WATERVILLE — Mayor Nick Isgro said he has spent $1,804 of his own money on advertising opposing a recall that seeks to remove him from office, saying the spending is a “worthwhile investment to defend Watervillians from this attack from outside dark forces.”

In a Facebook post May 20, Isgro first touted a one-minute radio ad in which he tells people to vote ‘no’ on the recall question, saying there are “professional political agitators trying to divide us” and promising to take a stand against tax increases and “hidden political agendas” if he remains in office.

In an email Friday, Isgro said, “While special interest groups from Portland and a statewide political party have expended lots of resources on this recall effort trying to remove me from office and repeal local control of Our City, I am self-financing my efforts to move Waterville forward. I have spent $1,804 so far; this is a worthwhile investment to defend Watervillians from this attack from outside dark forces.”

The second-term Republican mayor is the subject of a recall election scheduled for June 12 that was initiated after backlash over his tweet telling a Florida school shooting survivor to “Eat it” and concerns over other social media posts by the mayor on personal accounts.

He is not required to file campaign spending reports with the city of Waterville unless his spending exceeds $5,000, the threshold the state has established for individual spending to influence an election.

However, the ads have raised questions about the source of the money, given that Isgro lost his job at Skowhegan Savings Bank after the controversy over his tweet and because he has been intensely critical of outside involvement in the recall.

Isgro, who said he is not currently working anywhere, also said he refused help from the Maine Republican Party.

“People and businesses in Waterville are of course welcome to help if they would like, but partisan politics and agendas will not help us come together to move Our City forward right now,” Isgro said.

He did not respond to questions about what he means by “outside dark forces” or what special interest groups he was referring to in his email.

In the past, Isgro has been critical of the Maine Democratic Party for helping gather signatures on a petition to set the recall and has previously said the Maine Democratic Party “wanted to come into our city and fool residents under the cover of darkness.”

He also has called staff of the Maine Democratic Party “political operatives” whose intention was to deceive and intimidate residents into signing the petition. And Isgro has criticized members of the Waterville City Council, saying they had a hidden agenda to raise taxes and were working with outsiders on the recall effort in order to distract residents from the city budget.

Rachel Ohm can be contacted at 612-2368 or at:

rohm@centralmaine

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