Lewiston Council debates ethics policy overhaul; public presses mayor on shooting-fund ties

The Lewiston City Council held a workshop to review a proposed ethics policy update modeled on Bangor's ordinance, debating whether to create a new ethics board and how to define violations for elected officials, city employees, and appointed board members. At the following regular meeting, public commenters raised concerns about disbursement of mass-shooting recovery funds, a downtown event permitting dispute, and public health needs, while the council also approved minutes from three prior meetings.

Key points

• Councilor Susan Longchamps requested the ethics policy review, citing a business dispute and a committee member's social media posts as the impetus.
• Councilors Michael Roy (referred to as "Chittim" at points in the transcript) and Bret Martel raised concerns that terms like "professionalism," "courtesy," and "appearance of impropriety" are too subjective to serve as enforceable standards.
• On a informal thumbs-up/down poll, a majority (described as 4-3) favored creating a new ethics board, though Roy and Martel objected, arguing the council already has authority to handle complaints and that the vote was not a formal action.
• Councilor Scott Harriman objected to language requiring an accused official to leave the meeting room entirely; the council reached consensus to remove that provision.
• Harriman also flagged that the policy may improperly apply to school committee members, a separate elected body; the council agreed to have the city attorney review this issue.
• Councilors discussed narrowing permanent committee-removal penalties to instead cap removal at the remainder of a member's term, with general agreement to make that change.
• During public comment, Amy Sussman criticized the city's handling of mass-shooting recovery funds and disclosure of Mayor Sheline's board role with the Maine Mill; Joe Philippon described a dispute over electrical outlet use at a downtown Art Walk event as reflecting broader city permitting culture issues; Ronnie Parity called for expanded public health and youth addiction-recovery resources.

Next steps

• City attorney to review whether the ethics policy can legally apply to school committee members.
• City attorney to review potential overlap between proposed Section 17, council rules Section 5, and existing ethics policy provisions.
• Staff to clarify ambiguous terms in the draft (e.g., "board member" vs. "commission member," reference to "this section" in 23.8D, citation to 1 MRSA 405).
• City administrator to bring back revised draft reflecting removal of the "must leave the room" provision and capping committee-member removal at the remainder of a term.
• Council to further discuss and define the process for appointing members to a proposed ethics board.

Read the full transcript