MAINE (August 18, 2013) - This evening, twelve Maine State Republicans gave notice that they will be unenrolling from the GOP on Monday, and those who are in positions on the Maine State Republican Committee have resigned from their positions.
Included among those who have signed the resignation letter are Mark Willis, the Maine National Committeeman, who is one of three Mainers to represent the state at the RNC meetings, six additional state committee members, and five “rank and file” members.
Willis was, by virtue of his RNC seat, a member of the Maine State Committee member, and other state committee members were Thomas Barry (Androscoggin County), Ann-Marie Grimes Grenier (Cumberland County), Gregory Hodge (Lincoln County), Olga LaPlante (Cumberland County), Russell Montgomery (Knox County), and Violet Willis (Washington County.)
Those who did not hold committee positions at the time of their resignations are Bryan Daugherty, who resigned from his state seat and from the Penobscot County Committee last March after the illegal committee elections; Sam Canders, who ran for state legislature in House District 15 last year; Maria Hodge, who has been a member of the Penobscot County Committee; Scott D’Amboise, who ran against Olympia Snowe until she announced she would not run, and who continued to run for that seat in 2012; and his wife Debbie.
These resignations were made on principle, as the resignation letter indicates. While it is much larger in scope, it is the second wave of leadership resignations in the Maine GOP.
The first wave was in March of this year when at least five Maine State Republican Committee members and one County Committee member resigned from their positions in protest of the corruption of the Maine GOP, though all did not leave the party.
Addendum: A thirteenth Republican, Randall J. Grenier (Cumberland County) added his signature just before the letter was sent.
Pertinent Links:
The resignation letter of 13 Maine GOP members, including 7 State Committee members