Gov. John Baldacci has asked Androscoggin County Commissioner Helen Poulin to “verify” her residence, as part of his inquiry into her move from her elected district. She is stonewalling.

It’s no state secret that Poulin has moved from Lewiston, the community she represents on the county commission, to Auburn. Yet the governor has now asked twice for her address.

Poulin will not tell the governor where she lives.

She did reply through her lawyer, Bryan Dench, who took the fighter’s stance that the governor – the state’s chief governmental executive – has no business making such a request. (Note: Dench is also the Sun Journal’s lawyer.)

“She is a resident of Androscoggin County,” was Dench’s reply. “She … continues to be a conscientious county commissioner diligently acting in the best interests of the entire county according to her duties under the law.”

This answer was divorced from the question, though. Instead of declaring her residency, Dench re-stated Poulin’s contention that statute permits her to live anywhere within Androscoggin County, regardless of district.

Her answer should have been, “I live in Auburn. At 100 Vickery Road, to be precise.”

Poulin is refusing to admit this fact in an attempt to circumvent a challenge to her seat. She has only increased the chances of a challenge by doing so.

As an elected official – for now – she should respect the governor enough to say where she lives. Her residency in Auburn and singular interpretation of statute, are already documented through public sources.

She’s only trying to hide what’s in plain sight.

A more important issue, however, than where Poulin resides is clarifying who in Maine holds county governments accountable.

In practical terms, this power should reside within the county commission itself, through its leadership structure. But, as statutory subdivisions of state government, counties are not truly independent entities.

They are governed by – and therefore beholden to – the law.

Gov. Baldacci is asserting his office’s authority over county government, and is trying to remove layers of political insulation that have protected counties for too long.

It is disrespectful for any elected official, when asked where they live, to refuse to answer. If this is how county officials regard Maine’s chief executive, it raises questions about how they regard their constituents.

Here’s another question: Does Maine need a layer of government that is not accountable to the law, the state, the public, nor, apparently, to itself?

The answer is as clear as Helen Poulin’s true address.