Independent 1st Congressional District candidate Marty Grohman has asked multiple Maine agencies for a probe into Republican opponent Mark Holbrook, who Grohman claims is violating state law by calling himself a psychologist.
The two are running to unseat five-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, in a race that is complicated by ranked-choice voting. Grohman, a former Democrat, is seeking to overtake Holbrook among Republicans to use the method to knock off the five-term incumbent.
Grohman, a state representative from Biddeford, filed a complaint on Thursday with the Maine Attorney General’s office, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office, the Office of Professional and Financial Regulation, and the state psychologist licensing board asking that Holbrook, 64, be investigated for publicly misrepresenting himself as a psychologist.
He was licensed as a psychologist until 2015, when that license was canceled. He is a licensed counselor and psychological examiner. The latter license limits holders in Maine to administering and interpreting tests for job or educational placement, such as those measuring aptitudes, interests and personality characteristics.
“Psychologist” does appear in the title of Holbrook’s personal website and at least once on his campaign website.
State law says that people who “hold themselves out to the public” as psychologists or engage in psychological practice without the correct license are subject to penalties for running unlicensed practices, though Holbrook’s website says he does fitness-for-duty evaluations and pre-employment screenings — which seem to fit the license that he holds.
In a statement, Grohman spokesperson Riley Ploch called Holbrook’s messaging “deeply disturbing,” and the campaign’s complaint asks the agencies to investigate Holbrook’s “advertising his false status as a psychologist.” The Republican candidate did not immediately respond to two voicemails left early Thursday afternoon.
This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.