PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A Maine county commissioner is continuing a campaign to stop the enforcement of the state’s mandatory mask order, despite rulings by the state’s highest court that the orders are legal.
Androscoggin County Commissioner Isaiah Lary, a Republican, is involved in a spat with state officials over mask rules. He proposed a resolution on Wednesday that stated no county official can enforce masking orders in the county, which is home to Lewiston, the state’s second largest city.
Lary also wants the county administrator to ask the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for a declaration that the orders are unconstitutional, the Sun Journal reported.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has already told the county once that the state’s masking orders are constitutional. Frey sent a letter to commissioners last week that said “counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions have no authority to exempt themselves from executive orders, and any effort to do so would be of no legal effect,” the Sun Journal reported.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous other state, national and international health authorities have repeatedly stated that masking is an essential step to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The Androscoggin County Commission could potentially vote on Lary’s proposed resolution at a Feb. 17 meeting. A previous resolution of his on the same subject was tabled.
Lary is one of three Androscoggin commissioners facing a potential recall vote over the issue of masks. A local citizens group is seeking to recall the commissioners for their opposition to masking orders.
