brevity and style by the BDN, Baldacci wrote this about Shorette and Nichols:
“They both have strong individual records of community service, and both will bring new blood and new energy to the City Council. Both want to work for policies that will help all Bangor families make ends meet and create jobs. They will fight for a city that works for everyone.
“So, let’s vote to continue to move forward the important work of raising wages for all Maine workers. Let’s be leaders, economically and morally.”
While the city code bars councilors from using their positions to influence elections, it specifically states they are not prohibited from participating in politics in their capacities as private citizens and candidates.
Baldacci’s column, submitted through his congressional campaign email address, closes by noting that Baldacci is “a current Bangor City Councilor and Democratic candidate for the Second Congressional District of Maine.”
Thus, the issue is whether Baldacci acted in his official capacity or as a candidate and private citizen when he wrote the column.
City code establishes a procedure for the council to determine whether an ethical violation has occurred. First, a councilor must submit to the full council a request in the form of a council order that describes the nature of the matter in question.
The council then must decide by majority vote whether to refer the matter to the Bangor Board of Ethics for further review. A tie vote also sends the matter to the board.
After fact finding and deliberation, that board issues a written statement of its findings back to the council.
According to Heitmann, it is then up to the full council to decide whether the matter constitutes a violation of the ordinance.
Under city code, violations are punishable by civil fines of $100 to $2,500 and a possible censure after notice and a public hearing conducted by the City Council.
Asked about the column, Councilor David Nealley, who is seeking re-election and is an opponent of the local minimum wage, said the endorsement issue has always been a gray area for the council, but Baldacci’s column seemed to cross the line in his opinion.
“I don’t think it will go without some review only because I think it sets a bad precedent for the future of local elections,” he said.
As a candidate, Nealley said he will not “lead the charge” to look into a potential ethics violation, but he won’t disagree if other councilors want to bring up the matter.
It was not clear if any other councilors have any interest in doing so. Councilors Sean Faircloth, Josh Plourde and Ben Sprague all declined comment on the issue Monday.
Meanwhile, Councilor Gibran Graham said he saw no problem with the column because it was part of a push for a local minimum wage that reiterated what was already known about the candidates.
“I don’t see that as interference, not in my reading of it,” he said.
Councilors Pauline Civiello and Patricia Blanchette are not seeking re-election.
A recent BDN survey of the seven council candidates showed only two supported Baldacci’s proposal for a local minimum wage. Unless others change their minds, both must be elected for Baldacci’s minimum wage ordinance to pass the council when it comes up Nov. 23.
If approved, Baldacci’s ordinance would incrementally increase the local minimum wage from the statewide minimum of $7.50 per hour to $8.25 per hour in 2016, $9 per hour in 2017 and $9.75 per hour in 2018.
After that, the local minimum wage would fluctuate with the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation.
The local proposal comes as the Maine People’s Alliance, a left-leaning advocacy group, stumps for a citizen-initiated referendum in 2016 that would increase the minimum wage statewide to $9 per hour in 2017 and provide for an additional $1 extra per year until it reaches $12 per hour in 2020.
According to campaign finance records, the MPA has endorsed Nichols in the Bangor City Council race.
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.