PORTLAND, Maine — Two lawyers are pressuring the City of Portland to keep up its prohibition on public camping.
Attorneys Talcott Franklin and former District Attorney Jonathan Sahrbeck are threatening a lawsuit, but have not filed it yet.
Their drafted complaint was sent to city staff. If filed, it would aim to prevent Portland city councilors from passing any ordinance that would allow encampments of unhoused people to pop up.
In a letter with the complaint, the lawyers say they hope to never file the suit so long as the city keeps enforcing its policies around finding people shelter and long-term housing.
"We are trying to dissuade the city council from preventing the city manager, city staff, and their community partners from encouraging the unhoused into shelter and long-term housing," Franklin told NEWS CENTER Maine. "... we do not want to sue the city. However, the city needs to be aware that there are legal consequences for failing to shelter the unhoused."
The complaint alleges an unnamed "National Legal Organization" has been offering the city bad legal advice about encampments, which is believed to be the ACLU of Maine.
"There are several quotes that they attribute to this national legal organization and those are direct quotes from an open letter that we sent to the city," ACLU of Maine Legal Director Carol Garvan said.
Garvin said the allegations in the drafted complaint are unfounded and the timing is odd.
"A lot of the things the complaint seems to be alleging happened many months ago," she said.
NEWS CENTER Maine requested comment from the city, but no one was available.