NEW GLOUCESTER — A local man who has agitated town officials for years has been ordered by the town to remove political signs critical of those officials from his front lawn.

His attorney calls the order retaliatory and inappropriate.

Frank Staton Jr. has been actively involved in an effort to recall Selectmen Steven Libby and Linda Chase, and months ago posted several political signs on his front lawn calling for their ouster.

The town’s code enforcement officer has ordered him to take the signs down by Sept. 6, saying multiple signs violate the town’s Residential Zoning Ordinance.

Staton told the Sun Journal he’s not going to do that. He said his long-standing construction business sign conforms to the town’s zoning ordinance and state law permits political signs on private property.

His attorney, David J. Van Dyke, said, “It’s hard to understand how New Gloucester would be doing this for any other reason than to retaliate against Frank. It boggles the mind why they think this is appropriate.”

Towns have authority to establish zoning and land-use regulations, Van Dyke said, but “it’s our position that political speech is not commercial signage and that the sign ordinance, if applied to political speech, would be an inappropriate restraint of speech under the First Amendment.”

Multiple town officials have expressed fear of Staton and Van Dyke recognizes his client has “not been very subtle about his criticism of some of the town management,” but that Staton is “being treated in a very disparate and inappropriate way” because of a defamation suit he filed against town officials last month.

“It is inconceivable,” Van Dyke said, that after Staton brought a civil rights claim against the town, “he then suddenly receives word that they want to enforce this signage ordinance.” He also said the order barring the signs is “really not a matter of dispute. It’s pretty well-established law that you have a First Amendment right to freedom of speech.”

He outlined that position in a letter to New Gloucester officials sent Wednesday, asserting Staton’s constitutional right to post political messages.

Staton and town officials have clashed for years, and their disagreement came to a head in May when Libby and Town Manager Paul First reported allegedly life-threatening messages they had received from Staton to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department. The messages date from 2012 and, according to court records, include a statement Staton made to State Animal Welfare Program officer Jodie M. Johnson that Heather Phinney, New Gloucester’s animal control officer, was on Staton’s “kill list.”

Johnson said Staton made the statement because he was angry that Phinney, Johnson and Maine Animal Welfare veterinarian Dr. Christine Fraser were investigating his treatment of calves after receiving a complaint they were sick and not being cared for. Johnson and Fraser visited Staton’s property in February 2012 to inspect his animals and reported four young bulls all appeared fed and cared for.

Court records also contain a copy of a May 2014 profane email from Staton to First suggesting First ought to resign, and notes regarding phone messages and emails from Staton to Libby that Libby felt were threatening.

Deputies investigated the complaint but did not file charges.

On May 29, First filed an application for a temporary protection order to bar Staton’s contact with town officials, writing in his application that he was concerned “for the safety of my employees, elected officials and myself.” He also wrote that he had been told Staton sometimes carries a concealed weapon, that Staton had “made the sign of a pistol with his fingers” and pointed toward former Town Manager Sumner Field in 2013, and that he found Staton becomes “easily agitated and unhinged” when dealing with town officials.

Staton has no criminal history of violence.

That application was scheduled to be heard in Portland District Court at the end of June, but before the hearing Staton and town officials, in lieu of a possible permanent protection order, came to an agreement to limit Staton’s interaction with 46 named current and former town officials and volunteers for the next year.

Staton agreed to communicate with town officials in writing and only to discuss town-related business. If he violates the terms of that agreement, he could be charged with a misdemeanor and could be held in contempt of court.

In early July, Staton filed a civil lawsuit against town officials alleging statements made by Selectman Libby and others during the previous several months were harmful to Staton’s reputation, social standing and profession. Libby is specifically named as a defendant.

Staton also asserts that he has been targeted by town leaders merely for criticizing local government, including posting signs on his property calling for Libby’s ouster, and that Libby acted with malice when he made allegations against Staton during a public meeting.

About three weeks later, Code Enforcement Officer Debra Parks Larrivee sent a letter to Staton ordering him to remove the signs on his lawn, referencing the town’s Residential Zoning Ordinance that bars more than one free-standing sign for every 250 feet of road frontage.

According to Larrivee, the signs on Staton’s lawn have been up for more than two months. She said her order was prompted by “me driving by and seeing that he’s got a whole bunch of signs.”

She couldn’t say how many there were, but her order was issued because of the number, not the content, of the signs, she said.

According to Larrivee, the Residential Zoning Ordinance barring multiple signs was enacted in 1989 and has been amended several times since. She said that in the 11 years she has served as code enforcement officer, she has issued “maybe three” similar orders and that “people usually conform when they get these letters.”

Maine law bans political signs within a public right of way more than six weeks before an election, but signs placed on private property are allowed and not subject to time or other limits.

In 2012, officials in Lewiston, Farmington and Alfred each announced they would no longer enforce municipal ordinances prohibiting political signs on private property after the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine informed public officials the ordinances may be in violation of state law and the First Amendment.

At the time, ACLU of Maine attorney Alysia Melnick said government attempts to ban political signs on private property “gets at the intersection of private property and protected speech,” and “yard signs are a highly protected method of communication.”

Van Dyke said that is precisely Staton’s position, that his political criticisms are protected speech and he will not take the signs down.

Larrivee said that if the signs are not down by Sept. 6, she will take the matter to selectmen and “ask them what their pleasure is on the next step.”

Staton has created a gofundme.com page to crowd source what he calls his “Leagal Defence Fund” to pay costs of the defamation suit. His goal is to raise $20,000 but as of Thursday no funds had been donated.

The town is being represented by the Maine Municipal Association in that case.

Town Manager First is out of the office until next week and was unavailable for comment.

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