Review finds questionable donations Several contributors to Cianchette campaign may have violated limits

PORTLAND – Several donors to the campaign of Republican gubernatorial nominee Peter Cianchette may have run afoul of Maine’s campaign finance law.

The Portland Press Herald said its review of contributions to Cianchette and Democrat John Baldacci, the two major privately funded candidates for governor, turned up $8,100 in questionable contributions to the Cianchette campaign.

William Hain, executive director of the state Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, said those contributions raise questions about possible violations of the state’s $500 limit on contributions.

At issue is whether contributions made through corporations regarded for campaign purposes as a “single entity” add up to more than $500.

The law says two or more companies are a single entity if they share most of their directors, share two or more officers, are owned or controlled by the same shareholders or are related as a parent company and a subsidiary. Any one of those four types of links is enough to trigger the combined $500 limit.

In this case, some companies that meet at least one of those criteria, such as sharing the same corporate officers, each gave Cianchette $500, even though state law would seem to limit those companies to a combined contribution of $500.

Hain said any contributor or campaign that violates the $500 limit by giving or receiving more than the allowed amount commits a misdemeanor.

“We do not view these as intentional violations initially,” Hain said. “I presume, if there’s a violation, it was unintended.”

The Cianchette campaign said it is conducting its own review of contributions and will return any questionable money.

“Our number one priority here is to make sure we follow the letter of the law exactly,” said Roy Lenardson, Cianchette’s campaign manager.

Lenardson said the campaign had been under the impression that as long as contributions came from different companies, they were legal.

Cianchette is not the only gubernatorial candidate to face questions about campaign contributions. Last year Baldacci returned $3,500 after the ethics commission said the donations might not comply with the law.