Brennan, D-Portland, holds lead in special Senate vote

AUGUSTA – Democrat Michael Brennan held a narrow lead after the votes were counted in Tuesday’s special election in the Portland area that will determine the balance of power in the Maine Senate, but Republicans said the election was far from over.

Brennan, a former four-term House member from Portland, was ahead with 3,122 votes, a lead of only 86 over Republican Sally Vamvakias, according to unofficial figures from local election officials.

But party officials said hundreds of absentee ballots still had to be counted.

“We are waiting until all of the votes are counted, and this election will not be decided tonight,” said Dwayne Bickford, executive director of the Maine Republican Party.

A message for Brennan was not immediately returned.

Brennan’s lead over Vamvakias in the five-way race narrowed as more votes were counted in her hometown, Falmouth. The district also covers Long Island and portions of Portland.

Independent Philip John Dawson was third with 1,041 votes, followed by state Libertarian Party head Mark Cenci, 115, and Kelly Thompson Fernald of the Green party, with 197 votes.

The race drew interest well beyond the district. Democrats sought to take an 18-16 seat advantage over the Republicans as the legislative session moves toward its closing stages with critical budget and policy matters still to be debated.

Democrats also saw the possible gain as a boost going into the 2002 legislative elections, when they hope to preserve their House majority and regain control of the Senate.

Republicans, who have chipped away at Democratic Senate majorities that have held for most of the last two decades, fought an aggressive campaign in hopes of keeping their even share of 17 votes in the Senate.

The special election fills the seat left vacant by the Jan. 14 death of Republican Sen. Joel Abromson of Portland. Abromson’s death tilted the delicate balance of the 35-member Senate toward the Democrats.

The Senate also has one independent.

Brennan, Vamvakias and Dawson all qualified as Clean Election candidates, meaning they received public campaign financing in exchange for turning down most private donations. But that did not shut off independent spending by parties and other outside interests, which spent tens of thousands of dollars on television ads and other campaign materials intended to sway voters’ minds.

The promotional and issue advertising also opened the tap to public Clean Election Fund money in a way it has never been opened before in Maine.

As of Tuesday, Vamvakias and Dawson had each received $52,584 in Clean Election funding, while Brennan had collected only an initial distribution of $17,528. The totals, which included maximum Clean Election distributions in two cases, were extraordinary.

It was also the first time since Clean Election funding became available in 2000 that maximum distributions were given to candidates, said William Hain, executive director of the Maine Ethics Commission.