LEWISTON — The City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday evening to censure Ward 3 Councilor Scott Harriman for interrupting a fellow councilor and using obscene language.

The resolution presented to councilors said that on May 12, Harriman interrupted Ward 2 Councilor Susan Longchamps and “engaged her directly as she held the floor.” 

During the exchange, Harriman was heard using obscene language, the resolution said.

“Such behavior lies far outside the bounds of civility and decorum,” the resolution read.

Harriman, who also represents Lewiston’s House District 94 in the Legislature, said at the meeting that he did not recall using obscenities during the May 12 workshop.

He also said he received no word from Mayor Carl Sheline or Council President David Chittim of Ward 6 about the censure or about a number of concerns he has brought up in the past.

“Going straight to the most severe type of punishment without even communicating your concern is not how discipline or leadership is supposed to work,” Harriman said, adding that the resolution was “shopped around” to one other councilor to bring it forward. 

“The mayor also called my State House campaign manager last week to give him a heads-up about this resolution and these allegations, but he still has not communicated with me about it.”

Sheline said Wednesday that he did not check with councilors as to who would be willing to bring a censure forward, but he did speak with Longchamps about the incident. After speaking with Chittim, the two decided a censure was fair.

“The claim that I shopped this around is false,” Sheline said. “If I think a councilor needs to be censured I’ll do it myself. Unfortunately, Councilor Harriman’s increasingly erratic behavior has necessitated many phone calls.”

Longchamps said Tuesday evening that it was wrong how Harriman learned of his potential censure, though the matter should not be dismissed.

“I will say as our council president and our mayor, as a leader, you have failed,” Longchamps said. “If it is actually true that you did not go to Mr. Harriman and discuss this as our council president and our mayor, you should have.”

Sheline said during the meeting that Harriman’s behavior has become troublesome even in one-on-one conversations.

“Councilor Herriman’s behavior has had a marked decrease over the past few months,” Sheline said. “I’ve known Councilor Harriman for a long time and unfortunately he’s become increasingly combative. … Councilor Harriman is not credible when he says that he doesn’t remember what he said. Multiple people heard it.”

Chittim said at the meeting that though he does agree he should have approached Harriman about the censure, he echoed Sheline’s sentiments about Harriman’s behavior citing multiple conversations in which he was “met with absolutely no progress.”

“These have been private conversations, one-on-one, and I have failed singularly in trying to influence any of the behavior,” Chittim said. “That pattern of reaching out and talking one-on-one with Councilor Harriman has convinced me that there was no point to that.”

Councilors Joshua Nagine of Ward 1 and Chrissy Noble of Ward 5 joined Harriman in voting against the censure. It passed by a 4-3 vote.

Harriman and Nagine were censured in October for evading public access requirements by using Signal, an encrypted messaging app.

Harriman was censured in 2023 for what the council majority considered a deliberate misrepresentation of facts and damage to the integrity and reputation of fellow councilors during a dispute on open-meeting laws.

Sheline said Tuesday after the meeting that councilors have been entrusted with the responsibility to make progress for the city and must rise above division and personal conflict that “has too often distracted from the work before us.” 

“Our residents count on us to place Lewiston’s future above personal disagreement,” Sheline said. “We will not always see every issue the same way. Different perspectives can strengthen our work, but only when we bring them forward with discipline, respect and a shared commitment to the people we serve. My goal for the Lewiston City Council is to turn our differences into stronger decisions for our city and community.”

Harriman said Wednesday that the mayor and other council members failed to articulate the reasons for the censure and managed only to reinforce untrue rumors that he has become increasingly combative and erratic.

“Instead … council members chose to repeat false rumors of mental illness or incapacity in order to smear or discredit their colleague,” Harriman said. “This only serves to weaken the legitimacy of the council and does nothing to help solve the challenges regular folks are experiencing.”