Lesser-knowns await state funds Candidates expect official confirmation

State Rep. Barbara Merrill and former state Rep. John Michael on Friday were poised to become the first nonparty candidates for governor to qualify for public financing of their campaigns.

Merrill of Appleton and Michael of Auburn each submitted about 2,800 checks – well over the needed 2,500 – to state elections officials by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline for independent candidates. The $5 checks, once verified by state elections officials, would make each of their campaigns eligible for up to $1.2 million in public money.

“This will allow me to mount a campaign that is really going to be a campaign of the people of Maine,” said Merrill, a former Democrat who dropped her party affiliation late last year.

Officials with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices still must certify the checks and expect to finish by the end of next week.

The expected infusion of cash, which would come after the June 13 primary election, has the potential to change the dynamics of the race if it is spent wisely, say political experts.

“It certainly makes them more credible,” said Jim Melcher, a political scientist at the University of Maine at Farmington.

While Merrill is likely to drain from Baldacci’s support, Melcher said, the socially conservative Michael could prove a drain on the eventual Republican nominee.

Although Merrill is known in State House circles from her days as a lobbyist and a lawmaker, and Michael ran a shoestring campaign for governor in 2002, both must build name recognition, Melcher said, before their candidacies can gain any traction.

A new Critical Insights poll released Friday suggests that few voters have heard of either candidate. Just 2 percent of the 604 Mainers surveyed could name Merrill as a candidate for governor. Less than 1 percent could name Michael.

Merrill and Michael are two of four independent candidates who have earned spots on the November ballot for governor.

A third, David John Jones of Falmouth, said he fell about 300 checks short of qualifying for public financing under the Maine Clean Elections Act. Jones said Friday he was unsure whether he would actively continue his campaign.

The fourth independent, Phillip Morris NaPier of Windham, is running as a privately financed candidate.

The independent candidates will share the November ballot with Maine Green Independent Party nominee Pat LaMarche of Yarmouth, who also has qualified for public financing, as well as the Democratic and Republican nominees to be decided June 13.

In the Democratic primary, Gov. John Baldacci is a heavy favorite against political newcomer Christopher Miller of Gray.

On the Republican side, three candidates are vying for that party’s nomination. They are former U.S. Rep. David Emery of St. George and state Sens. Peter Mills of Cornville and Chandler Woodcock of Farmington.

If state officials certify enough checks, as expected, Merrill and Michael will receive initial payments of $400,000 for the general election. They each also will be eligible for additional matching funds of up to $800,000, depending on how much the privately financed candidates spend in the race.

The Maine Clean Elections Act allows qualified candidates to use public money to finance their campaigns if they agree to abide by certain spending limits.