As a group of Ellsworth residents circulate a petition to recall five city councilors, others are pushing back against the effort.
Since the recall effort was publicized late last month, several local residents and at least one former city employee said this week that the recall attempt is “anti-democratic” and “a waste of money” and that it amounts to retaliation for the council’s recent censure of fellow Councilor Steven O’Halloran.
The petition is targeting the five members who voted to sanction O’Halloran last month over an alleged ethics violation. O’Halloran allegedly bullied city staff, publicly accused them of wrongdoing and photographed an employee’s vehicle at the employee’s house during a self-apppointed investigation, among other allegations.
Although the petition was submitted to City Hall two days after the censure vote, the group says the recall is independent of O’Halloran and is centered around the council’s overspending. The group has also accused the five councilors of discriminating against a business owner and holding an illegal executive session.
The recall names councilors Tabatha White, Carol Patterson-Martineau, Nancy Smith, Marinna Smith and chair Patrick Lyons, who pointed out that the four women on the council were all being targeted.
While the group collected signatures before a council workshop Monday evening, Ellsworth resident Lucy Leaf was stationed at City Hall’s entrance, at her side three homemade signs in support of the council and city employees. Leaf said she was against the recall petition, adding that it would do nothing but paralyze the council.
Leaf is not alone. Although the council’s critics have been very visible — dozens of residents have shown up to meetings in recent months to protest council spending — critics of the recall effort also are speaking out.
Diane Gallagher Klausmeyer, an Ellsworth resident who worked for the city’s school system for nearly two decades, described the recall as “stupid” and said she felt embarrassed for the city.
She said the councilors facing recall hadn’t been given a chance, noting that several haven’t been in office very long. Elected in 2023, Lyons and Nancy Smith are the longest tenured councilors of those on the petition.
“We elected these people — they were elected fair and square — it was a close race, but Marinna did win,” Klausmeyer said, referring to councilor Marinna Smith. “I feel like we should be supportive of them. Yes, things are expensive here, yes taxes are expensive. But you know what? They are in a lot of places. And the thing is, we are a center, all these little towns around us come to us.”
Klausmeyer noted that Ellsworth, as the Hancock County seat, serves residents beyond city limits, which drives up costs. She said that the school system’s special education obligations are also contributing to budget hikes. The city’s proposed budget for next year is about $29 million, around $16 million of which is earmarked for schools, according to the city fiscal year 2027 budget book.
Each resident who spoke against the recall noted that, although petitioners cite overspending as a primary reason for the effort, a recall election itself would also cost taxpayer money. Supporters of the petition say an election would be more cost-effective than keeping the current council in place.
“I think it’s a waste of money, if they get enough signatures to get a vote, it will not accomplish anything positive,” said Ellsworth resident Martha Williams, who added that the recall was retribution for O’Halloran’s censure. “It’s not going to reduce their taxes. It’s just a bunch of people who are malcontent and are being stirred up by John Linnehan, who won’t get elected.”
Linnehan, one of several leaders of the recall effort, has unsuccessfully run for city council several times. The local businessman most recently lost by two votes in last year’s election.
Although the petitioners insist the recall is nonpartisan, several leaders were collecting signatures by the Hancock County Republican Committee headquarters last week, Ellsworth school board chair Paul Markosian said. The Republican committee’s Facebook page has also boosted a Linnehan post in support of the recall.
In contrast, a Facebook post by the Hancock County Democratic Committee asked residents not to sign the petition on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Linnehan posted a video of councilor O’Halloran criticizing the city’s spending and inviting residents to sign the petition at Maine Coast Mall during a Friday evening event. In a separate video, Linnehan describes the event as a “recall rally” at the republican headquarters, noting that O’Halloran would be the keynote speaker.
Markosian said the recall effort was “ill-advised, anti-democratic” and disappointing, noting that the councilors were duly elected by Ellsworth voters and can be replaced by an election if their constituents disagree with their actions.
“I hope they fail, but everyone has to be prepared for the fact that they may succeed,” Markosian said of the recall petitioners. “I think it’s going to be very disruptive, and it’s going to make it hard for the city government to do what they need to do to run the city.”
Reggie Winslow, the city’s former water superintendent and a current Surry resident, said he disagrees with the recall and believes the councilors “mean well.” He noted that the city overspends and doesn’t prioritize failing infrastructure that needs to be addressed.
He said he had positive experiences with each of the councilors during his time with the city, adding that Marinna Smith had not yet been elected before his November 2025 departure.
Winslow said residents should consider each councilor individually rather than grouping them together, and that it “should be scary to people” that the petition, which has amassed several hundred signatures, could leave only two sitting councilors until an election is held.
The recall has become a heated local topic on Facebook. Impassioned posts by residents on both sides of the issue have garnered dozens of comments, some of which have included personal attacks on city staff. One recent post even went so far as to accuse an Ellsworth employee of wrongdoing and included the employee’s photograph and details about their family history.