January 23, 2018 Jonathan Wayne Executive Director Maine

Katherine Knox (207) 228-7229 [email protected]

Isabel Mullin (207) 228-7336 direct [email protected] January 23, 2018

Jonathan Wayne Executive Director Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices 135 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333

Re: Request for Investigation into Campaign Finance Violations by the Maine Examiner and Maine Republican Party

Dear Mr. Wayne:

On behalf of my client, Maine Democratic Party, and pursuant to 21-A M.R.S. § 1003(2) and 94-270 C.M.R. ch.1, § 4(2)(C), I write to request that the Commission investigate the activities and the entities named above for violations of campaign finance law. As demonstrated below, the Maine Democratic Party believes that the evidence enumerated in this letter provides the Commission with more than sufficient grounds for believing that violations have occurred and we ask that an investigation be immediately commenced.

THE MAINE EXAMINER

The Maine Examiner purports to be “a small group of Mainers who simply publish Maine news, trends and interesting pieces about you, the people of Maine.” (Attachment A.) However, the Maine Examiner website and social media pages are all anonymous. There is no information provided about the authors, publishers, funders, or any other individual associated with Maine Examiner. The byline of each story it publishes simply reads “Administrator” or “The Maine Examiner.” (Attachments R, S, T, U, V, W, X, & Y.)

The organization first began operating its website on September 11, 2017, shortly before the 2017 general election. (Attachment D.) The domain was privately registered using

Jonathan Wayne January 19, 2018 Page 2 a private registration service called Domains by Proxy, which conceals the identity of the individual(s) who created and operate the website. (Attachments D & E.) It also operates a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Its first Facebook post was on September 13, 2017. (Attachment F.) Its Twitter account was created on September 15, 2017. (Attachment G.) Neither the Maine Examiner Facebook page nor its Twitter account identifies the individuals who write or post information or who are otherwise affiliated with the organization.

The Maine Examiner has not filed a Certificate of Existence with the Maine Department of the Secretary of State. (Attachments B & C.)

The Maine Examiner has declined interview requests from the Bangor Daily News, The Portland Press Herald, and the Boston Globe. Its email responses to the requests were anonymous. (Attachments Z, Y, & Z.)

1) The Maine Examiner likely made independent expenditures without properly reporting those to the City of Lewiston.

The Maine Examiner published a series of seven stories about Ben Chin during the first two weeks of December 2017. The stories made inflammatory claims about Mr. Chin and attempted to disparage his character. These stories were all published and shared on Facebook shortly before the mayoral runoff election in Lewiston between Mr. Chin and a member of the Republican Party. The election took place on December 12, 2017 and the first story was posted on December 3rd, the second on December 4th, the third on December 5th, the fourth and fifth on December 7th, the sixth on December 8th, and the seventh on December 10th. (Attachments H, I, J, K, L, M, N, R, S, T, U, V, W, & X.)

Under Maine law, an independent expenditure is defined as “any expenditure made by a person, party committee, political committee or political action committee, other than by contribution to a candidate or a candidate’s authorized political committee, for any communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate[.]” 21-A M.R.S. § 1019-B(1). An expenditure is presumed to be an “independent expenditure” when it is “made to design, produce or disseminate a communication that names or depicts a clearly identified candidate and is disseminated during the . . . 35 days, including election day, before a special election; or from Labor Day to a general election day.” Id. The stories published by the Maine Examiner and shared on its Facebook page identify Mr. Chin by name and picture and discuss his candidacy for mayor. For example the story published December 3rd concludes as follows: “Chin is the political director of the Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal political group, and works as a lobbyist in Augusta. Chin’s opponent is Shane Bouchard, a Lewiston small-business owner. The election for Mayor of Lewiston is on December 12.” (Attachment R.) The six other stories all end in a similar manner, but also identify Mr. Chin’s opponent as a Lewiston native and city councilor. The stories were all

Jonathan Wayne January 19, 2018 Page 3 published within the time period for which the “independent expenditure” presumption is applied.

