The Lincoln Town Council held an emergency meeting Thursday night to express regret for the decision by one of its members, who is also a Republican state legislator, to share a Facebook meme featuring the Confederate battle flag.
As of earlier this week, the Town Council had not taken any action to condemn the post by Councilor and state Rep. Sheldon Hanington, whose council term expires next year and who is not seeking re-election to the Maine House of Representatives this year.
But on Thursday, councilors in the northern Penobscot County town voted 6-0 to pass a formal statement of regret for Hanington’s sharing of the meme, which he did earlier this month and has since deleted. Hanington abstained from voting, according to a video of the meeting. There was no discussion during the public portion of the meeting except for a formal reading of the statement.
In their statement, the councilors alluded to but did not take a position on recent nationwide protests against racial injustice or police violence. Rather, they said that they felt compelled to respond after an outpouring of “opinions” in response to Hanington’s post, including some that have been “damaging to the good public image of the Town of Lincoln that is held by many people.”
They accused Hanington of exacerbating national divisions during the current moment of “controversy” and said the nation and town are “better served by statements that help us reconcile with one another and move forward.”
“For these reasons, the opinions and postings in this specific instance have become the subject of questions that the Council must address,” the councilors said. “In so doing, the Council disassociates itself from the comments and expresses its public regret.”
They stopped short of taking any actions to “expel” Hanington from office, despite “some calls” for the council to do so. The resolution stated that “he has not engaged in conduct that disqualifies him from office under the Town Charter nor is he an employee,” but added that “he is accountable to the voters.”
In the June 11 meme, which Hanington shared from another Facebook page called “The Brotherhood,” the Rebel flag is shown beneath a written message stating that “we will not back down from our heritage,” according to a screenshot provided to the BDN. The meme also called for others to reshare it.
Hanington has not responded to requests for comment about the post, which was first reported by the Lincoln News. But he told that local paper that he is “most definitely NOT a racist” and the “meme did not incinuate [sic] that at all. It just said that those with heritage to this flag should fly it proudly.”
Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, a Freeport Democrat who is also running for the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in November, said earlier this week that she condemned Hanington’s post, but House Republicans have not made any statement about his sharing of the meme.
Hanington is serving his third consecutive term in the House.