AUGUSTA, Maine — A majority of the commission overseeing Maine’s campaign finance system seemed inclined on Wednesday to fine Gov. Janet Mills’ inaugural committee as it continues to carry debt for her January celebration, but not until that debt is paid.
The Democrat is the first governor to serve under a 2015 campaign finance law that established reporting requirements for the committees that govern the transition period between election and taking office and set a Jan. 31 deadline to finish fundraising for those activities.
But Mills’ inaugural committee has been continuing to raise money with approval from the Maine Ethics Commission after her inaugural celebration at the city-owned Augusta Civic Center cost $63,000 more than the $132,000 the committee said it expected.
The committee still owes nearly $70,000 to Augusta, according to Jonathan Wayne, the commission’s executive director. The committee’s most recent report shows it has $35,000 on hand, though Mills attorney Michael Carey said it also has $45,000 in unpaid pledges.
That frustrated commissioners, who voted 3-1 Wednesday to delay action on a penalty until Mills retires the debt. Commissioner Richard Nass, a former Republican state senator from Acton, said he would favor giving the inaugural committee the maximum $10,000 fine.
He wondered aloud if the public and media were paying the issue as much attention as they would be if Mills’ Republican predecessor was still in office.
“Nobody seems to care about this anymore,” he said. “If this was Paul LePage, TV cameras would be parked all over this place. And this is not, this is Janet.”
Commission staff has said the fundraising deadline in the law is too early to be workable. A provision in the law preventing lobbyists and their employers from donating to transition funds when the Legislature is in session likely worked to slow fundraising efforts early in 2019.
But William Lee, a Democrat from Waterville who chairs the five-member commission, said he didn’t anticipate the fundraising would take so long. He also said the Legislature’s January return could further delay fundraising and he has “no inclination to see continuances” into 2020.
Commission members were concerned that deciding on a penalty before the fundraising is complete would give the inaugural committee no incentive to finish the job. At the same time, some said having Carey report before the commission each month generates more expenses, cutting into the bottom line.
Carey said he believed the provisions in the statute provided enough motivation to finish fundraising, although he didn’t think the committee deserved a $10,000 fine.
Commissioner Bradford Pattershall, a Republican from Freeport, said he didn’t support a fine as high as $10,000 for now, but he suggested the inaugural committee raise more than it owes to Augusta in anticipation of an eventual fine.
“If this had been wrapped up in six months, I might be at a certain level,” he said. “If it takes another whole year to get this done, that’s a different kind of penalty.”