Author: Halsey Frank

The time has come to say goodbye, sooner than expected, but I have accepted a job as state representative and senior counsel for Susan Collins. In that position I will run the Portland office, which does case work for constituents, will be her representative in Cumberland and Sagadahoc Counties, interacting with the various constituencies in those places, and I will advise on certain policy issues with which I have some experience, such as law enforcement. I am excited about the prospect of working for someone whom I respect and admire, with people I like and respect, doing work I think…

The chorus calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to prosecute Donald Trump for his actions regarding January 6, 2021 grows daily. It argues that Trump’s crimes were the most serious imaginable, that they threatened our democracy, that he is unrepentant and that no one should be above the law. It’s a bad idea. Not because Trump wouldn’t get convicted. Any District of Columbia judge and jury would almost certainly indict and convict Trump of any charges presented to them no matter what the evidence. They just won’t do it any time soon. The charges could…

In April of 2020, the Press Herald republished a Washington Post article which covered President Trump’s distribution of $1,200 relief checks to millions of Americans. It reported that Trump wanted his signature to appear on the checks but that wasn’t possible because the president is not an authorized signer for disbursements from the US Treasury. His name was printed in the memo section instead. The paper described that decision as “absolutely unprecedented” and “political.” It placed Trump “singularly at the center of,” and “taking full credit for” what the government was doing to help Americans during the coronavirus response. It provided him with a…

I completed another plumbing project this past weekend. The toilet in our master bathroom had been leaking for a while. I had been procrastinating. It had been making that steady, nagging sound that signaled we were wasting water. I finally got around to it. Replaced the old fill valve with a new Korky. It was very satisfying. I learned rudimentary plumbing while I was in high school. During summers, I worked as a handyman on an island, trying to keep the various systems operating, and as an intern in the engineering department of an industrial bakery, where one of my…

I don’t read much fiction these days. I have a limited amount of time and think it’s better to read history and biography. Even so, I was reading Anthony Trollope’s The Prime Minister when Boris Johnson resigned in disgrace. An old friend recommended it as the best book about politics he ever read. He is somewhat of an authority, having worked on the Democratic side of the federal government for 27 years, first in the Senate and later as the head of an administrative agency. Published in 1876, the novel’s political themes include the tension in government between the real and the ideal, the…

Contrary to the New York Times, I don’t believe that the Supreme Court “spurred” our nation’s current divisiveness. That divisiveness preceded the Court’s recent decisions. But those decisions exacerbate the divisiveness, and it worries me. I happened to be in D.C. the day after someone leaked a draft of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs’ decision. It was a beautiful spring day. When I got off the Metro at Union Station, I could hear chants coming from the Supreme Court, so I walked over. Other people were heading in the same direction, including a woman walking next to me with a sign…

Last Thursday, my wife and I were scheduled to fly to D.C. for a friend’s daughter’s wedding. Wednesday around midnight, we got an email informing us that our flight had been canceled and we had been rebooked on one Friday afternoon. We were not alone. Ours was one of 2,129 flights cancelled that day. It has been happening all over the country and the world. While bad weather may explain some cancellations, it wasn’t raining everywhere. The primary explanation is that people stopped traveling in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Airlines responded by laying off workers and idling equipment notwithstanding having…

On June 17, I attended the COVID-delayed swearing-in ceremony for my successor as United States Attorney for the District of Maine, the senior-most federal law enforcement official for the district and state, Darcie N. McElwee. Things looked bleak around 1:30 p.m., when the heavens opened and produced a torrential downpour of not-quite Biblical proportions, but by 3 p.m., the sky had cleared, the sun had come out, and the show went on. I walked into the federal courthouse with one of a number of prominent local defense attorneys who had been invited. They were amongst the many dignitaries in attendance,…

