After years of vacancies, Mills makes progress filling prison oversight boards

Maine’s prison oversight boards have had vacancies for years, leaving several nonfunctional. Gov. Janet Mills made 18 appointments in recent weeks ahead of her January departure, though not enough to fully fill all five boards of visitors.

The outgoing Democrat’s delayed action on these appointments came after legislative leadership gained the authority this year to make the selections themselves. They deferred to Mills. 

The lack of independent oversight of corrections facilities led to a proposal last session for a corrections ombudsman. However, it was walked back to a compromise to strengthen existing infrastructure, including boards of visitors.

Intended as panels to inspect correctional facilities and review their management, several of these boards in Maine have long been short members. Some have gone periods without meeting and failed to submit annual reports to the Legislature. 

Under the new law, if a vacancy arises, the governor has to notify the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee within five days, and then the governor would have 90 days to fill that seat. If she doesn’t, the presiding officers — the president of the Maine Senate and speaker of the Maine House of Representatives — are tasked with filling the vacancy. 

Boards were already underfilled when the law took effect on July 29. That started the clock, giving the governor until Oct. 27 to make appointments. Mills made six in early October.  

After the deadline passed, Rep. Nina Milliken (D-Blue Hill), who had co-sponsored the law, sent recommendations for remaining seats to the presiding officers. Victoria Foley, deputy chief of staff for communications for House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, said the speaker’s office contacted the governor to check if she had appointments lined up, and she did, so they deferred to those. The Senate president’s office declined to comment.

Mills then appointed 12 more people on Nov. 5. 

“The governor of Maine is charged with making more than 2,000 appointments to over 300 boards and commissions,” said Mills’ Press Secretary Anna Parker. “To fulfill that significant responsibility, the governor’s office dedicates considerable time identifying and vetting candidates who are willing to serve and fit the governor’s vision for each respective body. In the case of the boards of visitors for Maine corrections facilities, the governor’s office has been working to replace a large number of vacancies.”

Under Maine law, the governor “shall” appoint seven members to the boards of visitors for corrections facilities. None of the five boards have that many, even after the recent appointments. 

“The governor intends to fill as many vacancies as possible before the end of her term,” Parker said.

Recent appointments

The board of visitors for Maine State Prison in Warren, the state’s largest prison, has essentially been defunct since all but one of its members resigned after the Legislature passed a law in 2023 requiring boards to have representatives of specific affinity groups, such as mental health professionals and formerly incarcerated people. 

Mills made six appointments to that board in recent weeks, four on Nov. 5 and two on Oct. 8. One was a re-appointment, Perry Gates of Camden. Gates was the only member who hadn’t resigned, though he told lawmakers last year he remained so they would have someone to speak with when considering changes to board requirements. 

In a letter to the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee last year, Gates recommended lawmakers change several aspects of boards of visitors, including the requirement that members have certain lived experience. Those requirements remain on the books.

One of those seats on Maine State Prison’s board, the one for a mental health professional, still appears to be vacant.  

In November, Mills appointed Ronald Boobar of Friendship to the position for a formerly incarcerated person, along with Aurora Northgraves of Cushing, and Rep. William Plueker, an independent representing Warren, who had been one of Milliken’s recommendations. Those selections followed Mills’ appointments of Victoria Wyeth and David Rockwell, both from Cushing, in October. Both are related to the late painter Andrew Wyeth. 

Mills filled all but one seat on the board for Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston on Nov. 5, appointing Terri Hall of Charleston, Nichole Sawyer of Cherryfield, Joseph McDonald of Corinna, Jenny Omlor of Old Town, John Albertini of Charleston and Donald Bowden of Augusta. Sawyer and McDonald are re-appointments. The board also oversees Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport. 

Mills appointed Richard Hackett of Portland, a retired attorney, and Beth Ahearn of Freeport, political director at Maine Conservation Voters, to the board of Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Nov. 5. Three other existing members are listed on the state’s website, but two have terms that expired in 2024, while the third is set to end in 2027. 

The board of visitors for women’s services has four members. Mills appointed all of them on Oct. 8 — Maura Reed of Cape Neddick (in the mental health professional se), Robert Reed of Cape Neddick (a home designer), Julia Sheridan of Portland (former assistant district attorney), and Connor Cobean of Falmouth (former assistant attorney general). The three vacant positions are for a formerly incarcerated person, a formerly incarcerated person who has child welfare experience, and a mental health professional that provides reproductive healthcare.  

Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland has had no recent appointments. The terms of its five current members will expire in April. 

Forthcoming rule on legislator access 

Another aspect of the law that took effect this summer was a requirement for the corrections commissioner to establish a rule outlining legislators’ access to correctional facilities. 

Legislators act as a constitutionally mandated oversight body of all government agencies, however the fundamental nature of corrections facilities — higher security protocols, remote areas — makes that work uniquely challenging.

Randall Liberty retired as commissioner in October. Deputy Commissioner Anthony Cantillo is serving as acting commissioner until an official replacement is nominated, likely by Gov.-elect Hannah Pingree. New nominations require confirmation by the Legislature. 

A proposal for the rule is due to the Legislature by Jan. 31 and will require review and approval by lawmakers before it can take effect. 

Beyond that rule and boards of visitors, some lawmakers plan to continue to push for greater independent oversight. 

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Jill Duson (D-Cumberland), the sponsor of the original proposal for a corrections ombudsman, told Maine Morning Star that she plans to propose it again next year, calling the compromise version that passed a “Band-Aid.”