HAMPDEN, Maine — Negative campaign robocalls aimed at two candidates for the Town Council and paid for by a political action committee formed by the mayor and her husband will be discussed during Monday night’s council meeting, according to the agenda.
The meeting is taking place at 7 p.m. at the municipal building.
A discussion about the robocalls was placed on the agenda at the request of councilor Thomas Brann. He also requested a vote be taken on the council’s confidence in Carol Duprey’s performance as mayor.
The robocalls were targeted at councilors Ivan McPike and Jean Lawlis, who are running for re-election.
Duprey issued the following statement last week:
“It is never appropriate for the Mayor of any town to use his or her official office to try to influence an election,” she wrote in an email to the Bangor Daily News. “On September 30, 2014 a Political Action Committee that I am involved with authorized and paid for a targeted phone call reminding voters that their current Hampden Town Councilor voted to raise their taxes and to encourage them to vote for someone who has pledged not to raise their taxes. The call was 100% factual. The call not once mentioned my name or my office.
“The reason I used my Political Action Committee for this call was to avoid even the slightest appearance of impropriety,” she wrote. “By writing this column, the Bangor Daily News is in effect doing what I was trying to avoid, making a public endorsement of one candidate over another. I make no apologies for wanting like minded fiscally conservative candidates on the Hampden Town Council because property taxes have gone up over 10% in the last 2 years and it is time for a change.”
“This is politics and if the candidates who I have called out for increasing taxes got their feelings hurt, well maybe they need to look for a different profession,” she concluded.