In what appears to have been little more than a political litmus test of party purity, Democrats in Cumberland County decisively chose George Soros-backed Jackie Sartoris to be District Attorney over incumbent Jonathan Sahrbeck, 65 percent to 35 percent. The result is likely to be definitive because there is no other candidate in the general election. That means that 15,209 Democrats, less than 5 percent of the population, made the choice for 305,231 residents of the county. If Sartoris delivers on her promises, I suspect that we will regret the decision to elect her just as the people of San Francisco came to…

It is illegal and unacceptable for law enforcement officers to use excessive force. It’s relatively easy to state that general principle. The difficulty comes when you try to apply it to particular situations. On May 20, the Department of Justice updated the use-of-force policy for its law enforcement agencies: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Marshals Service. The policy will take effect on July 19. In keeping with the law, the policy reaffirms that officers may only use so much force as is objectively reasonable to gain control of a…

The recent mass shootings at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York and the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas were unspeakably horrific. My heart breaks for the parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and neighbors in those places that have become the object of so much death and destruction. While mass shootings are not the most deadly crime problem facing our nation, there are far too many of them, they are deeply disturbing, and they are a symptom of something terribly wrong. As long as people commit violent crimes, there will be a need for good, fair, and effective law enforcement. It’s not the only thing…

Shame used to be a relatively simple thing. You did something wrong. You knew it. It was a self-evident truth: something you wouldn’t want done to yourself. You felt bad. (There is some reason to believe that emotions, psychological phenomena that help in behavioral control, like embarrassment and shame, are elemental and that animals feel them.) Or someone, most likely a parent or a teacher, a person of greater authority, who was motivated at least in part by a desire to see you do better, pointed out that you had done something wrong, hopefully in an effort to teach you not to…

On May 14, 18-year-old Payton Gendron traveled more than 200 miles from his hometown to a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York. There, wearing body armor, he used a  Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle to shoot and kill 10 people and wound three at a supermarket. Eleven of Gendron’s 13 victims were Black. He live-streamed the shooting. State authorities arrested him for murder. Federal authorities are investigating him for hate crimes. Early reports are that he had mental problems, had been the subject of an assessment as a result of having made a threat at school last June, but had been evaluated and found not dangerous.…

It wasn’t long ago that Democrats were claiming that the For the People Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act were essential to saving our democracy from extinction at the hands of Republicans. They demonized anyone who opposed their agenda in the harshest terms. The vilification reached a peak during President Biden’s speech in Georgia in January where he described passage of those bills as a battle for the soul of America in which opponents were like George Wallace, Bull Connor and Jefferson Davis. Gerrymandering, or the practice of drawing oddly shaped electoral districts, was a particular target for criticism…

Harm reductionists praise Maine’s new Good Samaritan law. I’m not sure it’s deserved. I will explain why because I don’t expect anyone else will. Samaritans are believed to be descendants of three of the twelve tribes of Israel who worship their own version of the Mosaic Pentateuch. They consider other branches of Judaism corrupt. The tribes separated and became antagonistic for a variety of reasons such as jealousy and resentment, in addition to differences in doctrine. A Good Samaritan is someone who is a good neighbor, who is merciful, who helps people in trouble notwithstanding their differences. Its meaning comes from the parable of the Good Samaritan as told by Jesus…

On April 18, Florida federal Judge Kathryn Mizelle invalidated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) order requiring that passengers wear masks on conveyances into and within the United States, and in transportation hubs. Conveyances include planes, trains, and road vehicles like buses, cabs and Ubers. In response, major airlines were quick to lift their mask mandates. Maine transportation providers eased their mask requirements as well. Conservatives rejoiced at the decision and called Mizelle a hero. Liberals lamented it and labeled her an unqualified political hack, and said her reasoning was flawed. The Biden administration announced that, at the CDC’s request, it will appeal notwithstanding the fact that the mandate was…

