ROCKLAND, Maine — A candidate for the Rockland City Council who was taken to court by the city earlier this year for a land-use violation has failed to meet terms of a consent order he agreed to four months ago.
Harold Dale Hayward is one of three candidates for a single seat on the Rockland City Council.
Hayward and his wife Geraldine Hayward signed a consent order on May 24 along with Rockland City Attorney Kevin Beal.
The city filed the land-use complaint against the Haywards in April, claiming they were illegally storing flea market items in a fabric-covered structure on their North Main Street property.
The Haywards agreed to remove the structure by Sept. 30 and to reimburse the city $181 for its costs in filing the complaint in Rockland District Court.
Beal said Tuesday that Hayward has yet to reimburse the city. The consent order stated that half the money should be paid by June 30 and the remainder by July 31.
The structure remains on the property.
The fabric structure was erected before June 30, 2010, without a permit, according to the city’s code office. The city also maintains that the storage of wholesale items that later will be sold at flea markets is not an allowed use in the residential zone where the Haywards live.
Dale Hayward claimed at the time of the consent order that the city had targeted him for selective enforcement. He said there were many other violations that the city could have found elsewhere in the community.
Beal said when the consent order was signed that the city did not seek a fine but only wanted to resolve the code violation.
Hayward filed his nomination papers on Monday. He has run twice before for a council seat. When he ran in 2009 against Harden, Harden won by 1,488 votes to 867. In 1986, Hayward was one of nine candidates seeking two open seats on the council. He finished seventh with 344 votes.
A telephone message was left for Hayward on Wednesday morning.
Another witch hunt by BDNS. Or is it by someone who is running.
“But other people don’t follow the law either!” isn’t a defense when you break the law.
Maybe it’s newsworthy to the folks in Rockland given the reporter is from that area?
It is very newsworthy for the people of Rockland. It narrows down the playing field to one.
you are quite right, Steve Betts is doing some great work in this community ( having been a reporter and editor of the Courier Gazette for many years. )
Newspapers are supposed to do this kind of reporting, and it is entirely proper to raise issues about candidates that are not qualified to run for office.
In the cases of Gordon Mank Jr. and Dale Hayward, we have candidates who have demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to obey the law, seeking to be elected to a governing body that makes law.
If these two are feeling ashamed that would not be the worst thing to come from this.
I did not read where Mr. Betts printed the opposite side of this story. Since when are there not two sides?
There are often two sides to a story (and sometimes three) . In this case the Reporter is reporting a fact. Dale Hayward signed an agreement with the City. He did not do what he pledged to do. That can not be disputed. Dale’s opinion or feelings do not change the facts.
See below:
I will not be voting for any of the 3. Two of them do not care about the residents of Rockland and the other one well leave at that…….
I can understand not voting for the gentleman in this article. I can also understand not voting for Brian Harden as he has proven that his time needs to be up based on his “direction” as Mayor and how he has acted. The problem I have with your statement is why would you not vote for Frank Isganitis? He has moved to this area from away and made it his home. He is on the Chamber of Commerce board, has been a vocal part of the Downtown Association, and has done a wonderful job with the Limerock Inn.
So, Rob G… care to back up your statements with any meaningful reason as to why you would not vote for the third candidate? Does his being gay have anything to do with it? Because it is obvious that he does in fact care about the residents of Rockland. Is it because he is from “away” and therefor must now know how things are run in Rockland?
I will tell you that Frank gets my vote (as he did 2 years ago over Larry) and I hope he gets many other votes too!
and just perhaps it is more about selective code enforcement. Happens in Rockland all the time. Rockland takes homes for unpaid sewer bills and if you think posting anonymously on here works forget it. You can be revealed.
What do you mean ?