May 4 (UPI) — The mayor of Waterville, Me., will have to face a recall vote for a Twitter remark he aimed at a student from Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Waterville City Clerk Patti DuBois certified a petition Thursday that forces the recall vote next month for Mayor Nick Isgro.
Isgro tweeted at Parkland student David Hogg, a student-turned-activist who was injured in the Feb. 14 shooting attack that killed 17 people. Hogg has called for stricter gun laws and an advertising boycott of conservative commentator Laura Ingraham’s Fox News program.
“Eat it, Hogg,” read Isgro’s tweet, which was later deleted.
The Maine People’s Alliance later found and posted other Isgro tweets — including one in which he defended GOP senatorial candidate and accused child molester Roy Moore in Alabama, and another with comments about public education and anti-sexual harassment legislation.
DuBois said 887 signatures — 30 more than needed — were collected. The recall question will appear on the June 12 ballot.
Isgro called the effort to get him recalled “a disgraceful and dishonest campaign that preyed upon our elderly, disrespected our Veterans, smeared community volunteers as ‘racist’ and bullied our residents.”
“It appears that outside special interest groups spending thousands of dollars — while colluding with well-connected political elites and the local press — allegedly turned in enough signatures to have a vote to repeal our accomplishments and repeal local control of our city,” he added.
Former Waterville Mayor Karen Heck, a frequent critic of Isgro, was among the leaders of the recall effort.
“Mayor Isgro is no longer able to fulfill the duty of acting as a good ambassador for Waterville,” read a statement from petition leaders. “He has failed to show leadership, accept responsibility for his actions, and has contributed to the divisiveness in our community.”
With a population of 16,400 situated on Maine’s Kennebec River, Waterville is home to Colby College and Thomas College.
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