Last week, while driving toward the peninsula on Outer Congress Street around Craigie Street, I passed a seemingly able-bodied woman standing in the middle of the street panhandling with a sign that read, “homeless and disabled.” There was no median strip. (In 2015, Portland lost a lawsuit over restricting panhandling in median strips in the interest of safety.) There was a road work site nearby with cones and flaggers who were regulating traffic.  It was emblematic of a trend that has been going on for years, with more people panhandling in more places in and around Portland, notwithstanding Portland’s generous policy regarding…

The trend of people quitting Portland government (councilors Nicholas Mavodones, Jill Duson, Spencer Thibodeau, city manager Jon Jennings, police chief Frank Clark, school board members Sarah Thompson and Jeff Irish) continued last week as the chairperson of the Portland Parks Commission, Michael Mertaugh, resigned. He had served on the commission for eight years. According to the Press Herald, he did so because the commission voted 4 to 4 and thus did not approve his motion to recommend that the food trucks that have been permitted to line the Eastern Promenade be moved to the parking lot off Cutter Street and…

How can we end the cycle of recrimination from which we are suffering and restore faith in our government? We tend to focus on big, national issues like gridlock in Congress, the abuse of presidential authority or the politicization of the judiciary. They seem intractable. The solution may be closer to home. In that regard, an item in the newspaper in January caught my eye, “Accusation that South Portland councilor abused power is partly substantiated.” I got a copy of the outside attorney’s report, a copy of the city’s statement, and I read what I could find about the matter online. Here’s what…

It’s hard to decide who is worse, actor Jussie Smollett, who faked a racist and homophobic attack in order to promote himself, or Cook County Illinois State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who treated Smollett leniently seemingly because of his race and sexual orientation. For anyone who doesn’t know, Jussie Smollett is an actor who played a part in the TV series “Empire.” In January of 2019, Smollett reported that he was attacked by two white men because he was Black and homosexual. Smollett reported that his attackers wore ski masks, poured an unknown liquid on him, put a noose around his…

In December of 1994, a United States Capitol Police Officer shot and killed Marcelino Corniel in front of the White House. Corniel was a mentally ill, homeless man who had been living across the street in Lafayette Park. On the day he was killed, Corneil had duct taped a large knife to his hand. Prior to being shot, he had failed to comply with commands to drop the knife or get down on the ground. The officer who shot him feared that Corneil was about to charge and was within a distance of other people such that they would not be able…

Ghislane Maxwell’s attorneys say that three jurors concealed their experience of sexual abuse. One described in an interview with the New York Times how they had been sexually abused as a child, lawyered up and claims he doesn’t remember being asked questions during the jury selection process about whether he had been the victim of a crime, much less the specific type of crime for which Maxwell was tried. That’s hard to believe given the impact of such experiences, the attention that sexual abuse has been getting in recent years and the notoriety of the Epstein-Maxwell affair. The defense has…

I was working on several items closer to home but events in Ukraine overtook me. Last week was one of confusing and contradictory news. First, Russia was conducting military training exercises on the borders of Ukraine. Then it was withdrawing its forces. Then building them up. President Biden said he expected an invasion. Nevertheless, he and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken hoped for a diplomatic solution while threatening severe sanctions. Then they said that any sanctions would be proportionate to the incursion, and we would never put American boots on Ukrainian soil. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the West…

One of the basic functions of government is to right wrongs. When all else fails, we resort to the legal system to obtain justice. When life seems unfair, we sue in the hope of vindication. Even that doesn’t seem to be working well these days. You may recall Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, and vice-presidential running mate of Arizona Sen. John McCain, who ran against Barak Obama and Joe Biden and lost in the 2008 election. She gave a great speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. So great that it prompted the media to wage…

The New York Times Style Section’s Modern Love column on February 13 was entitled “What Is Black Love Today” and described as a “special collaboration” between its weekly Modern Love column and Black History that is designed to “illuminate how Black people live, and love, in this moment.” The introduction to the column talks about how racism infiltrates Black love, how it is an unwanted third party in any Black love affair, and how it is a thread in every story of Black love. The column consisted of eight stories, three of which appear in the print version of the paper and…

