SANFORD, Maine — A Sanford city councilor facing charges of falsifying documents in a failed bid for the Maine Legislature has been removed from a city subcommittee for alleged behavior that resulted in a city employee filing a complaint.
At a City Council meeting Tuesday, Councilor Victor DiGregorio was stripped of his membership on the zoning subcommittee by Mayor Tom Cote for “belligerent behavior” during a recent meeting that made a department head uncomfortable.
The department head was not named. Cote said Wednesday that it is his understanding that the individual in question has filed a complaint.
DiGregorio claims he wasn’t belligerent or otherwise unprofessional at the zoning subcommittee hearing, held April 14. He said he was attempting to ask a department head questions because she had to leave the meeting for another appointment.
“I was never hostile,” he said. “It is the only committee I [was] appointed to of significant value, and now I’m erased from all in general.”
DiGregorio remains a member of the council’s economic development subcommittee, and at one time served on the airport advisory committee.
His removal from the zoning subcommittee came one week before DiGregorio is scheduled to appear in court on charges filed by the Maine Attorney General’s Office alleging he falsified documents associated with his bid for state office in November 2015.
DiGregorio was an unenrolled candidate in a special election in November for House District 19 in the Maine House of Representatives, which became vacant upon the death of former Rep. Bill Noon. Republican Matthew Harrington won the race, narrowly defeating Noon’s widow, Jean, the Democrat in the race; DiGregorio came in a distant third.
According to misdemeanor criminal charges filed by the Attorney General’s Office District Court on Feb. 8, DiGregorio falsely affirmed in writing that he had collected $5 contributions from members of the community to qualify as a candidate in the District 19 race, when in fact he had not.
The complaint goes on to say that DiGregorio attempted to collect Maine Clean Election Act Funds as a result of the alleged deception.
Charged with six counts of making an unsworn falsification and one count of attempted theft by deception, he is scheduled for a first appearance at Springvale District Court on Tuesday. All are Class D misdemeanors, which carry a maximum prison term of up to one year.
DiGregorio’s attorney, Gene Libby, said he would be entering a not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
DiGregorio’s removal from the zoning subcommittee is unrelated to the criminal charges. Under Sanford’s charter, it is the mayor’s prerogative to appoint councilors to subcommittees.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Cote said he talked to five people who were in the room during the April 14 meeting, and that all five said DiGregorio was making the employee uncomfortable.
“As councilors, we direct the city manager; we don’t direct employees,” said Cote.
Sanford councilors sign a code of conduct annually that speaks to how councilors are to behave. It includes that councilors treat fellow councilors, citizens, city employees and others with respect, and mandates that they not give direction to city staff, but make all requests through the city manager.
“It sort of pains me to have this discussion,” Cote said. “Sitting on a subcommittee is not a right, but a privilege. All councilors have bad days and we don’t all get along, but there’s an expectation that we handle ourselves in a professional manner, especially with city employees.
“I will not tolerate behavior that is belligerent or hostile, or directing city staff and [behaving] in an unprofessional matter.”
DiGregorio said he was one of three council subcommittee members in the room, along with staff.
“What happened was that the department head was leaving and I wanted very much to ask questions,” DiGregorio said. “I was told by the acting chairman that in general, ‘We have to move on, we have things to do.’
“I was not discourteous,” said DiGregorio, later adding, “I was not aggressive, rough or rude. I don’t tell, I ask.”
He said he may have said to the acting chairman, Lucas Lanigan, that “it is not your business.”
Lanigan said he stepped in to try and move the situation along, but the episode escalated.
“You were asked by another city employee to address [the matter] through proper channels, as you appeared to make the department head uncomfortable,” said Lanigan during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Victor, your heart is in the right spot, but sometimes you have difficulty expressing what you have to say,” said Councilor Fred Smith, chairman of the zoning subcommittee. “I wish you could step out of yourself and see how you talk. I’ll give you any help I can, but the respect for the process is respect for the process.”
Lanigan was acting as chair in Smith’s stead April 14, because the medical marijuana ordinance issue was under discussion and Lanigan has had more experience dealing with that issue when he was a member of the Planning Board. As well, Smith said, a property he owns is near a neighbor of a facility where growers are located.
DiGregorio’s tenure as a city councilor expires Dec. 31.