Morgan Gunnell resigned from Milford’s School Committee in August due to “intense pressure” from the community and threats to his “person and life,” according to his resignation letter obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
Gunnell sent his resignation letter to the school committee on Aug. 12, one day after the BDN first reported that he was convicted of assault in 2015. He was elected in June with seven write-in votes for a three-year term.
“In response to the public outcry against my election to the Milford School Board, the intense pressure exerted by the public and a number of insinuated threats to my person and life, I am resigning from this seat on the school board,” he wrote.
Gunnell’s resignation letter sheds light on the Milford community’s public backlash to learning of Gunnell’s criminal record. Multiple people interviewed by the BDN said they did not know about Gunnell’s conviction until after he was elected.
The BDN obtained Gunnell’s resignation letter through a Freedom of Access Act request. The BDN submitted the request to Milford Town Manager David Dionne on Aug. 13 and it was fulfilled on Friday.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint on Aug. 20 from Gunnell regarding comments made in a media article about him, but they were determined to be non-criminal and not direct threats, Chief Deputy John A. Knappe said.
The Milford community deserves a school committee member that has the confidence and support of parents as well as someone who represents the school’s faculty and staff, Gunnell said.
The public response showed Gunnell that he was “not that desired representative,” he wrote.
“I wholeheartedly submit to the public rancor in the hope of satisfying their ire,” Gunnell wrote.
Gunnell pleaded guilty to an assault charge after a grand jury found that he knowingly or recklessly caused bodily injury or offensive physical contact to his son who was less than a year old at the time, according to court records. Gunnell entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintained that he was innocent but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.
Gunnell did not respond for comment on his resignation.
