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March 11, 2011

Suit challenges Bailey's ethics fine

By The Mainebiz News Staff

The Maine Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging a $200 fine levied against political consultant Dennis Bailey, one of the creators of an anti-Eliot Cutler website.

The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of Maine election laws and contests the fine brought against Bailey by the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, according to the Portland Press Herald. Bailey, president of public relations firm Savvy Inc. and a consultant to two former gubernatorial candidates in the 2010 election, was fined in December for violating campaign laws and not saying who was behind The Cutler Files, which called Independent candidate Cutler "a phony and a fraud." The lawsuit challenges a requirement that political speakers disclose their identities, as well as a provision that treats blogs and other Internet works differently from articles published in traditional media. The suit asks the court to overrule the commission's decision, revoke the fine and order the commission not to enforce the two provisions.

The second person involved in the site was not named or fined, but Thom Rhoads, husband of former Democratic candidate Rosa Scarcelli, admitted his involvement in January. Bailey served as a consultant to Scarcelli before working for Independent candidate Shawn Moody.

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