By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Reactions to news that criminal charges have been filed against Mayor Lionel Guay were almost unanimous on the streets of Lewiston on Thursday.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” said Said Tani, who was standing on Chestnut Street at lunchtime while a friend talked on a cell phone. “Let the courts decide.”

Tani lives in the city and is a registered voter. He said his decision at the Nov. 8 polls will be based on which candidate is better, not by allegations brought forward against Guay just a week before the vote.

Guay is running against repeat candidate Charles Soule for a second two-year term in office.

On Tuesday, the state Attorney General’s Office filed seven counts of misdemeanor charges against the incumbent mayor, alleging he unlawfully touched and assaulted a high school girl earlier this year. Guay has denied the claims.

Like Tani, Lewiston residents and others following the news from nearby towns are waiting for a legal decision before making any judgments.

Jonathan Blanchard, a Lewiston voter, was having lunch Thursday afternoon at the counter at Simones’ Hot Dog Stand. He hadn’t heard of the charges against Guay and was stunned. Still, he refused to rush his opinion on the mayoral race.

“I’d have to hear more yet, definitely,” he said.

His father, John Blanchard of Yarmouth, added that Guay has not been proven guilty. “It’s an allegation. Anybody can make an allegation,” he said.

At a nearby booth, Cynthia Dowd of Richmond said she felt bad about the charges.

“Why didn’t it happen a week before?” she asked, noting the timing of the filing. “In reality I hope it’s not true, but I also don’t want to dismiss it, because if a woman can’t complain (about sexual harassment), then what can they do?”

Dowd added that she works “quite closely” with people at City Hall as an employee of Community Concepts. Although she wondered whether the charges might be politically motivated, she said she was “not surprised” to learn about the complaint.

She declined to elaborate.

Marge Perkins of Auburn was walking down Lisbon Street near the district courthouse.

“There’s too much publicity on a charge that has not been decided yet, and that’s wrong, no matter what,” she said.

Like some others, Perkins felt the news play was unfortunate because it worked against efforts of city officials to revamp the image of Lewiston and Auburn.

While also passing by on Lisbon Street, Chris Noel, who recently moved from Massachusetts to Lewiston, was shocked to learn of the allegations against Guay. “It’s, wow – who would’ve thought?”

The charges won’t necessarily affect Noel’s next visit to the polls, though.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” he said.