By Ryan Michaels | Editor-in-Chief, The Maine Mirror
September 2, 2026

BERWICK, Maine — Political campaigns routinely give voters opportunities to hear what candidates say they would do if elected.

But voters rarely get the opportunity to observe how a candidate responds to a real public concern before deciding whether to give that candidate the power and responsibility of elected office.

This may be one of those opportunities.

Timothy Towne is the chief of police in Berwick. He is also seeking election to Maine House District 149, which does not include Berwick, but does include portions of North Berwick and South Berwick.

That distinction matters.

Rather than asking Towne a hypothetical question about transparency, accountability or how he might respond when someone brings a government concern to him, The Maine Mirror presented him with a real, documented and still-unresolved matter involving the public institution he already leads: the Berwick Police Department.

For District 149 voters, that creates an unusual opportunity: to observe how a candidate responds to an actual public concern before Election Day.

A Real Issue, Not a Hypothetical

On August 31, The Maine Mirror contacted Towne through his campaign email address.

The issue presented to him stems from a September 12, 2025 incident at the Berwick Police Department involving then-department administrative assistant Denise Dunn.

The Maine Mirror previously reported that after a written complaint was brought to the department, Dunn discarded it onto the floor. Berwick’s September 16 Select Board meeting minutes later described video evidence presented to the board as documenting Dunn “throwing his written complaint on the ground.”

A request was subsequently made under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act for the police department recording of that encounter.

The Town eventually provided a disc and an invoice.

The problem was simple: the recording provided did not work.

On October 7, 2025, the problem was brought publicly before the Berwick Select Board. During that meeting, Select Board Chair Michael Laterreur directed Town Manager Arthur Capello to ensure that a working copy was provided.

Capello agreed.

(Link to prior reporting, here: https://themainemirror.com/2026/08/31/berwick-select-board-public-records-recording/)

As of August 31, 2026 — nearly eleven months after that public exchange — the working copy still had not been received.

The matter originated inside the Berwick Police Department. Towne currently leads that department.

The Maine Mirror therefore brought the unresolved matter directly to him.

The Question Posed to Towne

Candidates are routinely asked what they would do about transparency, accountability and concerns brought to them by members of the public.

In this instance, The Maine Mirror decided not to pose a hypothetical.

Towne was provided with the underlying reporting and told directly why the matter was being brought to him.

The email stated, in part:

“Rather than ask you hypothetically what you would do if someone from the community approached you with a documented concern involving government accountability, I’m bringing an actual one to you.”

Then came the question:

“Now that I have brought this matter directly to your attention, what, if anything, are you willing to do to help determine why it remains unresolved and whether the working record can finally be provided?”

(Screenshot of The Maine Mirror’s August 31, 2026 email to Timothy Towne’s District 149 campaign address, showing the subject line “A documented Berwick issue and a question for you as a candidate,” the background provided to Towne, and the question asking what, if anything, he is willing to do about the unresolved matter.)

The email also made clear that Towne was not being asked to prejudge anyone, accept The Maine Mirror’s characterization of events or assume wrongdoing had occurred.

He was provided the underlying reporting so he could review the documentation and reach his own conclusions.

District 149 Gets the Vote. Berwick Does Not.

Towne’s candidacy creates an unusual intersection of public responsibilities.

The voters who will decide whether Towne becomes a state representative are not the same electorate whose municipality employs him as police chief.

Residents of House District 149 will decide whether Towne should represent them in Augusta.

Berwick residents will not.

That means residents of the municipality whose police department Towne currently leads will have no vote in determining whether he assumes the additional responsibilities of serving in the Maine Legislature.

That fact does not establish a conflict or suggest wrongdoing. But it does raise legitimate questions for residents on both sides of the district line.

For District 149 voters, the question is one of representation: How does someone asking to represent them respond when a member of the public places a documented government-accountability concern directly before him?

For Berwick residents, there is a different practical question: How will the responsibilities of their police chief be handled when legislative duties require Towne’s time and presence in Augusta?

The Maine Mirror is not presuming the answer to either question.

But voters now have something more concrete than a campaign promise to consider.

Two Public Responsibilities

If elected, Towne would take on the responsibilities of a state representative while continuing, under the arrangement approved by Berwick officials, to serve as the town’s police chief.

Legislative service requires time devoted to legislative work, including responsibilities in Augusta. Leading a municipal police department carries its own responsibilities in Berwick.

How those roles will coexist — including how police leadership and command responsibilities will be handled when Towne is performing legislative duties — is a legitimate matter for public examination.

There is also an unusual geographic reality.

When Towne performs his legislative responsibilities, he would not be doing so as Berwick’s representative. He would be representing House District 149.

The residents receiving his direct legislative representation would therefore be residents outside the municipality that employs him as its police chief, while Berwick would continue relying on him for police leadership.

None of that, standing alone, establishes misconduct or an improper arrangement.

But voters and taxpayers have a legitimate interest in understanding how that arrangement will work.

An Opportunity to Observe Before Election Day

This article is not an endorsement of Towne or an argument against his candidacy.

Nor is The Maine Mirror suggesting that a candidate for the Legislature must personally solve every problem brought to his attention.

Towne could make inquiries.

He could conclude that intervention would be inappropriate and explain why.

He could dispute part or all of the underlying reporting.

He could identify additional information that changes the understanding of what occurred.

He could explain what authority he believes he does or does not have.

Or he could choose not to respond.

Those are his decisions to make.

The significance for District 149 voters is that they have an opportunity to observe that decision-making before they cast their ballots.

The Question Is Now Part of the Record

Whatever happens next, one fact can now be documented: this issue has been placed directly before Towne through his campaign.

The August 31 email provided the underlying reporting, explained the circumstances and identified the unresolved question surrounding the recording.

Towne was also offered an opportunity to have his response published in full or accurately incorporated into subsequent reporting.

That invitation remains open.

Campaign advertisements can tell voters what candidates promise. Questionnaires can tell voters how candidates answer prepared questions. Debates can show how candidates respond on a stage.

Sometimes, however, voters get something different: the opportunity to observe how a candidate responds to a documented public concern before deciding whether to elect him.

For voters in House District 149, this may be one of those opportunities.

The issue is real.

The documentation has been provided.

The question has been asked.

Towne has been invited to respond.

What happens next is his decision. What it means is for the public to decide.

The Maine Mirror will document what happens next.

Disclosure: Ryan Michaels, Editor-in-Chief of The Maine Mirror and author of this report, is the individual who attempted to submit the complaint referenced in this article, requested the recording discussed above, and subsequently raised the matter with the Berwick Select Board and Timothy Towne. The Maine Mirror has published or linked to underlying records where available so readers can review the documentation and reach their own conclusions.

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