Commission questions $2K in MCEA purchases by state Senate candidate

The Maine Ethics Commission’s staff is questioning more than $2,000 in purchases by independent state Senate candidate Dana Kadey of Princeton, and recommending that he reimburse the state.

According to his campaign finance reports, Kadey used Maine Clean Elections Act funds to buy a GPS device for $414, a cooler for his vehicle for $188 and a truck cap and roof rack for $1,363 plus $109 in travel to buy it. They were paid for out of the $21,005 in public funds he received for his campaign. The GPS device was his first purchase of the campaign.

This year Kadey is running against Raye and Karen Johnson (D-Machias). The district includes all of Washington County.

This his second run for state Senate. In a four-way race in 2006, he got 13 percent of the vote. Sen. Kevin Raye (R-Perry) won with 59 percent of the vote.

The commission is now questioning some of Kadey’s 2006 purchases.

According to a memo of Executive Director Jonathan Wayne, Kadey explained in a phone call with the commission that the truck cap was necessary because he said he is undergoing medical treatment, gets exhausted campaigning, and needs to lie down periodically. The cap allows him to lie down in the bed of his truck. The cooler was also related to his medical condition, he said.

In a letter, he said the GPS was necessary because the Senate district covered a large area, and the device kept him from getting lost.

The roof rack was not explained.

In a memo to the board, Wayne wrote that in a phone call, Kadey said he believed: “He could not purchase the truck cap with his personal funds because that would have resulted in a personal contribution to his campaign, which he is not permitted to make as a MCEA candidate.”

Clean Elections law prohibits the spending of public funds on personal items. For items that have a campaign purpose, but could be used for personal purposes after the campaign, the law states that candidates must sell the items at “fair market value” and reimburse the MCEA fund.

Almost all candidates can make the distinction, Wayne wrote in a memo.

Commission staff is recommending to the board that the GPS, cooler and truck cap be regarded as personal purchases, and that he reimburse the commission $2,076. Commission staff is also requesting an audit of his 2008 expenses.

They will take the issue up at Monday’s meeting.

“If an individual such as Mr. Kadey chooses to run [as] a Senate candidate with a medical condition requiring unusual personal accommodations, we believe it is appropriate for the candidate to pay for those measures from their own funds… We also do not know what campaign purpose the roof rack would serve,” Wayne wrote.

On the GPS device, Wayne wrote, no other candidate has purchased one with public funds. “Also, there is reason to hope that Mr. Kadey already has some familiarity with the roadways of Senate District 29.”

Current concerns spurred an additional review of Kadey’s 2006 expenditures, when he received $21,996 in MCEA funds.

Then he bought a laptop for $2,928, which initially sold for $809 after the campaign. Auditors told him that this did not meet the “fair market requirement”, and Kadey gave the commission another $691. Other 2006 expenses under review are $1,302 for purchases related to a “campaign walk” – where he walked for two weeks carrying a 28-pound rock to highlight Maine’s high tax burden, and $3,734 in 13 purchases for signs.

“One purchase for $463.74 was from Cabela’s (a hunting and sporting goods store) and the staff is unsure what materials for signs could be purchased at Cabela’s for that amount,” Wayne wrote.

With the most recent budget cuts, this year state Senate candidates in contested races using public funds will get an average of $19,078. Candidates are required to keep detailed records of expenses, and return unused funds to the state.

Kadey is running because he wants to reduce Maine’s tax burden and the size of state government, according to his campaign Web site. He has spent “years and years” in Washington County, spending 30 years as a teacher and immigration inspector and 40 years as a minister and a farmer.