A person or organization who makes an independent expenditure in excess of $250 in a municipal election must file a report with the municipality detailing the expenditure. §1019-B(4). It is likely that the expenditures on these stories and their dissemination were more than $250 given the amount of research that is required to write such pieces, the work that is needed to verify the authenticity of the emails, the extent to which the stories were circulated online, and the sheer level of activity on the Maine Examiner’s website and Facebook page around these stories. When an independent expenditure is made within two weeks of an election, the report is due within one calendar day of the expenditure. 94-270 C.M.R. ch.1, § 10(3)(B)(3). Reports, therefore, were likely due for these expenditures on December 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 11th.1 As of today, January 23, 2018, the reports are now between 43 and 50 days late. The The Maine Examiner has never filed a report with the City of Lewiston.

2) The Maine Examiner has likely not complied with the disclosure requirements for political communications or independent expenditures.

Maine law also requires that any communication “that names or depicts a clearly identified candidate and that is disseminated during the . . . 35 days before a general election” include “the name and address of the person who made or financed the communication and a statement that the communication was or was not authorized by the candidate . . . .” § 1014(2-A). The Maine Examiner did not include its address or a statement about whether or not a candidate authorized the communication in any of the seven stories about Mr. Chin.

An independent expenditure must also conspicuously include the top three funders of the organization. The Maine Examiner failed to disclose this information in its stories about Mr. Chin.

3) Independent Expenditures at issue are not exempted from reporting requirements by either the internet communication exception or press exemption.

a) Internet Communications Exception

The political communication and independent expenditure disclosure requirements do not apply to certain internet and email activities costing less than $100 if paid for by one

1 For expenditures related to municipal elections, reports may be filed the next business day when the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday. 94-270 C.M.R. ch. 1, § 10(3)(B). Reports for the two stories published and shared on December 7th were both due December 8th and reports for the stories published and disseminated on December 8th and 10th were both due December 11th.

Jonathan Wayne January 19, 2018 Page 4 or more individuals and if those individuals are acting independently of “a candidate, candidate’s authorized campaign committee, party committee, political action committee or ballot question committee or an agent of a candidate, candidate’s authorized campaign committee, party committee, political action committee or ballot question committee.” 21-A M.R.S. § 1014(6)(C); 94-270 C.M.R. ch.1, § 7(9)(B). This exception does not apply to the Maine Examiner because it is an organization—not an individual or group of individuals—and because there is reason to believe the organization may have been acting in concert with a party committee, the Maine Republican Party (“The Party”). In addition, the communications likely cost over $100.

The Party is a state party committee required to register and file campaign finance reports with the Commission pursuant to 21-A M.R.S. §§ 1013-A and 1017-A. The Party is a sophisticated political organization with full time staff and legal advisors. It is fully aware of Maine’s independent expenditure and political communications disclosure requirements. Despite that knowledge it shared three of the Maine Examiner’s stories about Mr. Chin on its Facebook page even though none of them complied with Maine’s political communications disclosure laws. (Attachments O, P, & Q.)

The Party’s January Quarterly report listed its expenditures between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. (Attachment CC.) The report did not include any expenditures made to support or oppose candidates. However, the report lists seven individual Facebook advertising expenditures made between the dates of December 6th and December 13th, 2017 as “operating expenses.” The Party did not report any other Facebook advertisement expenditures during the quarter or during the prior.

The dates of the expenditures correspond with the exact time period in which the Maine Examiner published the seven stories and posted them on its Facebook page and the Maine Republican Party shared three of those stories on its own Facebook page. While the expenditures are all dated three or four days after the Maine Examiner stories were published and posted on its Facebook page, we know from our own extensive experience with campaign finances that Facebook advertisement purchases normally appear on a bank statement three to four days after the transaction was done through Facebook. It possible that the timing of these “operating expenditures” and the Maine Examiner stories being shared on Facebook is a mere coincidence. However, the timing and the curious way in which the stories posted by an organization with so few followers—only 385 Facebook followers as of January 19, 2017 (Attachment M)— spread so widely on Facebook merits at least some questions about the purpose of the Party’s Facebook expenditures.

