Today is a great day for all things relating to public funding of the elections.
Legislative Committee on veterans and Legal Affairs hearings on eight campaign finance is bills, including one that would the Maine clean election Act repeal.
Also today, hear States Supreme Court United oral arguments in McComish versus Bennett, a case that could topple system for providing matching funds for candidates to Arizona. All States similar to Arizona's system of the Maine.
Maine clean elections program provides legislative and gubernatorial elections, candidates the possibility of using public funds for their campaigns, but revenue from private sources.
It seems that the law to survive is applied to legislative race. Eventually, most led lawmakers in both parties as clean candidates.
But seems it to his momentum, applied to gubernatorial elections race to change the law. Critics argue that the law has had only slightly at the top of the ticket. In addition, the Act applies not to political action committees, which play a major role to gubernatorial elections race.
The $ 7.4 million in public funds by Governor candidates in the last three election cycles, used candidates who are less than 20 percent of the vote won 70 percent of the money.
In fact, no publicly funded candidate for the Office has made ever more than 30 percent of the vote.
Open for business
After Governor Paul LePage installed a "open for business" sign to 95 in Kittery, some people wondered if the sign was installed on the right border. The character was finally produced by a company in Alabama.
Cynthia rose, the Knox County tea party activist, a fundraising effort led, to sign, to buy, it said beginning saw for a Maine business, to make the characters, but could not find that the characters, from which Maine Department of transportation could meet specifications.
So she ordered the characters from rice signs of Auburn, Ala. The company makes signs for highway departments across the nation.
Rosen, who was the Knox County Coordinator of the campaign for LePage said she and her husband John Stewart, the money for the 8-foot by 4 foot signs, raised the $1,376.73 shipping costs, incl..
The couple has $310 which they intend to be desired, use to reimburse the State for installation costs.
Rosen said the characters for LePage's inaugural events can it a Maine company, a highway can create characters, but they had quickly work ready.
"We a company in the State could not find, and time was ticking," she said.
You and Stewart decided more than a year ago to raise money for the characters say after LePage in a forum, that he would build such characters in Kittery, if elected.
She said that an important symbol for the changes, the LePage provincial government wants to bring the characters.
"It seemed only as a tangible expression of the importance of which could change," she said.
Unusual case for Ethics Committee
An unusual situation, a former Ethics Commission employees and a former legislator will examine Thursday the State Ethics Commission.
Republic Patricia Jones, D - Mount Vernon, her son fly a few days before the election of November asked in Maine from Chicago to their campaign. Jones, an incumbent was a tough race with Republican Dennis Keschl, the ultimately her defeat her re-election bid.
After the election called Jones the Ethics Commission staff to see whether it would be OK to clean choice money use to sign up for the $395.80-to refund tickets. It has been said, it was allowed, so she used the financing and reported it to the Commission as an expenditure.
It turns out, Jones was ill advice given by a former employee.
It not in the guidelines of a "campaign expenditure," fits Ethics Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne wrote in a memo.
"We consider the purchase of airline tickets as unnecessary and very rare for a legislative campaign," he wrote. "We are not another instance of a legislative candidate for flight pay, since candidates spending in a database in 2002 included were aware."
Wayne asked the five-Member Ethics Panel to decide whether Jones should reimburse the State for the money, even if a member of his staff gave their bad advice.
"Employees of the Commission regrets that a former employee mistakenly advised Mrs Jones after the parliamentary elections that they could use MCEA funds to reimburse themselves," wrote Wayne. "We accept that there could be reasons for an exception in this case."
The Commission will include, Thursday the matter, together with other business at 9 am.
Joke with Howie Carr
LePage launched, to talk show host Howie Carr's radio show on WRKO last week on the day when taken the message that he was ordering an edit mural of State Department of labor be removed.
In addition, it wants to be renamed conference rooms named after State and national leaders. Carr proposed that a room could be named after him.
"Governor, you need the name of the native Maine, which belong to a Union, to the if you looking for candidates, one of this rooms according to me, you", Carr said. "I would like to Cesar Chavez take room as my own be."
Later, other possible room names joked the men over.
"How about a type of food Maine famous for how a dough of fried clam room immersed", Carr said.
LePage replied: "clam rooms, the lobster, Blueberry, cranberry."
"Now we have this great battle on the treatment and dessert, perhaps we give each of them a room," said LePage.
Worst road
The Maine better transportation Association looking for nominations for the 2011 "Worst road in Maine" competition.
The winner will receive a gift certificate for $250 in the auto repair. After one is how much extra the average Mainer annually for repairs due to the harsh streets pays.
Competition rules and entry forms are available at Www.FixMaineRoads.org.
State House Bureau authors Tom Bell and Susan M. cover contributed to this report.
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