Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and her finance commissioner have remained silent in the face of bipartisan condemnation of the administration for withholding information from lawmakers.
The controversy over the Mills Administration’s closed-door governance spilled into the public when the deputy director of Maine’s Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) admitted to illegally withholding documents from lawmakers during a Jan. 16 meeting of the Veterans and Legal Affairs (VLA) Committee.
Despite the outcry—and even belated coverage from media outlets other than the Maine Wire—Gov. Mills and DAFS Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa haven’t commented publicly on a scandal that continues to raise questions about the administration’s secrecy and poor record handling of Freedom of Access Act requests.
[RELATED: Maine Wire Sues Janet Mills for Violating Freedom of Access Act…]
DAFS Deputy Director Anya Trundy, who serves as a liaison between the massive state agency, lawmakers, and the public, confessed to withholding reports about Maine’s legal cannabis markets — reports that she was required under state law to share.
Pressed by the House Republican lead on VLA, Rep. David Boyer (R-Poland), Trundy admitted that the 2023 reports for Maine’s adult-use cannabis industry and the medical cannabis program were never given to lawmakers or the public because Trundy felt personally that it would be best to keep those reports secret.
[RELATED: At Maine’s Department of Education, Not All Public Records Requests are Equal…]
“We had a really difficult legislative session last year in this committee that was filled with a lot of acrimony, and that report is due in the middle of it,” said Trundy. “And when the draft came to me from OCP, I put it on my desk and I realized that it needed some editing, and that likely releasing that report would throw another log on the fire. And I didn’t want to throw another log on the fire.”
[RELATED: Deputy Finance Director Admits to Withholding Data from Maine Lawmakers…]
“What I really wanted to do was have a tone change, and at the end of the session, we ended on a great note,” she said.
Rep. Boyer immediately condemned Trundy’s unilateral decision to keep lawmakers in the dark in a radio interview following the committee hearing.
House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) soon joined Boyer’s call for greater transparency from the Mills Administration, as did the two Democratic co-chairs of the VLA Committee, which oversees Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP).
“While I understand the challenges of legislative negotiations, it is deeply concerning that an official with such a high level of responsibility would take actions that circumvent the law and undermine transparency in government processes,” Faulkingham said in a Jan. 23 letter to DAFS Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa.
[RELATED: The Shenna Files: Freedom of Access Under the Democratic Party…]
“House Republicans ask that you clarify whether you were aware of this action and, if so, your stance on the matter,” Faulkingham said. “Additionally, I am eager to understand what steps you plan to take to address this violation and ensure that employees within your department uphold their legal and ethical obligations. Restoring the trust between lawmakers, your department, and the public is essential, and I believe addressing this issue is an important first step toward that goal.”
Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec) and Rep. Lauren Supica (D-Bangor), the VLA co-chairs, penned a Jan. 22 letter of their own to OCP Director John Hudak, reminding him of the statutory obligation to turn over the reports.
In their letter, Hickman and Supica requested that DAFS and OCP immediately comply with the law and turn over not only the final version of the reports—originally due on Feb. 15, 2024—but also any earlier drafts of the reports, which Trundy referred to in her original testimony.
“The failure of your Office to provide this report to the Committee in a timely manner has limited the oversight capacity of this Committee as provided in statute,” the co-chairs said.
Although Trundy has ignored the Maine Wire’s inquiries regarding her comments, a DAFS representative did communicate about the matter with the “Maine Trust for Local News” — OCP’s preferred venue for sharing information and disclosures favorable to the agency’s interests.
In a January 24 letter to Hickman and Supica, Trundy apologized for keeping lawmakers in the dark but offered a lengthy defense of her decision. She also made clear that Figueroa had no involvement in the decision to withhold the reports, though she made no mention of Hudak, who would undoubtedly have been aware that the reports were not turned over as required by statute.
“I also want to be clear that my decision was mine alone, and that Commissioner Figueroa was not made aware of my decision at the time,” Trundy wrote.
Although the 2023 reports Trundy concealed from lawmakers have been handed over to VLA committee members, they are still absent from the OCP website where reports from previous years are currently available.
Those reports are not the only government records that Trundy is responsible for transmitting to lawmakers — or the public.
Trundy also had a hand in processing Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) requests submitted by members of the public and journalists, including the Maine Wire.
Since 2022, DAFS has been among the least responsive of all government agencies, routinely failing to provide time and cost estimates for public record requests from this outlet, often for more than 600 days.
[RELATED: Letter Reveals Mills Sought White List for Maine Media in Bid to Block Critical Coverage…]
Unlike like many government agencies, successfully obtaining public records from DAFS requires sending the agency multiple reminders and, typically, threatening legal action.
The agency also has a habit of losing track of FOAA requests and needing reminders about when requests were submitted and what the requests entailed.
For example, The Maine Wire submitted a FOAA request to DAFS on Feb. 26, 2024, for records related to an illegal marijuana operation that was causing trouble for a small town in northern Maine.