In response to inquiries from the press, the Party declined to comment about whether it was coordinating with the Maine Examiner. (Attachments Z, AA, & BB.)

Jonathan Wayne January 19, 2018 Page 5

b) Press Exemption

Statute specifically excludes from the definition of expenditure, “Any news story, commentary or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, cable television system, newspaper, magazine or other periodical publication, unless the facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, political committee, candidate or spouse or domestic partner of a candidate[.]” 21-A M.R.S. §§ 1012(3)(B)(1) & 1052(4)(B)(1). The Commission’s Rules provide two criteria that must be met in order for the press exemption to apply. 94-270 C.M.R. ch.1, § 7(10).

First, the “the names of the persons or entities who own, control and operate the broadcasting station or publication are identified within the publication or otherwise made known to the public[.]” The Maine Examiner has not only failed to make this information public, but it has taken steps to conceal the identity of any and all individuals associated with the organization. Further, as mentioned above, it has declined requests to be interviewed, ostensibly to maintain its anonymity. Therefore, it does not satisfy the first requirement.

Second, “the broadcasting station or publication is not owned or controlled by any political party, political action committee or ballot question committee and is not owned or controlled by any candidate for state, county or municipal office whose candidacy, election campaign, or opponent is a subject of the news story, commentary or editorial, or by the authorized campaign committee of such a candidate, or by a member of such a candidate’s immediate family.” The Maine Examiner cannot satisfy this requirement because it continues to conceal who controls and funds the organization.

We request that the Commission investigate all expenditures the Maine Examiner and any other organizations made in support of the production and dissemination of the stories about Mr. Chin published between December 3, 2017 and December 10, 2017. If the Commission finds the Maine Examiner failed to file a required independent expenditure report, it should order the organization to promptly file an independent expenditure report with the City of Lewiston. We also request the Commission fully review the communications for compliant disclosures. The Commission should order the updating of any communications that are not compliant. The amendments should include the disclosure of the Maine Examiner’s top three funders and its address. Further the Commission should consider its options for assessing a penalty for this activity. The common practice of the Commission is to look to 21-A M.R.S. § 1014(4) when assessing violations of independent expenditure and other political communication disclosure requirements and we believe it should do so again in this instance. We also request that the Commission investigate whether the Maine Republican Party is affiliated with or coordinated with the Maine Examiner. This investigation should include a request for additional information from the Party about the Facebook expenditures it made in December 2017. Finally, if the Commission’s investigation

Jonathan Wayne January 19, 2018 Page 6 reveals coordination between the Maine Examiner and the Maine Republican Party, or that the Party intentionally reported and expenditure to oppose a candidate as a “operating expenditure,” the Commission should consider whether it is appropriate to assess a penalty under 21-A M.R.S. §§ 1004-A & 1004-C and whether the matter should be referred to the Attorney General under 21-A M.R.S. § 1004.

CONCLUSION

The Maine Democratic Party submits this request hoping that its concerns are ultimately proven unfounded after a thorough investigation by the Committee. We sincerely hope to learn that the Maine Examiner is locally based and its stories are all being written by “a small group of Mainers . . . .” (Attachment A.) However, we are deeply concerned with the dangerous precedent this type of anonymous communication could set in Maine. In order to make judgments about the veracity and value of stories covering Maine candidates, Mainers must understand who is behind the communication. In the absence of required disclosures, Mainers do not know whether organizations are run and funded by their neighbors, a political organization or campaign, or a foreign government. An investigation is proper based on the facts and law discussed herein.

