NORWAY - Ex-Norway Mayor Rose Dukes said Tuesday that former police chief James Preacher did everything in his power to defeat her during a 2005 re-election bid.

Dukes, after 12 years in office, lost the vote to Mayor Brad Fogle, who this past week fired Preacher. In 2005, Dukes and Preacher were at odds publicly after the chief called for an outside audit of traffic tickets he said were missing.

Dukes also said she and Preacher had other disagreements during her last year as mayor. While she claims to harbor no ill will, she says he projected himself into non-police situations in the town over the years.

"Sometimes it creates bad publicity," she said.

Preacher's time as police chief was a mixture of good and bad things, Dukes said. "Sometimes the bad outweighs the good."

"On Thursday of last week, Preacher was fired by Fogle via a letter. Reasons included that Preacher, on numerous occasions, insulted former and current town employees, including Dukes."

"The next day, Preacher requested a hearing to contest the firing. The chief said Tuesday he has been notified by the mayor there will be no hearing, with Fogle contending it is not legally required."

"Preacher indicated he will pursue the matter and plans to speak out about issues impacting his former position and the town. He said the situation with Dukes "is what this is all about."

"It's one of the things he fired me over."

Town council members Geraldine Bell, Emma Reed and William Binnicker on Tuesday declined comment on the situation.

Although 200 people rallied Monday night in a show of support for Preacher, some in the community have a different sentiment. While nobody interviewed at Monday's rally shared negative reflections of Preacher, comments posted on the Times and Democrat Web site paint a different picture of the 17-year tenure of Preacher as the Norway police chief.

TheTandD.com allows comments in response to stories. They are posted under a screen name, which the user must choose and register. The name can be the writer's real one.

Preacher responded: "Most of them are hiding behind the Web site. It's kind of cheap. It shows the mentality of those people. If they are sincere, put your name on it. I think my reputation speaks for itself."

You must be logged in to comment.