AUGUSTA - The Maine House voted Wednesday to advance LD 1658, An Act to Increase Campaign Finance Transparency and Accountability in Municipal Elections, sponsored by Rep. Grayson Lookner, D-Portland.
LD 1658 would direct political candidates and political action committees working to influence municipal office races in municipalities of more than 30,000 people to submit registrations and campaign finance reports with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices instead of with local municipal clerks. These campaign finance reports would be made available to the public via the municipality's website within two business days after a filing deadline.
The legislation was proposed as a means of providing more information on how money is used to influence local elections.
"If there's one thing that most Mainers feel strongly about, it's that there is too much money pouring in from wealthy, out-of-state interests to influence our elections," said Lookner. "In the state's largest cities, campaigns are increasingly being inundated with money from national interests to influence voters on elections for school boards, city councils, mayoral races and municipal-level referenda. We cannot allow unmitigated spending to continue bombarding our local elections, further overwhelming our municipal election officers. More transparency is necessary to ensure Mainers know who is funding campaigns to sway local elections."
LD 1658 faces additional votes in the coming weeks.
Lookner, who represents a portion of Portland, is serving his first term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Lookner], c. 812-1111