Sincerely,

Katherine R. Knox Isabel I. Mullin

ATTACHMENT A

Visit website at: http://maineexaminer.com/about/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT B

ATTACHMENT C

ATTACHMENT D visit website at: https://www.whois.com/whois/maineexaminer.com

screenshot taken January 22, 2018

ATTACHMENT E visit website at: https://www.domainsbyproxy.com/

screenshot taken January 22, 2018

ATTACHMENT F visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 22, 2018

ATTACHMENT G visit website at: https://twitter.com/maineexaminer?lang=en

screenshot taken January 22, 2018

ATTACHMENT H visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT I visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT J visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT K visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT L visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/ screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT M visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/

screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT N visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/MaineExaminer/ screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT O

Visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineRepublicanParty/

Screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT P

Visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineRepublicanParty/

Screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT Q

Visit website at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MaineRepublicanParty/

Screenshot taken January 19, 2018

ATTACHMENT R

1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters “Bunch of Racists”

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Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters “Bunch of Racists”

by Administrator 12/3/2017 | 9:40 0 Posted in Central Maine, Maine News

LEWISTON – A leaked internal email from the Ben Chin for Mayor campaign shows the candidate himself emailing his inner campaign team to express his feelings that voters in Lewiston’s Ward 6 are racists.

The email, provided to Maine Examiner by a Chin campaign insider concerned about the direction of the campaign, is directly from Chin after a Search the site canvassing session in Ward 6 in June.

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In the email Chin writes to his Have a tip for a great or important inner campaign circle about his story for Maine Examiner? Email experience canvassing Ward 6, [email protected] including statistics on how many voters he visited and interactions with several voters, but he ends Find us on Facebook his message with “Bunch of racists too…” Ben Chin speaks during

This leak to Maine Examiner Lewiston Mayor debate. follows on the disclosure of the Chin campaign’s volunteer list containing a known and previously convicted pedophile by The Daily Caller last week.

http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-lewiston-voters-bunch-of-racists/ 1/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters “Bunch of Racists”

You can read the leaked email Chin sent to his campaign team in the Maine Examiner screenshot at the end of this article. 374 likes

Maine Examiner has examined the original electronic message file, which we required to verify the authenticity of the email before publishing this Like Page story.

1 friend likes this Chin is the political director of the Maine People’s Alliance, a liberal political group, and works as a lobbyist in Augusta. Chin’s opponent is Shane Bouchard, a Lewiston small-business owner. The election for Mayor of Lewiston is on December 12.

Anyone with tips or information on news stories is invited to send them to [email protected] – all tips will remain confidential.

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Bob Smith · Lewiston, Maine Sounds like a snowflake. I could care less of Chins skin color. It's what he wants to do. Raise Taxes. We 're fed up with tax and spend policies.

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http://maineexaminer.com/more-leaks-ben-chin-has-made-voters-are-racists-comments-more-than-once/ 3/4 1/19/2018 More Leaks: Ben Chin has made voters are ‘racists’ comments more than once

Cote, Caron, Golden Tops Russell Biggest Lewiston Surprises In Lawmakers On Reports From Maine Expenses At Almost $9k For Candidates For Governor 2017 AUGUSTA – This week, Maine AUGUSTA – State spending data candidates running to replace shows Lewiston State Rep. Jared Paul LePage as Governor of Golden collected the most

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http://maineexaminer.com/more-leaks-ben-chin-has-made-voters-are-racists-comments-more-than-once/ 4/4 ATTACHMENT T

1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines”

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Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines”

by Administrator 12/5/2017 | 12:10 Posted in Central Maine 0

LEWISTON – In October Ben Chin wrote in an internal campaign email about “the revolution” he would like to see happen in Lewiston.

The message, written in an upbeat tone to more than a dozen Chin campaign team members, is the latest in a group of emails leaked to Maine Examiner from a Chin campaign insider concerned about the

direction of the campaign. Search the site

Send Your Tips While Chin’s desire for a “revolution” is spelled out in the email, what that “revolution” would look like on the political or policy Have a tip for a great or important front is not directly explained in the email. Instead, Chin focuses on story for Maine Examiner? Email the type of transformation needed in Lewiston to bring the [email protected] revolution about.

In the email, which Chin wrote on October 18, 2017 after starting to Find us on Facebook knock on doors in Ward 1, Chin writes that he wishes everywhere in Lewiston could be more like the “Tall Pines” area of Lewiston, and that if it was, “the revolution would be here for sure.”

