Jonathan Wayne

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.

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Click here for a previous report on the issue.

In the last legislative session, state lawmakers approved measures that made it 30 percent harder for candidates for governor to qualify for public financing. They also required all gubernatorial candidates to be audited by the Ethics Commission.

Lawmakers also asked Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the commission, to study further improvements to public financing in gubernatorial elections.

At a public hearing Friday morning, a handful of proponents – mostly the usual suspects – said that the most recent round of changes should play out in 2010 before any more are made.

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Candidates running with public financing will have a little less money to work with this year.

In the latest round of budget cuts, the Legislature cut 5 percent of funding for Clean Elections candidates. It’s not that big of a deal, said Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the Ethics’ Commission -- it’s the lawmakers’ way of sharing the sacrifice of the budget cuts.

The state is suing Debra Reagan, formerly of Sanford, for failing to return Maine Clean Elections Act Funds.

Reagan ran as a Republican candidate for the Maine House of Representatives in 2006, losing to John Tuttle Jr., D-Sanford by 865 votes.

UPDATED: 11:07 a.m. Tuesday with more links

Senate President Beth Edmonds wants to give lawmakers a few more forms to fill out.

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.

Former Republican House candidate David Hughes of Lewiston, who briefly came under fire by the Ethics Commission for not filing his Maine Clean Elections Act report, turned his paperwork in Thursday.

Following today’s commission meeting, board members are no longer concerned that Hughes misused the public funds, but did authorize staff to complete a full audit of his campaign.  read more »

As reported in PolitickerME, David Hughes (R) Lewiston joins Mr. Walcott (D) Lewiston as the latest clean election candidate that failed to account for how he spent taxpayer dollars to run his campaign. more >

Edited to add in former Rep. William Walcott's party affiliation, per request of our readers.  

David Hughes, a candidate in last November’s special legislative elections, has not yet accounted for how he spent $4,287 in Maine Clean Elections Act funds.

Former state Rep. William Walcott was indicted by an Androscoggin County grand jury Thursday on felony charges, after he admitted to the Maine Ethics Commission that he falsified his Clean Elections Act reports, instead using $4,874 in public funds for personal use.

Walcott is charged with two felony counts of theft. He also faces the following misdemeanor charges: two counts of misuse of entrusted property, two counts of violation of the Clean Election Act and three counts of making false reports under the Clean Elections Act.

He will be arraigned in Androscoggin County Superior Court Dec. 27 at 8:30 a.m., court officials said Friday.

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