Gubernatorial candidates may see public funds cut

AUGUSTA – It could soon become tougher for gubernatorial candidates to qualify for public campaign funds under calls for stricter rules on who is entitled to the money.

Taxpayers last year provided more than $3.5 million for gubernatorial campaigns. Several legislators, the agency that oversees public campaign funds and an advocacy group are now trying to make it harder for Blaine House hopefuls to access the money.

They say the state’s Clean Election Fund would be strapped for cash and the public could lose confidence in the system if too many candidates qualify for funding in future elections.

“I think we need to set a higher standard,” said House Speaker Glenn Cummings, D-Portland, the sponsor of one of several bills that have been submitted. “The number of candidates and the expense is something that puts a strain on the system.”

Opponents argue that the system works as intended, and that weak candidates who lacked public support were weeded out last year. Tougher rules would disenfranchise independent candidates and give political parties a stranglehold on the electoral system, they say.

Maine voters in 1996 approved the Clean Election Act to provide public financing for qualified legislative and gubernatorial candidates.

More than 300 legislative candidates received public financing last year, but the push to tighten eligibility rules is focused primarily on the governor’s race because the costs are so high.

In last fall’s election, three of the five gubernatorial candidates used Clean Election funds to finance their campaigns.

Republican Chandler Woodcock received $1.3 million, Green Independent Pat LaMarche got more than $1.1 million, and independent Barbara Merrill got $915,000. Republican Sen. Peter Mills received $200,000 in public funds for the Republican primary, which was won by Woodcock.

The law now allows, but does not require, gubernatorial candidates who want public financing to raise “seed money” from private contributors to build name recognition before the second step in the process.

The second step requires each candidate to collect at least 2,500 “qualifying contributions” of $5 each from Maine voters, or $12,500 per candidate. That money goes into the Clean Election Fund to supplement tax dollars in the fund.

Most of the reforms that have been proposed in the Legislature would tighten up one or both steps.

Cummings’ bill, for instance, would make each gubernatorial candidate raise at least $15,000 in seed money and then collect 3,250 qualifying contributions, producing added revenue for the Clean Election Fund. Several other bills contain variations on that theme.

Backers of tighter controls say the gubernatorial candidates who received public financing last year were legitimate.

But, they add, other candidates who failed to qualify had only limited support and might have prompted a public outcry if they had gotten public financing.

“It wouldn’t take but one big overuse of the system to generate a different [public] attitude,” said Mills.

Cummings predicted that the Legislature will tighten the rules, in part because tax-conscious voters are watching for government waste these days.

“There’s a lot of concern out there that money is well spent,” he said.