WATERVILLE — Area residents were split Wednesday on whether former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell’s name should be removed from the elementary school bearing his name.
Some said there’s no question the name should be taken off the Drummond Avenue school in light of files released by the U.S. Department of Justice that reveal Mitchell was associated with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sexual predator. The files include emails between Epstein and Mitchell aides that sought to arrange meetings between the two men between 2010 and 2013.
“The implication of being on the Epstein list is disgusting,” said Michael Bragg, 38, of Sidney.
Bragg was with his three home-schooled children Wednesday inside the Paul J. Schupf Art Center, where the children were working on art projects. He said many years ago he had received a Mitchell scholarship, which he used for college.
Bragg was adamant that anyone who had contact with Epstein and took part in wrongdoing “deserves to be punished, even if it is retrospective punishment.”
Bragg said he doesn’t view the matter as a political or partisan issue and maintains the rich and powerful should face the same punishment as others.
“Everyone wants to see anyone associated with the list come to justice,” he said.
Some parents approached the Waterville Board of Education on Monday to ask that it consider removing Mitchell’s name from the George J. Mitchell School and renaming it. One asked that it be changed to “Waterville Elementary School.”
It was originally called the Brookside School but was renamed for Mitchell in 1995. A Waterville native, Mitchell, now 92, has been revered over the years in the city and beyond for his contributions to the state, nation and international issues.
Mitchell, who for years has lived in New York City and summered in Bar Harbor, served as special U.S. envoy to Northern Ireland from 1995-2001, and special envoy for Middle East Peace from 2009-2011. A Democrat, he was a U.S. senator from Maine from 1980-95 and served as senate majority leader from 1989-95. Before that, he briefly served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine and U.S. attorney for the District of Maine.
Other things have been named for Mitchell, including the U.S. Post Office in Waterville; the Department of Special Collections at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, where he earned his undergraduate degree; and the Center for Sustainable Solutions at the University of Maine in Orono.
In light of the Epstein files, The Queen’s University Belfast said it would sever ties with Mitchell and remove his name from the Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. While there have been no findings of wrongdoing against Mitchell, the university determined that continuing to honor him was not appropriate.
A Mitchell spokesperson said Mitchell “profoundly regrets” his past association with Epstein and condemns his actions.
Mitchell recently resigned as honorary chair of the Mitchell Institute, whose mission is to help young people from every Maine community to aspire to earn a college education.
At Monday’s school board meeting, parents Jennifer Johnson, Larkin Silverman and Sarah Staffiere urged members to address the issue. No one opposed their requests.
School Superintendent Peter Hallen and board Chair Erin McDermott said the school policy committee is scheduled to meet March 3 and would discuss the name removal request. It could vote to make a recommendation to the full school board, which is authorized to make a final decision.
Hallen said Wednesday the policy committee could meet earlier than March 3, and it would review all the information presented at the board meeting by parents as well as other communications he has received from people before and since that meeting. Next week is school vacation week, but the policy committee may meet the week of Feb. 23.
The full school board’s next meeting is scheduled for March 9, but the board could schedule a special meeting sooner to discuss the matter, Hallen said.
Hallen said opinions expressed by people who have messaged him are “fairly consistent,” with those the parents presented at the school board Monday.
“I expect that, between now and when we have the meeting, there’ll be more commentary on it,” Hallen said. “So, we’re going to just put it all in front of the committee and look at our strategic plan and mission statement and see where we land.”
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It was quiet outside the Mitchell School on Wednesday afternoon where several inches of snow had fallen overnight and into the morning.
A woman who answered the school’s front door said principal Kim Taylor was in an observation session and unavailable for comment.
But about a mile away in downtown Waterville, Maeven Tracey, 56, of Albion, was pretty strong about the renaming issue and Mitchell’s involvement with Epstein.
“If he’s associated with him, it doesn’t look good, especially if he was active in that lifestyle,” Tracey said.
She said the name change is worth looking into, considering all the information contained in the Epstein files, and how information about Mitchell would reflect on the city.
“How do you feel about your town being associated with a man who was complicit with Epstein’s goings-on?” she said.
But for Lori Nelson, 61, of China, who works in downtown Waterville, changing the name of the school doesn’t make sense.
“I don’t think removing a name is going to change anything,” Nelson said. “It was so long ago and he (Epstein)’s dead. I don’t know why people are making a big deal of it now.”
She said there has been no evidence that Mitchell did anything wrong.
“Unless they have total proof, I don’t think they should deface somebody’s name or change the name of a school.”
Erica Wing, 40, of Corinna, who was leaving a store on The Concourse, likened the removal of a school name to the removal of statues in the South.
“(Mitchell’s) been part of our history,” Wing said. “I think, leave things alone. How much money is it going to cost your local taxpayers to change every letterhead, student badge, school jerseys, uniforms? That is a financial burden. You change all that stuff, it’s a lot of money. I’m always about the bottom dollar.”
Rob Malloy, 46, of Waterville, acknowledged he doesn’t pay a lot of attention to news, but wouldn’t rule out removing Mitchell’s name from the school.
“I feel like if he did something wrong, it should be taken off,” Malloy said. “He’s supposed to be representing good, and if he’s not representing good, he shouldn’t have his name on something that’s representing little kids.”
