District Attorney Natasha Irving’s office would get just $1 from Lincoln County in a new recommendation from officials protesting what they see as a lenient prosecuting style.
Natasha Irving, the top prosecutor for Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo and Knox counties, was elected as the midcoast’s top cop in 2018 after a campaign that promised progressive reforms. Seven years later, the Democrat has stirred discontent among officials in Lincoln County.
At an Oct. 17 meeting, members of the county’s budget advisory committee aired concerns about Irving’s office and approved only a $1 allocation. It is unlikely to result in any major cuts because the budget is set by commissioners who are legally obligated to fund prosecutors, but the debate is a local example of tension around prosecuting styles.
“It’s a statement being made that we’re unhappy with the present district attorney’s administration,” Nobleboro select board member Richard Powell, who serves on the advisory committee, said.
Irving rejected the depiction of her a progressive or soft-on-crime prosecutor, and called the protest vote “reckless and irresponsible,” and “an insult to [her] staff.”
“I’m sick that they would send this message to victim advocates, to legal secretaries and paralegals,” she said Tuesday. “Those people do the work that keeps the criminal justice system rolling.”
Previously, Irving has said she subscribes to a law enforcement theory called “restorative justice,” which focuses on dialogue between victims and offenders and considers incarceration a last resort. The prosecutor unseated a Republican incumbent in a 2018 election that was seen at the time as an upset.
Her ethos echoes what political operatives and academics have called the “progressive prosecutor movement,” though she said she considers herself a reformer, rather than a progressive. The movement has had some electoral success in Maine; In 2022, Cumberland County District Attorney Jackie Sartoris beat an incumbent in a Democratic primary with support from billionaire megadonor George Soros’ political network.
Irving said the vote was “laughable,” as ultimately, the law requires counties to keep their DA’s office running. She would sue the county if a $1 budget went through, she said.
Powell and other members of the advisory committee declined to get specific about their concerns with Irving’s office. But Commissioner William Blodgett, a Democrat who attended the most recent budget meeting, said advisory panel members “asked good questions” about the results of some cases that have ended without charges.
Commissioners are expected to meet with the advisory committee later this week to discuss the recommendations and next steps. The county budget will ultimately not be approved until December. While the commissioners are obligated to reject the $1 funding recommendation, Blodgett said the all-Democratic panel would take the vote seriously.
Daniel O’Connor is a Report for America corps member who covers rural government as part of the partnership between the Bangor Daily News and The Maine Monitor, with additional support from BDN and Monitor readers.