DAFS never addressed the request until Dec. 2024—nine months later—in an email indicating that they had just begun the process of responding to the request, which currently remains unfulfilled.
The request, submitted at the same time Trundy would have been illegally withholding records from lawmakers, may have been yet another “log” the bureaucrat unilaterally decided not to throw on the fire, as it might have inconvenienced the agency’s legislative agenda.
It’s unclear what role, if any, Trundy will continue to have in mitigating journalists’ access to OCP records or the records held by DAFS and its various sub-agencies.
Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) excoriated Trundy, DAFS, Figueroa, and Gov. Mills in a statement Monday, raising further questions about the Mills Administration’s trustworthiness and general lack of transparency.
“It is appalling that a statutorily required report to the Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs committee was intentionally withheld for nearly a year,” said Stewart.
“This occurrence begs two questions of the Governor,” Stewart said. “First, ‘What did the Governor know and when?’ Second, ‘How many other executive branch employees are trying to pull one over on us?’ I look forward to hearing the Governor address this unacceptable breach of trust.”
As of this report, neither Mills nor Figueroa has commented publicly on the apparent culture of secrecy the imbroglio has revealed.
Trundy, whose taxpayer-funded compensation totaled more than $150k in 2024, has also been an official in the Maine Democratic Party in the past, once writing a letter to the editor titled, “It’s About Trust.”
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="34499 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=34499">19 Comments
We have said it before . We will say it again .
Anya Trundy has violated the trust of the citizens of The State of Maine and should be dismissed .
Period .
That is not difficult for normal common sense people to understand .
Maybe “ next election time “ the democrats will learn this lesson .
We will not forget .
$150K/yr. as a state do-nothing employee PLUS a previous position as a Maine Democratic Party official. These hacks have NO shame effectively stealing from the hardworking taxpayers!
Resign Mills! You and your regime have failed the good American citizens of Maine! You are a disgrace! Resign!
“Trundy felt personally that it would be best to keep secret the 2023 report on Maines’ legal cannabis markets.”
Janet, Janet, Janet when you point your finger there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
If the politicians in Augusta , regardless of their political party , allow this type of behavior , they are in effect acknowledging that there is endemic corruption in our State Capitol .
This is unacceptable to the citizens of Maine .
The voters WILL ultimately decide if this is the “ quality of government “:they want to support .
The buck stops on the Governor’s desk. At the least firing is in order!
The truth will comes out, the voters will control the speed
Mills handles lots of things like this.
Back during her unconstitutional covid shutdowns she didn’t talk to anyone who objected. Controversial bill passed in the Legislature she doesn’t want to admit she likes? Let it sit until it’s automatically law. Corruption in her administration? Silence again.
Trendy’s comment that the decision was mine and mine alone sounds familiar, sounds like a cover-up from bottom to the top, is she even qualified for her job? Resignation is called for, and answers are demanded from Mills. C’mon man!
now she gets promototed, or better yet lands a gig workin a non profit for 180k after she resigns…
Only after a Republican Governor is elected will the public learn the true extent of Toady Mills’ corruption! The rot runs all through her administration!
Those old enough will remember the corruption exposed after the Anus King regime. King’s corruotion enabled him to buy a Senate seat!
Toady Mills makes King look like an amature!
And still, Maine’s Republican Party does NOTHING!
This governor is a spineless weasel and probably on the payroll of some cartel. I bet she’s waiting for instructions from bellows during the next scissoring session on how to burry this. Janet Biden has truly run this state into the ground.
What is with the weak Republican action in this situation? While DAFS is biding their time as the issue fades out of the media limelight, they are merely asking for accountability. You guys gotta step up your game. Trying to be nice guys isn’t working. It’s a crime of corruption to do the Anya thing. That indicates that there are other similar issues happening that you don’t know about. Stop playing with you pencils and start suing the administration. It is time to get creative in how you hold these folks accountable and how soon.
Right now there is no fear of consequences. Period. What incentive is there for Mills and team to move forward. Why would sending a letter move them off square one? IT WON’T!!!
As long as the GOP is afraid to act, the corrupt politicians will rule. I mean rule over their own Blue Dogs and yours.
Move! damn it!
That is one most unflattering and gross photos. Hard to unsee, ick.
Take them to court
I have lost count of how many times I say this and feel like a broken record. Also I am not apologizing for being harsh in my statements.
Maine people LOVE this because they keep voting the same people, DemocRATs and Republicans back into office. Nothing is changing, NOTHING!!!!
Also after what Ray Richardson said this morning that most Maine people DO NOT think we pay some of the highest taxes and have the highest tax rates in the USA this is what Maine people want. As the saying goes you can not fix stupid and that applies to the people of Maine.
What does the mseu think about all this? They probably have the loudest voice in Anya’s fate.
Cannabis and Mills…. and Mills Brother…. and cannabis and illegal chinese growers… hmmm, I wonder if that’s why they don’t release the truth to the public….? She must have loads to hide.
Awesome article. The reality is Sad, but great reading none the less. And why it’s Despicable Maine.