A member of the select board in Medway who is also the state representative for the area will be the subject of a recall vote this November as residents try to remove her from her town post.
Eighty-seven residents of the small Penobscot County town signed a petition to recall Peggy Jo Stanley from Medway’s five-member board of selectmen, and selectmen have set Nov. 8 — when voters visit the polls for fall elections — as the date of the recall election.
Medway resident Jody Nelson submitted the petition to recall Stanley. The petition had eight more signatures than the 79 needed to trigger the recall election, according to Medway Administrative Assistant Katherine Lee.
Stanley, a Republican, is also serving her first term in the Maine House, representing a district that covers Medway, East Millinocket, Millinocket, Patten, Hersey Township and Long A Township. She’s not running for re-election to her legislative seat.
Stanley didn’t respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Nelson said she and other residents are working to remove Stanley from office because “she’s very disruptive in meetings.”
“She has targeted some employees and screamed and yelled at them,” Nelson said. “She’s not acting in a manner that’s fit for someone holding her position.”
Lee said a few residents first approached the town office this summer about how a selectperson could be removed from office. At the time, the town didn’t have an ordinance outlining how a recall election could be enacted.
The town then held a special town meeting on Aug. 22 and residents approved a rule outlining how a recall election could be held. Nelson and other residents began collecting signatures to recall Stanley the following day.
Stanley was elected to her three-year term as selectperson in October 2021, Lee said. If Medway residents vote Stanley off the board, her seat would remain vacant until the town holds its regular select board election in June, Lee said. The select board could, however, hold a special election to fill the position earlier.
So far, no one has expressed interest in running to replace Stanley if she’s removed from the board, Lee said.
If residents vote in favor of the recall, Stanley would be removed from the board immediately after the votes are certified and could not run for re-election for two years, according to the town’s rule.