HAMPDEN, Maine — During a Monday night meeting — their last before the Nov. 4 elections — town councilors will take up three possible violations of the town’s code of ethics.
One of the potential violations will be discussed at the request of Councilor Thomas Brann. Two other possible breaches will be discussed at the request of Mayor Carol Duprey.
All three cases will be discussed in executive session, the agenda indicates. Each executive session will be followed by a determination of whether a violation occurred and, if so, a possible vote of no-confidence.
The agenda does not specify which councilor or councilors are being accused of violating the town’s ethics code, but Brann did ask during an Oct. 6 meeting that a no-confidence vote be conducted for Duprey.
That was largely because of the negative campaign robocalls made on Sept. 30 by a political action committee established in August by the mayor and her husband, Rep. Brian Duprey, who is seeking re-election to his state House seat and who is running for a seat on the Regional School Unit 22 board on Election Day.
The robocalls were paid for by the Republican Leadership and Training Fund, a PAC registered with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices on Aug. 11. While not all the calls were negative, Councilor Ivan McPike and Councilor Jean Lawlis, incumbent candidates in two of Hampden’s four voting districts, apparently were targeted and blamed for a 10 percent increase in property taxes over the last two years.
The no-confidence vote, however, did not take place on Oct. 6 because the town’s attorney, Thomas Russell, said the item had not been properly noticed.
Brann then formally requested an executive session be placed on the Oct. 20 meeting agenda for the purpose of discussing, among other things, whether the mayor violated the town’s code of ethics.
Carol Duprey declined Friday to disclose the names of the councilors she has asked be reviewed.
“It is a violation of our Code of Ethics for me to discuss any executive session items,” she wrote in an email seeking comment.
Town Manager Susan Lessard said Friday she was unable to disclose any of the details about the three requests because doing so, if they later determine no ethics breach occurred, would unfairly besmirch the reputation of the councilor or councilors cleared of making an ethical misstep.
Penalties for councilors who violate the code of ethics include a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 for each offense and would constitute cause for censure by the rest of the council after notice is given and a hearing is conducted, the 10-page document states.
Monday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Hampden municipal building and will be live streamed on the town’s website. A video recording of the meeting will be posted on YouTube later in the week.