Marine resources head Olsen resigns
Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Norm Olsen has resigned six months into the post, citing the governor's lack of support.
Olsen submitted his resignation yesterday morning, effective immediately, according to a press release from Gov. Paul LePage. In a statement he issued yesterday, Olsen said he and LePage agreed on several changes to the state's fisheries management before he agreed to take the post, including ways to increase sustainability and encourage groundfishermen to return to Maine ports. Since then, however, he claimed LePage and other officials met privately with groups opposed to his proposed changes, and said he had to wait six weeks to get a meeting with LePage, at which point the governor rejected all his initiatives. "Instead of backing me... the Governor and his senior team cut me off," he wrote. "I am leaving...because this administration is more interested in pacifying special interest groups than in responsibly managing Maine's marine resources for the benefit of the entire state."
The governor was unavailable for comment yesterday, though spokesman Adam Fisher told MaineToday Media LePage did not tell Olsen he would lose his job if he did not become more responsive to the fishing industry, as Olsen claimed. Patrick Keliher, previously acting Deputy Commissioner of DMR, has been sworn in as Olsen's replacement, according to the press release.
LePage's administration has been plagued by a number of resignations since the governor took office in January. Phil Congdon resigned in April as commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development following allegations he made inappropriate comments at events in northern Maine. Darryl Brown resigned as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection because of concerns about a potential conflict of interest. LePage's communications director, Dan Demeritt, also resigned following scrutiny of his personal finances. And earlier this week, Lawrence Dwight Jr. resigned as a member of the Economic Forecasting Commission following his arrest on a charge of domestic violence.
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