WINSLOW — Several residents called on current and recently elected members of the Town Council to step down at the council’s meeting Monday, after Town Manager Ella Bowman resigned due to “hateful” rhetoric from town councilors and community social media pages.

Upward of 50 residents attended the Town Council’s meeting, with more than 20 speaking during public comment in support of Bowman, who is among the only openly transgender town managers in the country.

The meeting was the first since Bowman announced her resignation and councilor-elect Doris Labranche threatened a resident with legal action over sharing screenshots of anti-transgender rhetoric messages posted by Labranche.

Mackenzie O’Ben, the resident Labranche threatened with a cease and desist order, called for Labranche and councilors Mike Joseph and Fran Hudson to either apologize or resign.

“Councilors are not supposed to use a community Facebook page to bully, harass or silence people who disagree with them politically or allow others to do so on their behalf,” O’Ben said at the meeting. “Councilors are expected to conduct themselves with integrity, honesty and respect. You have failed.”

Hudson is the owner and founder of the “What’s Happening in Winslow, Maine?” Facebook group, which has more than 7,000 members. Discussion about Bowman’s departure was banned from the group hours after she tendered her resignation.

“If none of you are going to take ownership of your actions and apologize, then I call on you (to) resign, because you are not fit for the office that you occupy,” O’Ben added.

O’Ben’s sentiments were echoed by a number of residents during a public comment period that lasted nearly an hour. Town Clerk Audra Fleury read aloud about 10 emails residents had submitted.

“To say the behavior of the three newest council members and the councilor-elect has been disappointing would be the understatement of the year,” one resident wrote.

“It’s disturbing to see that council members’ energy is being spent to attack, belittle, conspire, discriminate, polarize and demean fellow community members,” wrote another.

One resident noted that FBI data has shown an increase in hate crimes motivated by gender and sexual orientation in recent years. Another decried the “playground” antics from Labranche, Joseph and Hudson. Others claimed the councilors were fighting “a war against an invented enemy.”

Nearly all said they wanted the vitriol and anger to stop.

Some residents spoke in support of Labranche, Hudson and Joseph during the meeting, including resident Lisa Carey, who said that residents decrying vitriol in town politics were being hypocritical by swamping public comment in support of Bowman.

“You want to look in the mirror when you start accusing people of hatred and bigotry and everything else,” Carey said. “I’ve lived here all my life. I love this town, and it’s actually embarrassing right now to listen to all of you accuse a town councilor of stuff when you can’t even look in the mirror and say the same thing for yourself.”

Defeated council candidate Steve Soucy, who lost his race in November by a nearly 30-point margin to incumbent councilor Dale Macklin, claimed during public comment that Bowman and former council chairman Peter Drapeau were conspiring with newspaper reporters to sway coverage of council events.

“Truth must come to light, and malfeasance must be exposed. Perception is reality, however, everything you read in the local paper is not true nor reality,” Soucy said. “In email dated as far back as Feb. 15, at 12:46 p.m. the town manager stated, ‘I truly believed there will not be a story written on this. The reporter stepped out of bounds in the past and was reeled in.'”

Soucy did not say how he obtained the emails or what stories they pertained to, nor did he immediately make copies of them public.

Councilor Hudson echoed Soucy and Carey’s sentiments in a prepared statement she read to the crowd.

“I want to remind everyone that there are always two sides to every story, unlike the one-sided articles published by our local newspaper,” Hudson said.

Hudson said she maintains mutual respect for Bowman and “never looked to remove, fire or treat Ella any differently because of her gender,” but did not directly address claims that she has amplified social media vitriol and quashed critical discussion on her Facebook group.

Hudson noted that neither she, Labranche nor Joseph have commented publicly on claims of vitriol and hate in the town office, saying the councilors were advised “not to engage with the Sentinel” or newspaper reporters.

“You will notice that none of the three councilors has spoken or commented on (the articles). We believe we did that and stayed silent to be in the best interest of our town,” Hudson said. “If you look closely at these articles, a common denominator becomes apparent. There’s one individual who has frequently commented, not in a way that supports the councilors or the well-being of the town.”

“However, I’m not here to throw accusations or tarnish the reputation of our town manager, Ella,” Hudson added.

Councilor Joseph was mentioned directly in Bowman’s resignation letter. Bowman noted one incident when Joseph filed for a protective order against Bowman after she “yell(ed) and put her finger in my face” after a July council meeting, Joseph wrote in the filing. A judge would deny Joseph’s request.

After the request was denied, Bowman’s letter alleged Joseph “went as far as requesting a police escort when he entered the town office because he stated that he feared for his safety around me.”

Asked if he wanted to respond to Bowman’s or residents’ comments at Monday’s meeting, Joseph replied “No.”

Joseph and Hudson also drew controversy in June after emails surfaced showing the duo questioning the cognitive function of Councilor Lee Trahan and requesting a list of medications he was taking as he recovered from a coma he briefly entered in April.

While the three new councilors have been a vocal minority for their terms so far, that balance was upset in September when longtime councilor Ray Caron abruptly resigned, citing personal reasons but declining to elaborate, leaving Labranche as the only declared candidate for the District 4 council seat.

Labranche would face a challenge from write-in candidate Kyla Mihalovits, defeating her by an unofficial tally of 572 to 260.

Mihalovits called for Labranche, Hudson and Joseph to resign in an email submitted for public comment, saying the vitriol among councilors risks driving away business, new residents and a qualified replacement for Bowman.

“The blame does not rest on those who have called out the bullying behavior, it lies at the bullies’ feet,” Mihalovits wrote. “There’s so much good in our little town. It’s what brought a lot of us to Winslow and made so many stay for generations. There has to be some accountability before we can move forward and heal from this.”

The Winslow Public Library was filled to capacity for the council meeting. More than 40 people sat in the usual council chambers while about 15 stood outside and listened in to the meeting.

Public comment is generally held at the end of Winslow’s council meetings, though Chairman Jeff West voted to move it to the beginning of Monday’s meeting. His motion passed by a 4-2 vote, with Hudson and Joseph voting in opposition.

Councilors began discussions about replacing Bowman toward the end of the meeting, though no action was taken Monday night.

Bowman’s resignation will take effect on Feb. 5, 2025, although the Town Council can vote to waive her contract if members want her to depart sooner.

Town Attorney William A. Lee III said the town has “broad discretion” to decide how they want to hire Winslow’s next town manager, as the town charter does not explicitly lay out the hiring process.

Bowman was hired in 2023 without the standard search committee and public process that generally precedes hiring a town manager, raising concerns from some about a lack of transparency and accountability in her hiring process.

Her predecessor, Erica LaCroix, was hired through a committee of seven council members, two department heads and two residents.

Lee floated the idea of appointing an interim town manager while the council begins a potentially nationwide search for a new manager.

“It’s really entirely up to the council,” Lee said. “It’s entirely at your discretion how you wish to proceed, but these things often take longer than you expect.”

Bowman did not directly address residents or her resignation during the meeting, though she referred to the political climate that prompted her departure during her monthly town manager’s report.

“This has been a tough year for all of us. Local politics were brutal on citizens, candidates and town employees,” Bowman said. “I hope this is not the new norm. Congratulations to our two new council members who won their seats. That’s all I have.”

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