AUGUSTA — A Lewiston-based political consultant and former state lawmaker was paid more than $760,000 in a recent effort to collect voter signatures for a failed ballot question campaign for a Southern Maine casino. According to records filed with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, Olympic Consulting, headed by Stavros Mendros, a […]
Mendros
Posted inMaine
Correction: Stavros Mendros’ punishment
A story on the front page of Saturday’s edition about the signature campaign to legalize marijuana in Maine should have reported that in 2007 Stavros Mendros pleaded guilty to three counts of false acknowledgment of oath stemming from misuse of his notary commission. He was fined $1,000 for one of the counts and 500 apiece for […]
advertisement
Posted inOxford Hills
Mendros at center of marijuana ballot question controversy
LEWISTON — Stavros Mendros, a former state lawmaker and city councilor who has been in the hot seat for questionable signature-gathering campaigns in the past is again at the center of a controversy over a ballot question drive. David Boyer, the director of a citizen petition campaign that’s hoping to ask Maine voters to legalize […]
Posted inMaine
Florida woman bankrolls push for York County casino question in Maine
LEWISTON — A Lewiston political operative is again at the center of a campaign that’s seeking to bring another casino to Maine, this time to York County. The campaign has spent $156,000 since it began in October, according to the most recent campaign finance reports available from the state. Much of that money — $111,935 — […]
Posted inMaine
Stavros Mendros ousted as Androscoggin GOP chair after dust-up over missing funds
LEWISTON — In the wake of a scandal involving $8,000 in missing cash, the Androscoggin County Republican Committee during a private meeting Thursday voted to remove its chairman, Stavros Mendros of Lewiston. Earlier this month, Mendros alerted the Androscoggin County District Attorney’s Office and the media that he had discovered the money missing when he […]
Posted inMaine
Group faces uphill climb on citizens’ veto on GA for immigrants
LEWISTON — The organizer of a people’s veto referendum aimed at repealing a law that allows cities and towns to pay General Assistance benefits to asylum-seeking immigrants for up to two years said he hopes to start collecting signatures soon. But the question could face competition from another proposal for a ballot measure being sought […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lisbon Street paving work gets pushed back a year
LEWISTON — A public referendum on adding bicycle lanes to a repaved Lisbon Street won’t happen this year. Neither will the paving project. Public Works Director David Jones said Tuesday that the city has simply run out of time to complete the project before the end of the road construction season, thanks to a longer-than-expected […]
Posted inMaine
Advocates for legal pot say CDC survey shows teen use stays flat
LEWISTON — Supporters of legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Maine said Wednesday that recent reports show teen pot-smoking wouldn’t increase with legalization. A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health looked at the impact of marijuana use by teenagers in states that had enacted medical marijuana laws and compared them to nearby states that […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Advocates announce petition drive for legal pot in Lewiston
LEWISTON — Advocates hoping to make it legal to possess of up to 1 ounce of marijuana for recreational use have launched an effort to collect enough voter signatures to put the issue on a citywide ballot in November. “The petition process will spark a public dialogue about marijuana and the need for more sensible […]
Posted inMaine
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 […]