Governor Janet Mills announced today that she has nominated former Maine Attorney General William Schneider and Hampden Town Councilmember Dennis Marble to the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.
“The Maine Ethics Commission serves as an important guardian of our state’s election laws, and I take seriously my responsibility to appoint qualified individuals,” said Governor Mills. “Bill Schneider and Dennis Marble are qualified, respected, and experienced in their fields and have proven track records of working across the aisle to get things done. I am confident they will serve the people of Maine and our state’s election systems well on the Commission.
William “Bill” Schneider, Republican of Durham, now retired, served as Dispositions Group Chief, US Military Commissions at the United States Department of Defense, as a judge for the State of Maine, as Director and Deputy Director of the Maine Office of Policy and Management and as Attorney General of Maine. Schneider also served as an anti-terrorism prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office, in the Maine House of Representatives, and as a drug prosecutor in the Maine Office of the Attorney General. Schneider is a U.S. Army veteran and received his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law and his Bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy West Point.
Schneider was selected from a list submitted by the Maine House Republican caucus to fill the Republican-designated seat previously held by Brad Pattershall.
Dennis Marble, Independent, of Hampden is now completing his second, three-year term on the Hampden Town Council. Prior to serving on the council, Marble served as Executive Director of the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter for twenty years and also served as Chair of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce’s Community Council, Chair of the area FEMA board and as a gubernatorially-appointed member of the Statewide Homeless Council, in addition to having served on various other community boards. Marble received his Master’s degree in Reading and Counseling from the University of Maine and Bachelor’s degree in English from Colby College.
Marble was selected from lists submitted by Senate and House Democratic and Republican caucuses to fill the Independent-designated seat previously held by Margaret Matheson.
The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices is an independent state agency that administers the state’s finance laws, the Maine Clean Election Act and the lobbyist disclosure law. The Commission, made up of five members jointly appointed by the Governor and Legislative leaders, issues advisory opinions and conducts investigations regarding legislative ethics.
William A. Lee of Waterville, Richard A. Nass of Acton, and Meri N. Lowry of Portland currently serve on the Commission. Both nominations require confirmation by the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary and the Maine State Senate.