LEWISTON — The Lewiston Auburn Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s board has placed President Matt Leonard on administrative leave while it figures out what to do about his resignation.
Leonard abruptly submitted his resignation Wednesday in the wake of fallout over a public raffle for a custom-built, semi-automatic rifle that was announced by the chamber on Election Day.
While some people liked the raffle idea and bought tickets, many were upset with the idea that the chamber would give away a semi-automatic weapon — and announce that giveaway during a particularly divisive Election Day that included a controversial gun referendum.
Leonard said about 10 of the chamber’s 1,162 members had pulled their chamber memberships as of Wednesday morning and more were expected.
Leonard on Wednesday apologized and called the timing of the raffle announcement “egregious,” “reprehensible” and “a colossal error in judgment.” The raffle for the AR-15 was quickly canceled.
Although he submitted his resignation, the board has not yet decided whether to accept it.
In an email sent Wednesday evening, board Chairwoman Stephanie Gelinas said the board has scheduled an emergency meeting for early next week and will consider Leonard’s resignation at that time. Until then, Leonard has been placed on administrative leave.
She said board members are working closely with staff members while Leonard is gone to ensure smooth operation of the chamber.
Joseph Cimino, owner of Top Gun of Maine, the Poland business that donated the AR-15 to the raffle, told the Sun Journal on Thursday that he hopes Leonard will remain president of the chamber. He said he can’t understand why the raffle proved to be controversial or why the chamber board was opposed to it.
While some members have left the chamber because of the raffle, Cimino is considering leaving because of the board’s reaction to it.
“I’m not happy with the chamber — I’ll probably resign,” he said. “I have no tolerance for that type of thing.”
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