Chin’s work for a social justice group comfortable with associations to socialist organizations and itself using language intended to increase division among people http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-revolution-if-lewiston-could-all-be-like-tall-pines/ 1/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines”

Maine Examiner 374 likes

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Ben Chin, candidate for Mayor of Lewiston, Maine.

of different income levels suggests that the email shows Chin directly expressing a desire for more low-income housing and greater immigration levels as a way to build a critical mass of voters to bring about the change and “revolution” he desires.

While conservative voters have at times been ridiculed for suggesting that some liberal politicians see a path for political success through transforming communities with expansion of low- income housing projects and increased immigration, Chin’s email seems to at least suggest that he sees some viability in the approach.

Relevant to Chin’s talk of a revolution is that Chin has previously expressed support for allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, a policy change he has yet to make a reality in Lewiston Latest News or Portland, Maine.

Roll Calls: Maine Female Genital In another email leaked to Maine Examiner, Chin appears to take a Mutilation Bill – How Did Your shot at residents with concerns about property taxes, saying he Rep Vote? spent the night listening to people “complain about their property Congressman Bruce Poliquin taxes.” In that message, provided to Maine Examiner by the same Announces He’ll Donate Pay source, Chin suggests voters in those households are all making During Shutdown

over $200,000 a year and then mocks them for thinking a $5,000 Cote, Caron, Russell Biggest property tax bill will “make them poor.” Surprises In Reports From Maine Candidates For Governor It is unclear how Chin could know the household income levels of Maine Examiner Response To individual residents of the city of Lewiston. Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Today Newspapers Maine Examiner has provided a screenshot of the leaked email EDITORIAL: No DACA Without Chin sent about “the revolution” below. Wall & Fixing Immigration System

Are Maine Democrats About To Rig Election And “Bern” Their http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-revolution-if-lewiston-could-all-be-like-tall-pines/ 2/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines” Own U.S. Senate candidate?

Trump Admin Opens Door For Maine Work-for-Welfare Requirements

Ben Chin’s email written October 18, 2017 to his inner campaign team.

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Joseph McLaughlin · Brunswick, Maine This is the second one of these I've read. He seems real concerned to make sure he points out people ethnicity and social status. Why? It's not suposed to matter! We are all equal, not some more equal than others! (George Orwellian, isn't it?)

Like · Reply · 3 · 6w

Gene Frith · North Anson, Maine Hidden agenda, socialism.

Like · Reply · 1 · 6w

Naran Row-Spaulding http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-revolution-if-lewiston-could-all-be-like-tall-pines/ 3/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines” It is disturbing, because elected officials are supposed to govern on a fair, neutral and equal basis. No one group of residents should be perceived as more important and worthy than any other. Like · Reply · 6w

Deborah Batting Seems to me you are reading a lot into that email.

Like · Reply · 4 · 6w

Bonnie Lee-Dubois · Nursing at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs i dont see where the big story is here. He wasnt being racist.

Like · Reply · 2 · 6w

Stephen Rand · Security Supervisor at Maine Medical Center I believe in some cases here; misinterpretations and self guided/servings of individual and group hypotheses...investigate further

Like · Reply · 3 · 6w

Nicole Renee The "revolution" email is innocuous. He's hoping for a Democrat to take the mayor's office. My guess is that's the "revolution" of which he speaks. And that shouldn't shock anyone. Please stop putting your "analysis" into articles. Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.

Like · Reply · 2 · 6w

Todd M. Barresi · Georgia Southern University He’s an Ultra Liberal Douche Bag that is trying to turn Lewiston into even more of a sanctuary City than it is already! I wouldn’t ever vote for him! Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!! Bouchard for Mayor!

Like · Reply · 1 · 6w

Raj Saha · Works at Bates College It's hard to top such an over-hyped article about a completely innocous email. But, admin, if you are going to act like this leaked email is such a big deal, then posting the address of every recipient (who are very few) and thereby revealing your source isn't the best idea.

The gentleman referencing George Orwell, perhaps you are http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-revolution-if-lewiston-could-all-be-like-tall-pines/f i O ll ith A R d? 4/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines” confusing Orwell with Ayn Rand?

