A newly hired campaign staffer for Mark Eves, a Democratic candidate for governor, was fired Thursday after Eves was alerted to sexual harassment allegations against the man.
Brandon Maheu, a longtime Democratic operative in Maine, was hired Monday to help manage Eves’ campaign but had not started work yet, spokeswoman Jodi Quintero said Friday.
Maheu was listed as the campaign contact on a news release sent to reporters Tuesday about an endorsement.
On Wednesday, Eves was contacted by a woman who alleged she witnessed first-hand Maheu sexually harass multiple women while he was working on Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2015 and 2016. Maheu was Sanders’ New Hampshire primary director.
Eves, former House speaker and one of several Democratic candidates vying to succeed Paul LePage, found those allegations credible, Quintero said. He fired Maheu the next morning.
“Upon learning of these allegations, I made the decision to immediately fire Mr. Maheu,” Eves said in a statement. “I informed him of that on Thursday, ending his involvement in the campaign after less than a week. I’m grateful to the brave woman who came forward to share her story.”
Maheu operates the political consulting firm Everywhere Strategies, based in Burlington,Vermont, with his business partner Julie Barnes, but he has many recent ties to Maine politics. In 2014, he worked on the gubernatorial campaign of independent candidate Eliot Cutler. In 2010, he worked for Democratic primary candidate Patrick McGowan.
Maheu did not respond to a request for comment but posted on his Facebook page late Friday that Eves “did the right thing.”
“I should not have put him, his family, or his campaign in this situation,” he wrote. “The women I have worked with are an inspiration to me – they are strong, brilliant, and better at this work than any man I know in politics. That I made any of them feel powerless makes me truly ashamed. I have failed myself, my colleagues, and my loved ones.”
Allegations of sexual harassment and sometimes even sexual assault against men in positions of power have become more common in the past year, spurred in part by the #metoo movement, which encourages women to come forward with their own stories.
Maheu also acknowledged feeling humiliated and said he has been undergoing treatment for the past six months.
“I have amends to make to people in this community and sincerely hope that one day I can,” he wrote. “In the meantime, I want to encourage men in this space to take a step back and understand that they too may be responsible for making someone feel uncomfortable, disempowered, or scared. I’ll be making sure that I continue to take time to reflect further on my behavior and I will always remain deeply sorry.”
In a text message Eves sent to Maheu’s partner Thursday morning – which Quintero shared – he conveyed a zero tolerance policy.
“Whether the claims of sexual harassment were done in the work place or outside is irrelevant to me,” Eves wrote. “It shouldn’t happen at all.”
Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:
Twitter: PPHEricRussell
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