2006 candidate still owes $3K in unspent MCEA funds

Former legislative candidate Debra Reagan still owes the state $3,390 in unspent Maine Clean Elections Act funds from her 2006 race.

Reagan, R-Sanford, ran for House District 143 unsuccessfully against John Tuttle Jr., D-Sanford. She lost by 865 votes.

Reagan is the only 2006 MCEA candidate who has not yet returned unspent funds, according to a memo from Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the Maine Ethics Commission.

According to Wayne’s memo, Reagan had a post-campaign balance of $4,518, which the commission attempted to collect after the election. She was referred to the Attorney General’s office for collection of the funds on Feb. 14, 2007.

In July, the commission assessed civil penalties totaling $4,512. Reagan’s campaign treasurer, her daughter Dianna Hartford, requested the penalties be paid on a payment plan. They agreed to twelve payments of $367.

The payments started in August. Since then, Reagan had paid three months, missed two payments and one payment bounced.

Taking the payments that did go through into account, Reagan still owes $3,390.

The commission’s board will take up the issue at Monday’s meeting, and staff is suggesting they subpoena Reagan’s bank records for the MCEA funds. They also intend to request the $3,390 balance to be paid in full, “by credit card if necessary,” Wayne wrote.

“Two other 2006 candidates, Thomas J. Bossie (D-Casco) and Arthur H. Clement (D-Clinton), were assessed penalties totaling $2,000 and $1,750 (respectively) for misusing Maine Clean Election Act funds and failing to return unspent campaign funds to the commission,” Wayne’s memo states. “We believe Ms. Reagan’s actions are more serious, because Bossie and Clement returned the unspent funds under pressure from the commission and Ms. Reagan has not.”

Commission staff also plans to take punitive action during the March or April meetings.

“We believe it is likely that the candidate spent the $4,518 for purposed unrelated to her campaign,” Wayne’s memo states.

In an unrelated Ethics Commission matter, Katherine Smith, a 2007 candidate for the Maine House of Representatives, bounced a check to the state while returning unspent Maine Clean Elections Act funds.

Smith, D-Sebago, lost to Ralph Sarty, R-Denmark, by 153 votes in a special election last November.

Paul Lavine, assistant director of the Ethics Commission, said that Smith came in Monday, brought her financial records, and said it was an accounting error.

Lavine said the staff is confident that her funds were used for legitimate campaign purposes.