The Maine Constitution calls for the election of the constitutional officers by the combined House and Senate membership. That took place on Dec. 1. Partisan voting has been the case in the past and this session was no exception. On Dec. 1, there were 94 Democrats, 90 Republicans, one independent and one Green Party member.

The Democrats elected their candidates. If party labels had been removed and the votes were objectively based on qualifications, the results should have been different.

Outrageous and embarrassing are the terms for the election of Neria Douglass as auditor.

The current statute, Title 5, states the qualifications for state auditor: “shall be a certified public accountant or a college graduate with not less than six years of experience as a professional accountant or auditor, including not less than five years of auditing experience, of which not less than four years shall have been in a supervisory capacity.”

Ms. Douglass was none of these. She was given nine months to pass an examination. She does not meet the experience requirements.

I don’t recall seeing a full report of these statutory requirements for state auditor in the Sun Journal as seen in other news services. Is there an explanation?

I have seen no clear statement that Ms. Douglass will drop her law practice in Lewiston-Auburn while serving as a full-salaried head of the Department of Audit. It would be appropriate for Ms. Douglass to publicly clarify that issue.

Rep. Thomas F. Shields, Auburn
Editor’s note: The Sun Journal ran three stories concerning the election of former state Sen. Neria Douglass as auditor. Sun Journal staff written stories on Dec. 1 and 3 discussed the qualifications for the job of auditor and the fact that Douglass does not currently meet those requirements. An Associated Press story, published Dec. 2 also reported on the election of constitutional officers. A Sun Journal editorial published Dec. 6 questioned Douglass’ qualifications for auditor. None of the articles cited the exact statutory language, but all discussed Douglass’ qualifications and the requirements of the auditor position.

Copy the Story Link