Despite protests from Republicans, Democrat Mike Shaw was sworn in as a provisional state representative for District 102 last Wednesday, Dec. 6.

“I am very excited,” said Shaw. “The ceremony was great.”

While Shaw was celebrating his political induction, his challenger, Republican Gary Moore stood idly by hoping he would be sworn in by January.

“I don’t know what is going to happen with this,” said Moore. “All we can do is wait.”

The race for District 102 became controversial in November after Shaw beat Moore on election night by a mere 13 votes, entitling Moore to a recount. The recount, held Nov. 21, declared Moore the winner by six votes. At that point Shaw had the opportunity to concede or take the issue to the elections committee for further review.

Shaw chose not to concede saying, “To me the recount was inconclusive.”

Moore and the Republican Party feel he is the true winner of the election based on the results of the recount.

“Gary Moore should have the seat,” said Maine Republican Party Chair Joseph Bruno, a longtime representative from Raymond. “The fact that the Democrats will not concede that seat shows that they can talk about a good bi-partisan relationship, but it doesn’t really mean anything. My fear is that the legitimate winner will not get the seat.”

Bruno believes since the legislature is now controlled by the Democratic Party, Moore does not have a fair chance.

“I saw what happened (to a Republican) in a similar situation in 1992,” said Bruno. “The real winner in that situation lost because the Democrats controlled the floor. It just shows the arrogance of power.”

The Maine Democratic Party believes it is best to follow the process through the last step, especially since the voter-to-ballot ratio has been questioned.

“It is our understanding that there were more ballots than actual voters on election night,” said Democratic Party Chair Ben Dudley. “It is in the interest of the party and Maine voters that every ballot from this election be counted.”

The House Committee on Elections is composed of four Democrats and four Republicans. The first order of business for the committee is to elect an independent council to assist them in their process.

Once that is done the committee will begin a series of public hearings in which they will review all facts from the case and possibly interview people involved in the election procedure. People interviewed would include the Standish Town Clerk and employees from the Secretary of State’s office.

The first hearing is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 20.

“We will not pre-judge the work of the bipartisan elections committee,” said Dudley. “I am confident that they will arrive at a just solution that will reflect the will of the voters.”

Until the committee reaches a verdict to hand to the legislative floor, Moore and Shaw said they will be attending legislative sessions.

“There are things I am in the middle of for the people of Standish,” said Moore. “I will either be able to finish them or I will hand them off to Shaw depending on what happens.”

Shaw has also started the ball rolling for Standish constituents.

“I put in my request to be on the transportation committee,” said Shaw. “I believe that is where I can do the most work for the people of Standish.”

If both the committee and the legislature cannot determine a winner, the election could go back to voters, a move one Standish resident is for.

“I don’t understand why this is still going on,” said Pequawket Trail resident John Scott. “It should have just gone back to the voters. Let us decide.”