Oden to forgo clean campaign funds

Independent gubernatorial candidate Nancy Oden of Jonesboro said Wednesday she will forgo public financing of her campaign.

In March of last year, Oden was the first 2006 candidate to register under the Maine Clean Elections Act, which provides qualified candidates for governor up to $1.4 million in public funding to run their campaigns.

On Wednesday, Oden said the program’s intensive paperwork has hampered her environmental activism, and qualifying for the campaign cash wasn’t worth sacrificing those efforts.

“I’m going to run an honest, old-fashioned campaign,” said Oden, estimating she would seek to privately raise at least $25,000 to spread her message. “I won’t have the millions, but campaigns can be run very cheaply if you have ideas.”

In order to qualify for public funding, party-affiliated candidates must collect 2,500 donations of $5 each by April 18. Nonparty, or independent, candidates such as Oden have until June 2.

Oden estimated she had already collected between 600 and 700 $5 checks, which she would return to her donors with an appeal for private donations.

Public financing aside, Oden still must qualify for the 2006 ballot by collecting 4,000 signatures.

Oden’s decision to abandon the Clean Elections program still leaves several gubernatorial candidates – including Republican state Sens. Peter Mills and Chandler Woodcock and Green Pat LaMarche – in the hunt for public money.

In total, there are now 12 gubernatorial candidates – including Democratic incumbent Gov. John Baldacci – registered with state elections officials.

Among the most recent entries into the race are David John Jones, a Falmouth independent, and Christopher Miller, a Gray Democrat.

The rest of the field, as of Wednesday evening, comprised former Republican U.S. Rep. David Emery from St. George; state Rep. Barbara Merrill, an Appleton independent; Robert Bizier, an Albion Democrat; Alex Hammer, a Bangor independent, and Bobby Mills, a Biddeford independent.