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Maine county commissioners have ‘huge incentive’ to pass extreme resolutions
Contributed • February 15, 2021
By David Marino Jr., Bangor Daily News Staff
Recent resolutions stridently opposing Gov. Janet Mills’ COVID-19 measures from commissioners in Androscoggin and Piscataquis counties have focused new attention on a level of government that seldom attracts much notice.
All 16 of Maine’s counties are governed by county commissioners, but their power is generally limited to setting budgets for sheriff’s offices, jails and a few other functions, as well as some local matters in the sparsely populated unorganized territories. 
Their relative lack of direct influence coupled with the public’s general lack of interest in the positions make county commissions ripe for overt partisanship, according to experts and those with experience in Maine county government. ....

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