Lebanon selectboard chair is lone victim of recall effort that sought to remove four

Former Selectmen Chair Charles Russell Jr. speaks at a town public hearing in July. (Rochester Voice file photo)

LEBANON, Maine - Lebanon Selectmen Chair Charles Russell Jr., who beat back a recall effort last October, was not able to repeat that success on Tuesday as residents voted 460-417 to remove him from office.

He is the first selectmen to be recalled in Lebanon history.

Nearly 900 residents made it to the polls at Lebanon Elementary School.

Speaking with WGME-TV Portland outside the polls on Tuesday, Russell defended his record, saying he had kept the mil rate low and town services running, but many voters saw his heavy handed behavior at selectmen's meetings and his unbridled, unabated push for retail recreational marijuana shops as detriments to the town moving forward given that the town in June voted against the shops.

Town resident and activist Michael Walsworth led a group effort to recall Russell after Bettie Harris-Howard, who launched the recall, recently moved from the town.

Meanwhile, longtime town resident Selectman Ernst "Butch" Lizotte, who along with Russell was investigated by state police in the removal of cannabis plants from a Lebanon resident's farm in August 2020, survived the recall, 448-428.

Another selectman, Jeff Adams, who was up for recall due to excessive absences from selectmen's meetings, also kept his seat, 472-403.

Budget committee member Deborah Wilson, who was targeted for recall due to alleged inappropriate behavior on social media and at meetings, also survived the vote, 459-415.

This story will be updated.