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State House: Some hope to make the most of a proposed island council while others plan for '09.

May 31, 2007

— By ANN S. KIM

Staff Writer

AUGUSTA — The Peaks Island secession bill died quietly in the House Wednesday, closing another chapter in the turbulent debate over whether the island should separate from Portland.

The secessionists' effort in the Legislature is effectively finished for this session. It would take a two-thirds vote in both chambers to revive the bill. The Senate rejected the proposal without any floor debate Tuesday.

Secessionists say they expected the result but that some islanders remain committed to an independent Peaks.

"Given the political realities, we decided to close the chapter with dignity rather than pursue something we couldn't attain," said Cevia Rosol, a member of the Peaks Island Independence Committee's steering group.

For Rosol, those political realities included the State and Local Government Committee's 7-5 vote against the bill. With none of the senators on the panel voting for the bill, secessionists knew their chances in the Senate were slim, she said. Prospects looked no better in the House because of opposition from Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, she said.

Cummings said he told Democrats in a caucus that it would be a bad precedent for the Legislature to supersede the decision of a local governing body on secession. The Portland City Council had voted unanimously to oppose it.

Portland Mayor Nicholas Mavodones Jr. is hoping for cooperation among islanders and mainland residents.

"I'm optimistic that people will be willing to work together," he said. "The process has concluded. The Legislature has spoken."

The bill would have created a framework for Peaks Island, House Island, Pumpkin Knob and Catnip Island to separate from Portland if islanders approved the move in a June 2008 referendum. The latter three islands have few or no residents.

Michael Richards, the secession group's chairman and chief negotiator, said he thinks self-governance has merely been delayed. But he doesn't expect to be leading the group's future efforts.

"My two-year foray into politics, I think, is going to come to a close so I can get back to my private (law) practice and my domestic felicity," he said.

While Richards feels that Portland and the Legislature denied islanders the right to determine their own fate, he said residents need to give their best effort to a proposed elected five-member Island Council.

The body was among the measures Portland proposed after the State and Local Government Committee told the city it must address islanders' concerns about Peaks Island Elementary School, mainland parking and governance. The City Council also passed a resolution reaffirming its commitment to keeping island schools open and set aside $50,000 for transportation and parking needs.

Richards said the Island Council doesn't solve governance issues since it will serve in an advisory capacity to the City Council without its own decision-making authority. But he said it could provide islanders "the training wheels for self-government."

Chris Hoppin, a Peaks resident opposed to secession, is optimistic the Island Council will be able to address islanders' needs.

"This is the first time that Peaks Islanders -- or any neighborhood of Portland for that matter -- will have an actively elected organization," he said. "I think what we have to do is go forward to work together and make this an even better place."

Rosol said some people remain angry and that another legislative attempt is possible in 2009.

"We're getting ready for the next act," she said. "I don't think this is going to go away."

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be contacted at 623-1031 or at:

akim@pressherald.com