AUBURN – It would take a judge – rather than the governor or the attorney general – to force Androscoggin County Commissioner Helen Poulin to leave her office, the controversial politician said Wednesday.

“The only way that this seat will become vacant is by an exigent judgment of the courts,” Poulin said at an afternoon meeting of the three-member commission. She also cast vote after vote, despite the opinions of Gov. John Baldacci and Attorney General Steven Rowe.

Rowe sent an eight-page opinion to Baldacci on Monday, arguing that Poulin technically gave up her seat when she moved out of Lewiston last summer.

Voters in Lewiston – the county’s third district – elected Poulin to a four-year term in 2006. In August, she moved from Lewiston to Auburn, located in the county’s second district.

Late Monday, Baldacci issued a request for nominees for the seat.

“What the attorney general has submitted is nothing but a legal opinion,” Poulin said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the governor’s office has decided to move to vacate that seat.”

Not quite, said the governor’s deputy chief of staff.

“We are not declaring a vacancy,” David Farmer said. “We are filling it. Ms. Poulin doesn’t live in her district anymore.”

The legal wrangling followed months of debate over whether the law allows Poulin to represent one district while living in another.

Poulin insists she has the right to serve.

During Wednesday’s meeting, she voted on each measure before the commission and often added her advice and counsel.

She was buoyed by Chairman Elmer Berry.

“I want to assure everybody that Lewiston has had the best representation it could possibly have,” said Berry, who was defeated Nov. 4 in his re-election bid to the commission. He is slated to be replaced by Randall Greenwood of Wales on Jan. 1.

The other member of the commission, Constance Cote, has spoken in favor of the actions by Rowe and Baldacci. Cote, who did not seek re-election, is to be replaced with newcomer Jonathan LaBonte of Auburn.

The only opposition Poulin faced at Wednesday’s meeting was an appeal by Will Fessenden, the chairman of the county Democratic Committee.

“I question the legality of any vote this afternoon that includes Ms. Poulin,” Fessenden said.

All of the votes in the meeting were unanimous.

Fessenden added that his criticism was not aimed at the level of Poulin’s service to the county. “No one has ever questioned your dedication or effort,” he said.

Poulin has said her move to Auburn was merely temporary and that she intends to return to Lewiston.

The 11-room home on Auburn’s Vickery Road is listed with Realtor Brenda Fontaine with an asking price of $425,000.