Commission shrugs shoulders at alleged campaign code violations

Two legislative candidates found themselves in a frustrating predicament Friday morning.

Legislative candidates have the opportunity to sign the “2008 Maine Code of Fair Campaign Practices” with the Ethics Commission. Doing so is voluntary. Kenneth Capron of Portland and Kimberly McLaughlin of Yarmouth allege that their opponents signed the code and then violated it, and brought the case before the commission at their monthly meeting Friday.

After an hour-long discussion over jurisdiction, the commission members determined that they had no authority to enforce the code.

Commission chairman Michael Friedman was adamant in his opposition to hearing the cases. He said the candidates should bring the violations before the voters and let them be the judge at the polls.

Other commission members were a bit more hesitant. Some suggested using the commission as a forum to hear the issues, even though they can’t take action. Others suggested the issue of jurisdiction be brought before the Legislature next session.

In the end, they voted to send a letter to all legislative candidates instructing them not to bring their complaints to the commission, because they cannot take action.

Capron is a Republican running in House District 114 against Democratic incumbent Charles Harlow. He claims that Harlow campaigned too close to the polls during the primary election June 10 when he handed out flyers within 250 feet of the polling place, and stopped cars to give them campaign literature.

Harlow was unopposed in the primary, although his name was on the ballot. Friday he said that the warden said it was ok to hand out his materials at the polls since he did not have an opponent. Later the warden, realizing he was mistaken, asked Harlow to move away from the polls. Harlow said he did.

In a separate situation, McLaughlin claims that her opponent in the primary, Melissa Innes, used her Yarmouth public school e-mail – where she works -- to conduct campaign-related activities and defamed McLaughlin in telephone conversations “by misrepresenting facts to create doubts as to the morality of the candidate.” McLaughlin also claims that Innes removed her campaign signs from public and private property. Innes is an ed-tech in the public schools and the e-mail use was against district policies.

McLaughlin and Innes are both Democrats from Yarmouth. They tied on Election Day, and the primary battle is expected to go to the state Supreme Court July 7. McLaughlin filed her complaint last Thursday.

Innes, reached by phone Monday, said that she will not respond to McLaughlin’s complaint point by point, as she is intent on running a positive campaign.

“Her complaints are completely meritless, and I’m not sure why she chose to follow that route,” Innes said. “I wish she would have spoken with me. It was a very unfortunate thing that was done, and I’m not sure what the reasoning was.”