Todd Barresi, sanctuary cities are awesome. Visit some and try out their ethnic foods at the very least. You might fall in love.

Also, if someone can point out what exactly is racist in his leaked email, that will be great, because I am having a hard time seeing it. I thought it was racist when you say negative things about people identifying them by their race or ethnicity (and saying that an Iraqi woman fed you delicious home made food is not that bad, right?). Like · Reply · 6w

Naran Row-Spaulding Somebody in Lewiston needs to ask Ben Chin for a direct answer --> Exactly what is this "revolution" of which he's so fond? Like · Reply · 6w

Ryan Scott Lewiston does not need a revolution Period The fact that he

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Golden Tops Maine People’s Lewiston Alliance had Lawmakers On pedophile at Expenses At Almost $9k For Lewiston school collecting 2017 signatures during Mayoral AUGUSTA – State spending data election shows Lewiston State Rep. Jared LEWISTON – Maine Examiner Golden collected the most has acquired photographs that show convicted pedophile Douglas Lane, who

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Contact Us http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-says-revolution-if-lewiston-could-all-be-like-tall-pines/ 5/6 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin says “revolution” if Lewiston could all be like “Tall Pines” About Us

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1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin mocks Pondridge Rd residents, “rich people” who complain about property taxes

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Leaked Email: Ben Chin mocks Pondridge Rd residents, “rich people” who complain about property taxes

by Administrator 12/7/2017 | 8:35 Posted in Central Maine 0

LEWISTON – In an email leaked to Maine Examiner by a campaign insider concerned about the direction of the campaign, Ben Chin mocks residents of Pondridge Road as “rich people” who complain about property taxes.

A response from a member of his inner campaign team doubles down on the sentiment, eliciting an approving email response from Chin. Search the site

The email, sent by Chin on July 19, 2017 and sent to his inner Send Your Tips campaign team, says he “ Spent the whole night hearing rich people complain about property taxes out on pondridge rd” and Have a tip for a great or important story for Maine Examiner? Email then goes on to suggest that the residents of Pondridge Road [email protected] make enough money to afford high property taxes.

Less than a half hour later, a member of the Chin campaign responds to Chin, saying, “Did you tell those folks about your plan Find us on Facebook to sprinkle them with magic Norwegian dust so that they’d beg to have their taxes raised?”

To which Chin responds the following day, “Ha! Good idea! I’ll try that next time.”

Chin’s website does cover the issue of property taxes, but does not make mention of using “magic Norwegian dust” as a plan to get people to stop complaining about property taxes. In his official policy positions, however, Chin does take several shots at http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-mocks-pondridge-rd-residents-rich-people-who-complain-about-property-taxes/ 1/5 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin mocks Pondridge Rd residents, “rich people” who complain about property taxes

people he Maine Examiner perceives as 374 likes “rich”, while suggesting narrowly Like Page targeted ways to lower 1 friend likes this property taxes on some residents.

It appears that Ben Chin speaks during Lewiston Mayor the Norwegian debate. dust reference relates to the “Norwegian socialism” model which liberals often cite as a model for the United States to use in implementing socialism.

Multiple sources report Norway’s property tax rate as ranging between .2% to .7% annually, versus Lewiston’s current property tax rate of more than 28 mills, which equals roughly 2.8%. These numbers indicate that Lewiston’s property tax rate dwarfs the Norwegian property tax rate. About one in four municipalities in Norway reportedly do not even assess a property tax.

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Paul StJean · Lowell High School This is such a blatant case of them (rich) vs. us (the rest of us) that no one will ever pick up on except for non-liberals. Taxes of $5K on income of $200k aren't going to make you poor as chin suggests, but why does than situation serve as http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-mocks-pondridge-rd-residents-rich-people-who-complain-about-property-taxes/ 3/5 1/22/2018 p Leakedgg Email: Ben Chiny mocks Pondridge Rd residents, “rich people” who complain about property taxes an invitation for chin to mock these people? And the notion of $200k making someone "rich" exists only in the minds of liberals. Like · Reply · 6w

Anita Leland · OHHS If I made $200K I would feel pretty dammed rich! Like · Reply · 6w

Paul StJean · Lowell High School Anita Leland I understand, and I would as well, but rich is and always has been a relative term. Like · Reply · 6w

Naran Row-Spaulding I wonder if he tells those "rich folks" to their faces that they need to pay more in property taxes. Must make for an interesting visit at the front door.

