Town officials in the Androscoggin County town of Minot say there's no way in place to recall a new school board member elected after being fired from the school district after years of making sexist and racist comments.
But if there's public pressure, the town's administrator says there's a chance that could be changed, and Mike Downing could be recalled.
Downing was a bus driver for the school district, and ran for the board as a write-in candidate, with no opposition. Town Administrator Arlan Saunders says voters didn't have the information about why he was fired.
"His firing, why it happened, would have all been privileged information, confidential, through the RSU," Saunders says. "And none of that came to light until after the election."
For Downing to be recalled, selectmen would have to vote to amend the town's recall ordinance, which currently doesn't allow school board members to be recalled. He says whether that happens is up to the public.
"If there's a push they definitely would look into amending the recall ordinance," he says. "In fact, I got an email this morning from one of the selectmen to see if there's enough time to fit that in with a school board vote, which is I believe next month."
Saunders says the town would still have to consult with lawyers to make sure that recall would be legal.
