Political Corruption in Dixfield regarding Citizen's Initiated Wind Ordinance - Attorney review

We had a selectmen's meeting in Dixfield Monday evening. The wind ordinance we had submitted to the town was sent to the town's attorney for review and interpretation by Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky. The town's attorney is Lee Bragg of Bernstein Shur and he found all kinds of fault with the ordinance which prompted the TM to offer another ordinance authored by Norinne Clark and Steve Donahue.

What should be looked into is WHY the town is using Lee Bragg, who is a stakeholder at Bernsten Shur and is a direct conflict of interest when looking for an impartial interpretation of the proposed wind ordinance. PLEASE READ the section below and you will see why I believe this should suffice for an investigative report with the results published so the general public can be made aware of this political corruption. I submitted an email to the Rumford Falls Times and SunJournal requesting an investigative report into this corruption and conflict of interest. (See info below from www.bernsteinshur.com

Bernstein Shur’s Energy Law Practice Group (“EPG”) attorneys represent clients in Maine and throughout the world on issues relating to electrical generation and distribution. Its clients are independent power producers (“IPPs”) such as small power producers and co-generators that produce electricity from renewable resources (hydroelectric, biomass, wood chips, solid waste, etc.) and other independent power producers using distillate (Nos. 6 and 2 and naphtha) and/or natural gas in simple and combined cycle configurations; banks, insurance companies, or other financial institutions that have provided financing to build IPP plants; contractors and subcontractors that are building or that have built IPP facilities; large consumers of electricity such as paper companies, water districts, or manufacturing facilities; and municipalities that face permitting or taxation issues related to IPPs. Over the last twenty-five years, EPG attorneys have developed extensive knowledge and experience involving the development, financing, construction, operation, and state and federal regulation of power plants. This knowledge and experience is put to use daily by EPG attorneys.

Bernstein Shur is one of the preeminent energy law firms in Maine, New Hampshire and northern New England representing the IPP industry, and counts among its regular in-state clients more than 3,000 megawatts of installed generation from over fifty separate facilities. The firm serves as regular counsel to state trade groups, such as the Independent Energy Producers of Maine (“IEPM”), and as counsel to the New England Renewable Power Association (“NERPPA”). The EPG attorneys are also often retained as special counsel by plant owners, financing entities, or others throughout the country who need its expertise to solve complicated problems. The EPG has a reputation for finding creative solutions to tough issues. In addition to its extensive domestic work, EPG attorneys have been called on to use their familiarity with power plants to help structure projects in overseas markets and to manage the start up and acceptance process for foreign projects. Although based in Maine, EPG attorneys routinely travel to clients’ offices and project locations throughout the world to work on energy matters.

The EPG works closely with inside counsel from many corporations. Representative clients include: Bucksport Energy LLC; Lincoln Pulp and Tissue; Red Shield Environmental LLC; Ashmore Energy International; FPL Energy; Independent Energy Producers of Maine; New England Renewable Power Producers Association; Sappi Fine Paper North America; Integrys Energy Services; First Wind and Seabreeze Pacific Regional Transmission System. An emphasis on teamwork and communications allows the EPG to serve as an adjunct to the corporate law department of its clients during periods of crisis or unusual demand. The members of the EPG are team players and have worked with one another and inside counsel for years, a key component of the team’s success in crisis management.

The EPG has developed referral relationships with many out-of-state firms that also specialize in energy matters and often will associate with other firms if a client’s needs require additional expertise or regulatory connections. These close ties with others actively practicing in the energy field provide clients with a broad range of specialized services.

Bernstein Shur is involved with many aspects of energy projects and has members with expertise in all phases of power generation, including development, financing, contract negotiation, operation, state and federal regulation, and insurance and construction disputes. Attorneys of the Energy Law Practice Group have been concentrating on the representation of generators for twenty-five years and have been retained by owners over the full spectrum of legal and business issues involved in the lifespan of a power plant. Moreover, the hands-on perspective we have adopted has given our members a degree of facility with the extralegal issues at the heart of the generation and sale of power