Negative mailer raises concerns in SD 30

A state representative running unopposed has brought an ethics complaint against a state Senate candidate Valerie Carr-Winocour (R-Old Town) for a flier she sent out attacking her, the candidate’s opponent and another state representative.

Winocour, a clean elections candidate, sent out a mailer to all of Senate District 30 with the banner “The Baldacci bunch”. It accuses the Democrats of siding with Gov. John Baldacci to increase state spending and taxes. Sen. Elizabeth Schneider (D-Orono), her opponent, is the main target, but Reps. Emily Cain (D-Orono), Michael Dunn (D-Bangor), Richard Blanchard (D-Old Town) and John Martin (D-Eagle Lake) are also mentioned.

“Since the fine people of Eagle Lake are unlikely to vote Mr. Martin out of office, we must fix things ourselves,” the mailer states.

It asks voters to vote Democrats out of office to prevent excessive spending. “While we can’t vote Baldacci out of office, we can turn the state Senate and House to those who will cut off his funding,” it continues.

Cain brought the flyer before the Ethics commission, wondering if Carr-Winocour can legally campaign against those who are not her opponents under the clean elections law. The commission will hear the matter at noon Friday.

Since she is unopposed, Cain said she lacks the resources to combat the ad and wonders if the ad would be viewed as an independent expenditure against her. She wouldn’t qualify for matching funds, but Blanchard, who has two opponents, would.

Beyond the possible legal violations, Cain said it is ethically wrong to use public money for attack ads. She said the ad distorts her record as a member of the Appropriations Committee.

“It’s not what the people in Maine had in mind,” when they initiated the MCEA law, Cain said, later adding: “It flies in the face of the candidates’ pledge to uphold ethical campaign standards.”

Attorney and Republican activist Dan Billings is representing Carr-Winocour in this case, and said the mailer did not violate any MCEA laws.

To bar candidates from mentioning other legislators who are not their opponents would be micromanaging the process, he said.

“It’s not unusual for candidates to associate their opponents with people they think are unpopular,” Billings said. “It seems like Barack Obama is running against George Bush, and Tom Allen has adopted a similar tactic.”

Billings said that the flier was intended to attack Schneider by tying her to the Democratic leadership in Augusta. If it had been intended to attack House candidates it was poorly planned, he said, as Cain and Martin are unopposed and Dunn is not running for reelection.

“If a Senate candidate only attacked a House candidate, it would be a different situation,” Billings said.