AUGUSTA – Peaks Island secessionists and their opponents waged a daylong battle of words Monday before a legislative panel, over whether the island should remain part of Portland or break away and form its own town.
In all, more than 50 people testified, with slightly more in favor of secession than opposed.
The conflict will come to a head Wednesday, when the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee decides whether to endorse a bill that would give islanders an up-or-down vote on independence.
Supporters of secession say they are fed up with Portland’s high property taxes, and contend that islanders are ready to run their own affairs. Opponents say they fear losing city services and worry that the island’s children would be unable to enroll in Portland schools.
Much of Monday’s debate, though, focused on process.
State law requires a breakaway section of any municipality to hold two elections: an initial advisory election before legislative action, then a final referendum.
The law creates another big hurdle. Before they can force an initial election, secessionists must collect signatures of the majority of voters in the breakaway section of the municipality.
Peaks Island’s secessionists say they did all those things in 2006. They gathered 596 signatures — a majority of the residents — and held an initial advisory election, in which 58 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of secession.
Despite that vote, the Legislature in 2007 rejected a bill that would have allowed the island to hold a final referendum on secession.
A compromise came out of the legislative process. In the wake of the bill’s defeat, the city created the Peaks Island Council, an elected advisory group to the City Council.
Four years later, secessionists say the City Council has failed to take the Peaks Island Council seriously. They want the Legislature to force the city to hold a final referendum.
Secessionists say there is no need to start the process over again.
Rand Gee, 62, co-chair of the Peaks Island Independence Committee, said the issue has polarized the community for nearly two decades, and the best way to resolve it is for the Legislature to require a final referendum.
“We want an answer — yes or no,” Gee told the lawmakers. “We want to put it to a vote. We want this town out of purgatory, just like everyone else.”
The bill, L.D. 1079, would require Peaks Island residents and Portland officials to negotiate the island’s share of the city’s debt, then its share of the city’s assets. It calls for a final referendum on secession Jan. 10, 2012.
Only Peaks Island residents would vote. If they approved secession, Peaks Island would become an independent town on July 1, 2012.
Opponents of secession say too much time has passed since the 2006 advisory referendum. About 150 of the 596 people who signed the petition have died or left the island, said Chris Hoppin, 68, a Peaks Island resident.
Tom McLaughlin, 47, who recently moved the island, said secessionists must start over and hold an advisory vote before the Legislature requires a final referendum. “They need to follow the process and start from scratch.”
Portland Mayor Nicholas Mavodones Jr. said that allowing a final vote on secession would violate the process outlined in state law and set a precedent that would spur secession efforts elsewhere, putting more communities through “the same anxiety and stress that our residents are grappling with today.”
However, Lynne Richard, a former member of the Peaks Island Council, said many islanders are eager to resolve the issue and will be ready to vote by January. “I don’t believe we want more process,” she said.
MaineToday Media State House Writer Tom Bell can be contacted at 699-6261 or at:
tbell@mainetoday.com
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