AUGUSTA — The state Department of Corrections had nothing to say about the termination of Maine State Prison Warden Patricia Barnhart Thursday, but the union that represents the guards at the prison did.

"To walk in and fire the warden cold like that, it is not very professional," said Jim Mackie, staff representative for AFSCME Council 93.

Mackie is the union representative for employees at the Maine State Prison and the Bolduc Correction Center, both in Warren. The employees are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 93, which represents more than 45,000 state, county and municipal employees in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. AFSCME Council 93 represents employee groups ranging from correctional officers to school cafeteria workers, as well as private-sector employees at a number of mental health facilities and community-based homes for the developmentally disabled.

A state government employee told Penobscot Bay Pilot Jan. 10 that Barnhart had been abruptly terminated from her job running the prison in Warren. A state DOC spokesperson, Associate Commissioner Jody Breton, responding to calls to Commissioner Joseph Ponte's office, said the department had "no comment" on any questions relating to Barnhart, or who was in charge of the prison Thursday.

Asked when the DOC would be ready to let the public know if the warden was still on the job or not, Breton said, "Right now, I have to have no comment on that."

Mackie said Thursday night that he heard two individuals had been named to temporarily run the prison while a new warden is sought. They are Rodney Bouffard, the superintendent of Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, and Ralph Nichols, the DOC's director of internal operations.

Mackie said 24 hours before Barnhart's termination, the DOC announced it was closing the Central Maine Pre-Release Center in Hallowell, which has 58 inmates and 21 staff positions, and relocating it to the Bolduc facility.

"Then 25 hours later, they announce the firing of one of the more respected people in the system," said Mackie. "She brought them through the American Correctional Association inspection and got perfect scores, and if that's a bad state employee, we probably need to get another one."

Mackie said he has heard nothing about the reason for Barnhart's termination.

Mackie also said that the day before he learned of Barnhart's termination, he had been working with her on an issue at the prison and there was no reason to believe something was amiss.

"I have talked to others in management at the prison, and at the Department of Corrections, and every one of them is totally shocked about this," said Mackie. "I was in arbitration talks with Patty yesterday, and today nobody knew a single thing about this. This is not an insignificant thing, this is the warden of the Maine State Prison. I can't imagine that anyone in Maine would want to be treated with the disrespect that she was treated with today when she was point-blank told she was fired and walked out of the building."

Mackie said normally, as with a member of the union, when there is a personnel issue and it's an egregious offense calling for termination, it's not uncommon for the union to be consulted and the employee offered an opportunity to sever his or her employment with the state to avoid being fired. This did not happen with Barnhart, Mackie said, saying she was gobsmacked by the turn of events.

"If I was the commissioner, I would be a little worried that the warden will jump right back at them for this, and I don't blame her given what I know about her. She has been great to work with here. But she did not deserve this, no matter what has happened. He could have invited her to Augusta, and in the privacy of his office, did what he did, but to do it in the prison in front of everyone, this is a very cold and calculated individual [the commissioner] we are dealing with."

In considering what could have contributed to Barnhart's abrupt dismissal, Mackie said he would be shocked to learn if she did some "horrific matter" to prompt Thursday's result.

"If it was such a bad thing, I would have thought the commissioner would have consulted with the legislative leadership before acting, and to our knowledge he did not do that," said Mackie. "It was his decision, he walked in and he fired her. And for nobody to know what she did except him, it's shocking. If someone does something that bad, it doesn't stay a secret. People hear about it, and they know about it and it can't be kept secret. I think his rule is the rule of fear."

Mackie reiterated that Barnhart's firing was as much a shock to him and her staff and managers, as it was to him.

"I don't very often talk too highly of managers, and people know that, but it's seldom you run into a manager in the union part of the world that you respect, but she really developed a rapport with us and worked with us," said Mackie. "I know some in the Legislature like the commissioner because of the money he has saved, but it's time for those people to look at the cost of those savings, the real human cost."

Related story:

• Maine State Prison warden terminated, state officials officially mum

Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards can be reached by email at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com or by calling 207-706-6655.