Governor Janet T. Mills (D) Gives Her State of the State Address to the Maine Legislature Last Month in Augusta.

Governor Janet T. Mills (D) today signed an Executive Order establishing a formal process to consider a complaint from the Oxford County Commission against the Oxford County Sheriff.

The complaint formally delivered to the Governor on Wednesday, requests that the Governor remove the sheriff from office   Under the Maine Constitution, only the Governor may remove an elected sheriff from office “upon complaint, due notice and hearing” if she finds the sheriff “is not faithfully or efficiently performing any duty imposed on the sheriff by law.”

The Exective Order signed by the Governor appoints highly respected former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald G. Alexander as Hearing Officer to oversee a hearing on the complaint.

The Executive  Order also establishes:  The sheriff must be provided an opportunity to submit a written answer to the complaint; the Hearing Officer will issue a procedural order governing the hearing process that will provide appropriate protections to the rights and interests of the parties, and the Hearing Officer will provide a written report to the Governor and make any recommendations he deems approproate based pm tje emtore evodemce presemted

“I take this Constitutiona responsibility very seriously” said Governor Mills.  “I thank former Justice Alexander for his willingness to serve as Hearing Officer and to conduct an objective and impartial process.”