The Bangor city councilor elected Tuesday to Penobscot County Commission isn’t sure if he’ll resign his seat during the roughly year-long overlap, despite previously saying that he would.
Democrat Dan Tremble, 59, won the race for the Penobscot County Commission seat with 14,300 votes, besting Republican challenger Cary Weston who had 12,462 votes, according to unofficial results Wednesday morning.
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News before the election, Tremble said he would resign his seat, based on legal advice.
Now that legal advice is split, and Tremble said Wednesday afternoon that he is not sure he will resign after all.
“I wasn’t being deceptive saying I would resign,” Tremble said. “That’s what I planned to do after that was kind of the advice I got, but now I’m getting conflicting advice. I’m going to weigh both sides and see what seems to make sense.”
Tremble’s announcement that he may not resign from the Bangor City Council deviates from the position he took for months leading up to the election, and may surprise Mainers who voted for him and who are concerned about the roles having conflicts of interest.
Tremble originally planned to serve in both roles until his council term ended, he told the BDN in March. By May, weeks before the primary election, Tremble said he would resign based on his interpretation of a Maine law.
Maine law says someone cannot be a county commissioner and also the “mayor or assessor of a city or be a member of a select board or hold the office of assessor of a town.” It does not specifically say city councilor, Tremble said.
The Maine Attorney General has previously ruled it would not be a conflict. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has not weighed in on the issue. If someone was to challenge it as a conflict, they would have to prove that and the state’s highest court wouldn’t issue a ruling before the 10-month overlap ends, Tremble said.
“The county doesn’t have any say over the city spending and the city doesn’t get to vote on the county spending so there’s really no conflict between the two offices,” Tremble said. “I can’t think of any case where I have to recuse myself from anything.”
Tremble said he wants to finish out his city council term and will make a final decision before the end of the year, but likely within the next month.
Tremble won the District 1 seat, which covers Bangor, Brewer, Clifton, Eddington, Holden and Orrington. It is held by longtime Commissioner Peter Baldacci, who is retiring after decades in the position.
His term as county commissioner will start Jan. 1, 2025, and his city council term will end after the Nov. 4, 2025, election.
Once he takes the commission seat, finding a property for the Penobscot County Jail and getting voters on board to pay for the building will be one of his biggest priorities, Tremble said.
As Tremble decides next steps and takes the county seat, he said he wants to be available for any resident with questions or concerns.
“I’m very accessible and look forward to working with the other two commissioners for the best interest of everybody in the county,” Tremble said.
