A Maine lawmaker who is barred from entering the Chamber of Commerce building in Phillips is speaking out about his dust-up with the Chamber over a local parade.
Republican State Representative Mike Soboleski says the Chamber’s decision to not allow elected officeholders to participate in the annual Phillips Old Home Days parade broke his free speech rights.
“This is a first amendment issue, and you can’t prohibit anybody from marching on that parade route,” said Soboleski.
The Chamber had considered barring elected officeholders from the parade because there was a previous death threat on Democratic Congressman Jared Golden and disputes along the parade route.
Soboleski says he ended up getting into a heated discussion with Susie Sanders with the Chamber over whether the parade is publicly funded.
“Well, that’s a public parade, and it’s being paid for with public funds,” said Soboleski during an interview Monday on the WGAN Morning News with Matt Gagnon. “And she got into an ‘it’s not being paid for by public funds,’ I swear, yeah, it is. It’s on the town warrant, $1,000 for the Phillips Chamber of Commerce for the old home-based parade you were required to provide matching funds. (Sanders said) no, that’s not true. They gave us $1,500 donation. I said, Well, it’s on the warrant.”
Soboleski contends to the Chamber made a legal error in barring elected office holders from marching in the parade.
“I already knew what my position was, Soboleski said. “I’d already had had a discussion with an attorney. I already know another attorney that was asked about it, and they both said the same thing, this is a first amendment issue, so they can’t prevent you from doing it.”
Soboleski says the chamber has since reversed itself and will now allow elected officeholders to march in the parade. He noted the county sheriff and district attorney are publicly elected.
After the dustup at the Chamber meeting, Soboleski says he was issued a no trespassing order by a sheriff’s deputy barring him from the Chamber of Commerce building for a year.
