AUGUSTA – State House Democrats are striking back at supporters of a people’s veto initiative against state budget borrowing by encouraging merchants to eject signature gatherers on or near their premises.

Sen. Joseph Perry, D-Bangor, and Rep. Jeremy Fischer, D-Presque Isle, confirmed Monday that they had contacted businesses in their districts where petitions for the people’s veto were being collected over the weekend and persuaded the managers to bring the process to a halt.

“When I talked to the mall manager [at the Aroostook Center Mall] in Presque Isle, I told her she had to understand that [permitting the signatures to be gathered] opens up politics in your mall,” Fischer said. “They made the decision with their legal counsel that they just didn’t want either side doing anything on their property.”

Perry said he was alerted to signature gathering for the people’s veto at one of the Leadbetter’s stores in Bangor. As a longtime friend of the Leadbetter family, Perry said he felt obliged to inform the store owner that allowing signature gathering for the people’s veto at his store would “offend and alienate” some of his customers.

In both instances, the signature gatherers were asked to leave and did so.

Richard Campbell, a former Republican state representative from Holden, is coordinating efforts to recruit volunteers for the people’s veto in four counties. He said he was shocked by what he described Monday as “brazen interference” by Democrats against those gathering signatures to place the people’s veto on the ballot in November.

“Harassing business owners who allow circulators on their premises is highly inappropriate,” Campbell said. “It was a clear effort to intimidate not only the proponents of the people’s veto of the budget, but also those who just simply believe in the citizens initiative process.”

Senate Minority Leader Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, said Democrats went too far by contacting business or mall managers to “put that kind of pressure” on signature gatherers.

“It’s not right for any elected official to interfere and if it were Republicans that were doing it, the Democrats would be screeching at the top of their lungs about people being denied their rights and interfering with the democratic process,” Davis said. “People ought to be able to make up their own minds about whether they want to sign a petition without being pressured by Democrats. This is still America, you know.”

The people’s veto was launched by several Republican legislators after majority Democrats in the House and Senate enacted a $5.7 billion, two-year budget balanced in part by a $450 million loan that does not require voter approval.

The party-line vote on the budget renewed tensions between Democrats and Republicans, with the minority party claiming the majority had used its slightly superior numbers to pass a budget that failed to make adequate cuts in state spending. Democrats continued Monday to insist Republicans had refused to produce a budget alternative reflecting where cuts should be made and, instead, left the hard decisions to be made by the majority party.

Still, both sides maintained Monday they would be amenable to discussing a compromise to the budget-borrowing component, if one could be found.

Assistant Senate Democratic leader Kenneth Gagnon of Waterville said he had no qualms whatsoever about discouraging signature gathering because Wall Street bond houses had indicated the mere circulation of the petitions could be enough to lower the state’s bond rating – a looming threat announced by Moody’s Investors Services more than a month before the people’s veto effort ever took shape. Gagnon said State House Republicans took advantage of their status as legislators to launch the people’s veto in the aftermath of the budget vote.

“Talk about line crossing, give me a break,” Gagnon said.

Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, one of the GOP lawmakers who helped ignite the people’s veto, predicted the group would gather the necessary 50,519 signatures by June 28 to place the budget borrowing question on the ballot. He said efforts by Democrats to stymie signature gatherers would be “completely ineffectual.” He was skeptical of the overtures made by Democratic leaders who said they wanted to work with Republicans on upcoming budget discussions.

“I don’t think they will honestly be open to reopening the budget until we’ve got these signatures gathered,” Mills said.