Ethics panel cites two ’06 candidates

AUGUSTA – The state ethics commission has ordered two unsuccessful 2006 legislative candidates, former lawmakers Paul and Pam Hatch of Skowhegan, to return nearly $3,000 in Clean Election funds because they could not provide documents to show it was used for campaign expenses.

The oversight panel also imposed a $500 fine.

Paul Hatch said they were prepared to pay the state and settle up on their fine, according to the Kennebec Journal.

“We’re going to pay it back, pure and simple, along with any punitive measures you hand out,” he said.

A random audit of the campaigns showed seven reported expenditures under the state’s public financing system for which the Hatches could provide no supporting documents, according to the commission. The expenditures totaled $2,973.54 and the Hatches could provide neither a vendor invoice nor a canceled check to prove payment.

The Hatches attended the commission meeting in Augusta and said running two campaigns out of a busy home, with Pam Hatch serving as treasurer for both, resulted in lost receipts. They said the money was used for campaign mailings and printing but cannot find receipts to prove it.

Paul Hatch, a former Somerset County commissioner and former two-term Democratic lawmaker, said the receipts may have been accidentally thrown away.

“Pam has a habit of using the dining room table as campaign headquarters,” he said. “I’ve had a long-standing habit of that’s where I sit and read the newspaper. In the process of gathering up a 5-pound Sunday Telegram, some of this stuff got shuffled into it.”

Pam Hatch, a Skowhegan selectwoman who had served 10 years in the Legislature, said she took on too much as a selectwoman, legislative candidate, treasurer for both campaigns, and co-chairwoman of the county Democrats.

“I should have called the commission on several occasions and didn’t,” she said.

Audits are part of the commission’s efforts to ensure money provided for legislative campaigns through the state’s public financing system is spent properly, said commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne.