(The Center Square) — Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills says she won’t use her executive powers to oust a Republican county sheriff accused of abusing his office, including selling firearms from an evidence locker.
In a letter to Oxford County Commissioners, Mills said an investigation into the allegations against Oxford County Sheriff Christopher Wainwright determined that the allegations didn’t rise to the level requiring his removal from elected office.
“My decision here should not be viewed as a vindication of Sheriff Wainwright,” Mills wrote in the three-page letter. “The hearing record shows that he has made mistakes and acted intemperately on occasion.”
The Oxford County Commission filed a complaint in February alleging that the sheriff asked a deputy to be lenient after one of his acquaintances was caught operating under the influence, secretly sold firearms taken from an evidence room to a local gun dealer and hired two school resource officers who lacked law enforcement certification. The commission petitioned the governor’s office, asking him to be removed from office.
“The sheriff’s willful and knowing violation of county policy and state law while under active investigation for the same behavior is a significant and meaningful indication that the sheriff has no intention of following the law or county policy going forward,” commissioners wrote in the 10-page complaint.
Mills responded by signing an executive order in February to appoint former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald G. Alexander as a hearing officer and investigate the allegations.
But Mills said the evidence presented by county commissioners during hearings on the complaint “falls short” of the “high standard” needed for a sitting governor to remove another elected official by fiat.
Under Maine’s Constitution, the governor is the only person who can remove elected county sheriffs. No Maine governor has taken the “extraordinary” step in nearly a century, Mills said.
“In my view, the voters of Oxford County should be the ultimate judge of the sheriff on these matters, when and if he puts his name before them for reelection in the future,” Mills wrote.
In a statement, county commissioners said they “disagree” with the decision but “respect” the governor’s decision not to remove the sheriff and will continue to support county staff members who “stepped forward in the face of significant pressure” while ensuring that county business “is done in an evenhanded, professional manner.”
“While we will continue to perform our legal duty to ensure that all County officials effectively and faithfully perform their responsibilities, we will work in good faith to rebuild a productive relationship between our office and Sheriff Wainwright moving forward,” the statement said.
Wainwright was narrowly elected as Oxford County Sheriff in November 2022 to serve a second four-year term. He will be up for reelection in November 2026, according to the Secretary of State’s office.