A Republican state senator who is among those leading the fight to pass legislation to benefit J.D. Irving’s proposal to develop an open-pit mine in the North Woods accepted a free private plane ride to Aroostook from Irving’s lobbyists and didn’t report it to the state ethics commission. Sen. Thomas Saviello of Wilton said he […]
ethics
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Oversight committee reviews report on workplace culture at Maine DHHS
AUGUSTA — The state’s largest agency may include “unfit” supervisors and the occasional “despicable” boss, but most employees of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services are satisfied with the workplace culture. A recent report issued by the nonpartisan Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability received close scrutiny from the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee […]
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Ethics bill passes Maine House with broad support
AUGUSTA — A bill that aims to ensure all state employees follow the same set of ethical standards was approved with little debate and broad bipartisan support in the Maine House of Representatives on a 134-13 vote Thursday. The bill, LD 6, is the result of a document-shredding scandal at the Maine Center for Disease Control […]
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Legislative committee hears resolve to create code of ethics
AUGUSTA — An effort to create a unified ethics code of conduct for state workers following a scandal in which workers at the Maine Centers for Disease Control destroyed public documents in 2013 took its first tentative steps toward a law change Wednesday. The document destruction in question came in advance of an anticipated Freedom […]
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Ethics complaints filed against LePage, Michaud
AUGUSTA — The Maine Ethics Commission could kickstart an investigation this week into the alleged illegal use of state property for political purposes by Republican Gov. Paul LePage, following a complaint filed Tuesday by the Maine Democratic Party Republicans fired back three hours later, responding to a BDN request for reaction to the Democrats’ complaint […]
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Maine bill targets false statements in campaigns
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage hopes to turn the state’s ethics panel into a truth squad that checks the veracity of claims made by politicians, but the bill’s prospects of becoming law appeared dim Wednesday as opponents warned it could violate the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. The plan directs the Maine Commission on […]
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Maine campaign ethics panel expands scope of Lewiston casino campaign inquest
AUGUSTA — Maine’s panel on campaign finance and ethics unanimously voted Thursday to expand its investigation into a failed 2011 campaign to bring a casino to downtown Lewiston. The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices decided a trio of out-of-state businessmen who funded the campaign and hired a political consultant in Virginia to produce […]
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Ethics panel tables case
AUGUSTA — Two Lewiston men who helped organize a statewide campaign aimed at bringing a casino to that city’s downtown endured a barrage of questions Thursday before the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. The commission tabled action on the case because it did not hear from all of the witnesses it had […]
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Chapter 7: Drama overshadows LePage’s work on domestic violence and ethics
Julia Colpitts holds a master’s degree in social work, is a licensed clinical social worker and runs the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. On paper, she appears to be the very model of a modern liberal and the antithesis of someone who would respect Paul LePage. But Colpitts cannot be reduced to a stereotype. […]
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Lewiston casino campaigners may get penalty reprieve in campaign finance case
LEWISTON — Promoters of a statewide effort to bring a casino to downtown Lewiston in 2011 might avoid paying more than $35,000 in civil penalties for presenting false information under Maine’s campaign-finance reporting laws, based on new documents released Tuesday. But the decision on what the political action committees set up by Stavros Mendros and […]