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Maine Senate Rejects Dench Nomination, in Party Line Vote

A.J. Higgins
/
MPBN

AUGUSTA, Maine - The state Senate followed the recommendation of the Legislature’s Education Committee and rejected Gov. Paul LePage’s nomination of Susan Dench to the University of Maine System board of trustees. The vote was not without lengthy debate.
 

The Senate, like the committee, split along partisan lines in rejecting conservative activist and blogger Susan Dench for a seat on the 16-member board.  Sen. Chris Johnson, a Democrat from Somerville, serves on the committee. He told the Senate that allegations that Dench plagiarized one of her blog posts, and her handling of those allegations, affected his decision to oppose the nomination.

"We learned of behavior and ideology that goes beyond the pale of what we should expect in a university trustee," Johnson said. "We cannot afford to endorse a role model for our students and faculty who disrespects part of the core principles and ethical standards of a university."

But Assistant Senate Minority Leader Roger Katz, an Augusta Republican, defended Dench. Katz argued she was not guilty of plagiarism. Rather, he says, she was the victim of partisanship.

"Let’s recognize it for what it was: It was a well-orchestrated ambush that she essentially had no effective opportunity to respond to," Katz said.

Katz and other Republicans argued that Dench is qualified to serve on the board, and that the board would benefit from a diversity of opinions.  Another Republican, Windham Sen. Gary Plummer, blasted his Democratic colleagues for putting partisanship above qualifications.

"Susan Dench is very well qualified to serve on the University of Maine board of trustees," he said. "I heard it said earlier that it’s too bad that it became political. It became political because it is political partisanship."

But retiring Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Allagash, says Dench's views are just too extreme.

"She applauded a principal of a school in Texas who told students that they were not allowed to speak Spanish, even though the school's population was 50 percent Hispanic. Well, I know that is Spanish, but I have seen - and I know many people in my area that have seen - that happen with the French language," Jackson said.

After the vote, Dench told reporters she does not believe the vote was against her, she believes it was a vote against Gov. LePage.
 

Journalist Mal Leary spearheads Maine Public's news coverage of politics and government and is based at the State House.