Augusta councilors reject special election to fill vacant House seat

AUGUSTA — City councilors have voted against asking for a special election to be called in House District 85 to fill the vacancy created by the recent death of state Rep. Donna Doore, D-Augusta.

Councilors expressed concern that voters could be confused by having a special election to fill the House 85 seat just as a statewide redistricting has taken place that will convert most of the area that now makes up District 85 into a new District 60.

So councilors decided Thursday night — despite the vacant seat created by Doore’s death last month during her fourth term in the legislature — to wait until the general election in November to fill the seat when it is known as District 60.

Redistricting officially became enacted at the start of the new year. But because Doore was elected in 2020 to represent the residents of House District 85, if a special election were called to fill her vacant seat, the election would have been to pick someone to serve the residents who elected her to District 85, in the legislative session that just ended. Legislators elected to the previous districts will keep serving in those districts until the new legislators are sworn into office in December.

“I feel like it’d be incredibly confusing for the public, as well as anyone running for this seat, to be running for a House 85 seat and then, in November, running for a House 60 seat, at the same time, essentially,” said At-Large Councilor Raegan LaRochelle, who also represents Augusta in state House of Representatives District 86. “I believe it’d be more appropriate to allow this to remain as it is and have a primary for House District 60 in June and general election for House District 60 in June.”

Her fellow councilors agreed, voting unanimously against a proposal on the agenda for their Thursday meeting, which asked if they wished to request that Gov. Janet Mills call a special election in June for the vacant District 85 seat.

Emily Cook, director of communications for the Secretary of State, said special elections to fill vacancies in the House of Representatives are only held if a municipality in the district requests that one be held.

LaRochelle said two other House districts have vacancies in Maine, one due to a death, the other to a legislator stepping down, and special elections are not planned in either of those districts. That leaves them to be filled in the usual manner, with a primary in June and general election in November, with their term to start with the next legislative session.

Cook said the state has not heard from any municipalities regarding the current House vacancies, so no House special elections are planned.

LaRochelle, D-Augusta, herself was elected to the Legislature last November in a special election to fill the District 86 seat vacated when former Rep. Justin Fecteau, R-Augusta, resigned last July.

Ward 4 Councilor Eric Lind said if residents of the district have concerns they wish to address with a state legislator in the meantime, that state Sen. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, represents them in the state Senate “so it’s not like we’re leaving the people hanging without representation.”

Mayor Mark O’Brien said he and City Manager Susan Robertson were involved in the decision to place the question of whether the city should request a special election on Thursday’s council agenda. He said when clear reasons emerged to not seek a special election, the thought was to go through with the council vote anyway, as it was already on the agenda and not voting on it might lead to unwarranted speculation.

So far only one person has declared to be a candidate for the District 60 seat representing Augusta, and that is William Bridgeo, the city’s former city manager, who retired from that job last year.

Bridgeo, in a statement announcing his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for House District 60, said Doore, who would have been unable to run again due to term limits, had encouraged him to run and, after a few months of retirement, he “realized that I still have the passion, energy, and desire to serve and the Legislature would be a terrific way to do that.”

Councilors also voted on Thursday to set a special election for June 14 to fill a vacant spot on the Board of Education created when Jennifer Dumond resigned last October. Councilors previously rejected a proposal to fill that seat in a March special election.

Voters in that June special election will also be asked if they approve of the school budget and if they wish to continue the school budget referendum process, which includes a referendum on the annual school budget, for the next three years.