While former U.S. Senator George Mitchell’s name will soon be removed from a University of Maine building, those who know him say his legacy will continue — with some scarring.
The University of Maine System Board of Trustees voted 9-5 to remove Mitchell’s name from a building, fund and scholarship Monday. The renaming was brought to a vote after a taskforce found that using Mitchell’s name would “compromise the public trust and reflect adversely upon” UMaine or the system.
The half hour of discussion before the vote showed a divide between Mainers who think Mitchell’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and allegations of him knowing about Epstein’s illegal actions, warranted his name being stripped from programs and buildings and those who say the allegations shouldn’t affect Mitchell’s legacy in the state.
Mitchell, who served as a U.S. Senator from 1980 to 1995 and created multiple charitable organizations and programs including the Mitchell Institute, is a renowned Maine politician and statesman. His work has been met with awards and recognition, but he has faced an ongoing reckoning for his relationship with Epstein after his name was found in more than 300 documents released by the Department of Justice earlier this year.
Despite Mitchell, 93, denying any knowledge of Epstein’s illegal actions, his name has been stripped from buildings and programs in Maine and Ireland. He also stepped down as honorary chairman of the Mitchell Institute.
Nevertheless, his defenders have said his legacy of philanthropy that has helped Mainers afford college and brought peace to Northern Ireland will remain but may require more explaining.
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Allen can remember meeting Mitchell for what may have been the first time in 1970 when both of them worked for U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie’s re-election campaign. In the decades that followed, Allen and Mitchell talked and occasionally played tennis together. Despite taking lessons, Allen said he may have only won one set because Mitchell would always rally without mistakes.
When reflecting on Mitchell’s achievements in the past half century, which include being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work in Northern Ireland, Allen, 81, said it would be a discredit to Mitchell’s work if his name were absent from Maine. If he were part of the discussion at UMaine, Allen would have told the board of trustees to “soldier through” any negative feedback Mitchell’s name would have incurred.
“I just think it’s wrong because it feels as if the people who are making those decisions may be anticipating some negative impact on the board or the group that they’re representing, and I think they ought to filter through it because this is one of Maine’s greatest political figures, and in my experience, one of the finest human beings I’ve ever known,” Allen said.
Although he admits he doesn’t know details about the Epstein allegations or files, Allen said Mitchell was an influential figure as the senate majority leader and would have built connections with the people in Epstein’s circle. Knowing those figures doesn’t mean the allegations are true, Allen said.
“In five years, this will be a non-issue,” Allen said. “The Epstein files will be buried, and Mitchell’s legacy will be, you know, there’s a scar there because he went to those gatherings, but it’s basically, in my opinion, guilt by association.”
One of the five trustees who voted against the renaming, Donna Loring, said her vote was based on Mitchel’s legacy, she wrote in a Bangor Daily News op-ed.
Mitchell’s work in congress, peace negotiations in Ireland and the more than 4,000 scholarships awarded to Mainers from his institute are all part of his legacy, she wrote. By keeping his name in place, Maine can “tell the whole story” of his career and let people ask questions about the allegations.
“We should not ignore the questions raised about Mitchell’s association with Epstein. We should not minimize them, and we should certainly not prevent students from examining them. But neither should those questions cause us to diminish everything else,” Loring wrote.
Loring went on to say she “could not vote to diminish a lifetime of documented public service based on allegations for which there has been no finding of wrongdoing.”
Echoing Loring’s statement, trustee Roger Katz, who voted to accept the renaming, said at the board meeting that while he agreed with the task force’s finding that keeping Mitchell’s name related to the university may reflect poorly, he hoped “the next generations appreciate what a giant this person has been in so many areas, and what a credit to Maine.”
The board’s vote was “an appropriate action to protect the reputation” of UMaine, State Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, Mitchell’s cousin, said. It’s “wise advice” to not name buildings or monuments after living figures and let history make a judgment, he said.
It’s hard to know if any of the discussions and choices to rename programs and buildings will actually affect Mitchell’s legacy, Allen said.
“It’s hard to say. I mean, your name on a building when you’ve had a career like that is a trigger for people to remember. How much it changes [a person’s legacy], I’m not sure,” Allen said.