David Corbett, a Republican whose candidacy for York County sheriff was challenged on the basis of his prior experience, is eligible to run, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows ruled on Friday.
Corbett’s qualifications were formally challenged by York County Republican Party Chair Heidi Sampson and independent candidate for sheriff Brian Pellerin.
Both alleged that Corbett has no recorded history of holding a supervisory position as required by Maine law.
At a hearing last week, Sampson accused Corbett of colluding with Democratic Sheriff William King to divert votes from Pellerin, and said she initially thought Corbett’s candidacy was a joke.
Bellows ultimately found that Corbett “met the requirements of the law that allows citizens who served in law enforcement prior to 1990 to run for sheriff even without holding a position of supervisory authority.”
Corbett had incorrectly checked a box on his consent form for his candidacy stating that he had served in the role of sheriff previously. Bellows called this “troubling” but said the misstatement “did not also render his final attestation … false.”
Bellows also addressed the accusation that Corbett was a mere “paper candidate” meant to be a spoiler, saying that she is not aware of a requirement that “a candidate for office have a sincere desire to win and hold the office for which they are running.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Sheriff William King Jr.’s candidacy. He is running for reelection.
