PORTLAND – Former Mainer and current Texan Carl Lindemann has questioned the dual role of a member of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.

Jean Ginn Marvin is a member of the ethics commission and its former chairwoman. She is also on the board of directors for the Maine Heritage Policy Center and is its treasurer. She has recused herself from the MHPC matter heard before the commission on Oct. 31 and stepped down as the commission chair, but has retained her seat.

“Simple recusal by Ms. Ginn Marvin in this case is not sufficient to fully address the appearance of impropriety flowing from her position,” Lindemann wrote in a Nov. 27 letter to commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne.

Lindemann also questioned how Ginn Marvin could be on the ethics commission while also serving on the board of directors and as treasurer of an organization the commission regulates. Lindemann has called on her to either resign from the MHPC board or from the ethics commission.

Wayne said that Ginn Marvin discussed her role with the center before the commission considered Lindemann’s complaint. She recused herself from the matter and left the meeting altogether after publicly declaring a potential conflict of interest. Her position did not prejudice the commission staff’s recommendation in October, Wayne said. “I’m very comfortable with Jean Ginn Marvin’s actions.”

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