Citing mental and physical health concerns exacerbated by an ongoing dispute with a local resident, Edgecomb Select Board Chair Dawn Murray announced her resignation during a meeting at the town office on Tuesday, Dec. 27.
Her resignation is effective Saturday, Dec. 31. Murray fought back tears while reading her resignation letter, saying she didn’t wanted to resign but an order of protection from harassment issued against Edgecomb resident Timothy Harrington had failed to protect her.
“The constant stress of dealing with him either through direct harassment, indirect contact, or his lawsuit against the town has aggravated my autoimmune disorder and greatly increased my physical pain,” Murray said.
The board accepted Murray’s letter with regret. Board member Mike Smith apologized to Murray for her experience.
“We can’t apologize enough to you,” Smith said. “You stepped forward, you were the contact in all of this, and you were the one who took the beating in this. It is unfair and it’s unjust.”
Smith said during the meeting it was unlikely the board would find a replacement for Murray before the annual town meeting in May.
“I doubt we will do anything before the meeting,” Smith said. “We will talk to the town clerk.”
The dispute originated over the summer between Harrington and his neighbor Alan Whitman over whether Old Town Road was still a public road or private property.
Following several months of correspondence with Murray and Code Enforcement Officer George Chase over the status of the road, Harrington began making a Freedom of Access Act request on Aug. 17, and mentioned legal action on Aug. 18 if the request were not fulfilled.
Murray sought and received an emergency protection order on Oct. 5 after Harrington had sent town officials an email stating his intent on defending himself with a firearm if threatened by his neighbor Whitman.
Murray was granted a yearlong protection order against Harrington following a hearing at the Lincoln County Courthouse on Nov. 2. As a result of the order, Harrington was prohibited from directly or indirectly communicating with Murray for a period of one year.
A week later, Harrington was arrested on Nov. 9 for violating the protection order and released on bail.
According to Murray, Harrington attempted to indirectly communicate with her through the town’s lawyer during a scheduling conference in superior court between the town and Harrington held via Zoom on Dec. 20.
Murray believed this to be a violation of the protection order and reported the incident to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. Murray said the sheriff’s office declined to press charges, which led to her decision to resign.
Harrington declined to comment on Murray’s resignation.
The next select board meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9 at the town office.
