ROCKLAND, Maine — Rockland City Councilor William Jillson, who was elected to the board four months ago, has resigned.
Jillson said Monday he has resigned effective immediately.
Jillson was elected in November 2015, unseating Mayor Frank Isganitis 528-476. A third candidate, Deborah Atwell, withdrew from the race several weeks before the election.
Jillson said on election night that he was surprised by his victory. He had sharply criticized the council and City Manager James Chaousis during his run for office, referring to the municipal government as a dictatorship.
Jillson reiterated that criticism in his resignation, saying he could not work with the council nor the city manager.
He claims the city manager was hired in January 2015 under false pretenses and that a background check was not done until after he was hired.
“The city manager couldn’t make a good decision if it was the only one in front of him,” Jillson stated in his resignation letter.
He said he would not go along with the council simply because of the majority view of the council.
“I will not compromise my opinions or integrity to merely agree,” Jillson stated.
Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruf said Monday she was surprised by Jillson’s announcement.
“My feeling is that when someone is willing to do public service, no matter how long, it needs to be admired,” MacLellan-Ruf said.
Chaousis said he had not had time to read Jillson’s letter and had no comment on it.
Jillson began his term by sponsoring a moratorium on power plants, which was approved by the council.
The council also has been dealing with personnel matters, hiring an outside attorney to deal with unspecified issues. The council met with that attorney Friday afternoon before it conducted an evaluation of the city manager in a closed-door session.
A municipal election could be held June 14, when party primaries and local school budget votes will be held. The City Council will schedule the election.
The council has five members, each serving three-year terms.
Isganitis attended Monday night’s council meeting after Jillson’s announcement and said a vocal minority continues to dominate time at the podium at the start of council meetings. He also downplayed a petition, filed with 175 signatures, seeking the removal of Chaousis. He said the number of petition signatures is small, making up only slightly more than 2 percent of the population and slightly more than 4 percent of the electorate.
The last councilor to resign in mid-term was James Thompson, who resigned in February 2008, three months into his first term. He cited an inability to get along with other councilors for his decision.
The only other time a councilor has resigned in the middle of a term was in 1981, when Gary Fowlie stepped down after he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives.