RUMFORD – Former Lewiston police chief and Maine Public Safety Commissioner Michael Kelly is one of a dozen applicants for the position of Rumford police chief, sources confirmed Tuesday.
Kelly, now living in Bethel, served as public safety commissioner under former Gov. Angus King Jr. from 1998 to 2003. Prior to that appointment, he was Lewiston’s police chief. He was named chief of the year in 1996 and served a total of 22 years with the city department, the final five as chief.
Kelly is currently on administrative leave with pay from his job at the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office as captain for training and accreditation, a job he has held for about 14 months.
Sheriff Mark Dion has not said publicly what allegations against Kelly are being investigated, but he said internal investigations are launched only for serious allegations or when removing the officer makes it easier to investigate the charges.
Town Manager Steve Eldridge would not confirm Tuesday that Kelly is a candidate for the position, although he acknowledged that “word on the street” lists Kelly as an applicant.
Eldridge, as the manager, advertised the job and received all of the applications.
Kelly could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, one selectman also confirmed Tuesday that Kelly is a candidate, but the selectman did not want to be identified as the source of the information.
Eldridge said he hopes to name a successor to Chief Timothy Bourassa at the Dec. 1 selectmen’s meeting. He said he had originally hoped that a name would be presented to selectmen at their board meeting Thursday, but because advertisements for the position were late in getting into newspapers, the nomination will occur later.
Selectmen will review the 12 applications in a closed session Thursday, after the public portion of the meeting.
Eldridge said he and Downtown Revitalization Committee member Linda French and Board of Appeals member Bob Richards will then evaluate each of the 12 applications. Once the evaluation is completed, two or three candidates will be invited to interview for the position.
He said three applications were received from within the Rumford Police Department, one from North Carolina, one from Connecticut and seven from Maine.
He said all applicants will be considered equally, but added he prefers to promote from within whenever possible.
“No matter what position, I always want to promote from within if they are qualified people,” he said.
Bourassa, a 27-year veteran of the Rumford Police Department, is retiring on Dec. 23. In the interim, Lt. Stacey Carter will fill in.
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