Richardson drops out of guv race
Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Richardson has dropped out of the race, citing denial of his bid for public financing by the Maine Ethics Commission.
Richardson made the announcement this morning at a press conference in Brunswick, following news that the ethics commission had denied funding through the Maine Clean Election Act, citing potential fraud committed by campaign workers, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday, the Capitol News Service and the Bangor Daily News obtained documents that show the commission found several of the $5 contributions needed to qualify for public funding were falsified. Other violations include contributing the $5 or allowing others to contribute $5 on behalf of individual voters; signing voters' names to money orders; and campaign workers signing forms that they did not actually circulate. There was no evidence Richardson himself committed any wrongdoing.
The news service and the newspaper reported that Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne wrote the Richardson campaign failed to meet three of the 10 criteria to qualify for public financing, including the failure to obtain the required 3,250 signed forms of voters that must accompany $5 contributions to the Clean Election Fund.
Go to the article from Capitol News Service and the Bangor Daily News >>
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