AUGUSTA ( AP) — A panel created by Maine Gov. Paul LePage has found no bias by the state’s anti-discrimination agency.
LePage last year threatened to go to court over accusations that the Maine Human Rights Commission edited an audiotape while investigating alleged religious discrimination at Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro.
But in a report Wednesday, the panel said misinformation and misunderstanding feed perceptions of bias. And some of the panel members took LePage to task, saying he was inappropriately intruding in the affairs of an independent agency.
The panel also found understaffing and underfunding. The agency’s executive director, Amy Sneirson, said those problems go back decades.
LePage’s office didn’t immediately comment.
Last year, the governor defended his creation of the panel by saying when something sneaky happens, it’s his job to look into it.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