Central Maine Power provides electricity about 80% of residential customers in Maine, including my house. Factors that influence electricity consumption include the size of a home, where it is located and what it is made of (which tend to affect the amount of electricity used to heat and cool), the number of occupants, the number and type of electric appliances and their usage. Heating and cooling are not factors for my house because we heat with oil, and we don’t have AC. We have CMP’s SimplePay Plan. It is supposed to spread the cost of our electricity usage, which fluctuates throughout the year according to the season,…

On January 27, Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer formally announced his intention to resign at the end of the current term after 27 years on the Court. President Biden quickly reaffirmed his campaign promise to nominate a black woman by the end of February. Democrats are determined to see it done. I understand their reaction. Since Richard Nixon’s presidency, six Republican presidents have appointed 15 Justices, while two Democratic presidents have appointed four. In particular, Democrats resent Donald Trump’s appointments of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. They feel stung by Republicans’ refusal to consider Merrick Garland’s nomination to replace conservative icon Antonin Scalia, by Barrett’s replacement…

Last week, Democrats brought to the Senate floor The Freedom to Vote Act and The John Lewis Voting Rights Act. In 51-49 votes along party lines (with the Independents voting with the Democrats), both failed to achieve cloture. Both bills were written and sponsored by Democrats. They contain wide-ranging provisions to nationalize many aspects of campaigns, including campaign financing, voter registration, voting, election administration, and post-election audits. Some of those provisions seem reasonable, like establishing a national standard for the form of identification required to vote and requiring a paper record of a person’s vote. Some do not, like having the attorney general of the United States decide whether…

On January 12, while driving, I listened to the Maine CDC’s weekly COVID-19 briefing conducted by Maine DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Dr. Nirav Shah. These briefings are informative in content and civil in tone. They are a good example of the government explaining itself in a difficult, fast moving and sometimes controversial context. I applaud them even though I don’t always agree with them. They also have the advantage of occurring before a friendly audience. At the outset of the briefing, Dr. Shah announced a change in guidance regarding contact tracing and isolation in schools. Contact tracing is conducted to reduce the spread of…

In the Washington Post on December 18, three retired generals wrote that they are concerned about the military staging a coup in connection with the 2024 presidential election. Paul Eaton, Antonio Taguba and Steven Anderson’s reasons are that one-in-ten of the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6 were current or former military members, 124 retired officers signed a letter “echoing” Donald Trump’s false attacks on the legitimacy of “our elections,” and the commanding general of the Oklahoma National Guard refused to follow President Biden’s order that Guard members be vaccinated, claiming that the president is not in charge of the…

Last year on January 6, I took the day off to go skiing with my son. We got up early and drove west across Maine to the mountains. On the way, we passed a number of Trump – Pence signs, some as large as tractor trailers. We skied all day and had no idea what had been going on, until we got back to the car around 3:30, and my phone started blowing up. On the drive back, we listened to the news and talked on the phone, catching up on the day’s events. We learned how former President Trump…

In its December 1st editorial, “Some serious crimes still go unreported,” the Press Herald writes that recently released crime statistics make Maine look pretty good. They show that crime in Maine fell for the ninth straight year and confirm that Maine is one of the safest places in the country. The paper goes on to observe that law enforcement curtailed its operations during 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by the 16% decline in the number of arrests made and summonses issued. In this, it finds confirmation of its belief that punishment is ineffective, and asserts that…

The current Portland City Charter Commission is worse than the 2009-10 one. The last one was prompted by widespread dissatisfaction with the city council’s inability to make significant, controversial decisions like shoring up the deteriorating Maine State Pier. The sense was that a strong leader was needed to make those kinds of decisions. Instead of providing us that, the commission got sidetracked by its concern about how any mayor got elected. It proposed a weak mayor elected using ranked-choice voting (RCV), promising that would reduce negative campaigning, ensure the election of a leader who had a majority of supporters, and…