Like · Reply · 3 · 6w

Ronald Gravel · Lewiston, Maine He is not the sharpest tool in the shed , socialist progressive liberal bull shit !

Like · Reply · 8 · 6w

Kerin Resch · Southern Maine Technical College This guy clearly has no grasp on reality, I wonder who pays for programs in the shining example of the model city called Lewiston. I wonder if he paid his parking tickets on time the city would be on a better fincial footing lol.

Like · Reply · 2 · 6w

Jo-ann Brown And this is why we don't vote for Chi

Like · Reply · 3 · 6w

Cindy Johnson · University of Southern Maine A good leader addresses everyone’s concern, and does not “stick it” to any one group. Immaturity is showing......

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Andrew R. Cyr · Supreme Allied Commander at Owner ARC Roofing http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-email-ben-chin-mocks-pondridge-rd-residents-rich-people-who-complain-about-property-taxes/ 4/5 1/22/2018 Leaked Email: Ben Chin mocks Pondridge Rd residents, “rich people” who complain about property taxes What an immature little bratt

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Steve Hasson · Works at Bates College

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1/22/2018 Ben Chin’s Car Towed Due To Pile Of Unpaid Parking Tickets Days Before Election

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Ben Chin’s Car Towed Due To Pile Of Unpaid Parking Tickets Days Before Election

by Administrator 12/7/2017 | 4:05 Posted in Central Maine 0

LEWISTON – Multiple sources today are confirming that Ben Chin, a candidate for Mayor of Lewiston in next Tuesday’s election, had his car towed on Monday December 4th in the downtown area of the city due to years of unpaid parking tickets totaling more than $200.

The reports surface as Chin comes under greater scrutiny leading into the election, and amid rumors of other problems in the Ben Search the site Chin for Mayor campaign which Maine Examiner is working to verify.

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Sources say Chin’s car was towed after being discovered by a Have a tip for a great or important story for Maine Examiner? Email parking enforcement officer on a routine patrol, sources also [email protected] confirm

that he has now paid the parking Find us on Facebook tickets in full and should expect to have his car back soon.

The candidate, who has come Lewiston Mayoral candidate Ben Chin. under scrutiny after a campaign insider began leaking internal emails in which Chin makes some http://maineexaminer.com/ben-chins-car-towed-due-to-pile-of-unpaid-parking-tickets-days-before-election/ 1/5 1/22/2018 Ben Chin’s Car Towed Due To Pile Of Unpaid Parking Tickets Days Before Election

controversial statements, hopes to win the December 12th Maine Examiner election to replace Mayor Bob MacDonald. 374 likes

Chin is the political director for the liberal political group the Maine People’s Alliance and an Augusta lobbyist. He faces Shane Like Page Bouchard, a Lewiston native and small business owner, who serves on the Lewiston City Council to replace MacDonald as 1 friend likes this Mayor of Lewiston.

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Bob Celeste · Senior pastor at ChristianPatriot.com He who cannot be trusted with little things should never be entrusted with big things. Latest News Like · Reply · 10 · 6w

Kristina Buono Mason · Roll Calls: Maine Female Genital Biddeford, Maine Mutilation Bill – How Did Your Yes, like people trusting you with their religious Rep Vote? guidance. Congressman Bruce Poliquin Like · Reply · 5w Announces He’ll Donate Pay Bob Celeste · During Shutdown Senior pastor at ChristianPatriot.com Cote, Caron, Russell Biggest Kristina Buono Mason Show me one instance where Surprises In Reports From Maine I have corrupted God's word, or appologize. Candidates For Governor Like · Reply · 4w Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Naran Row-Spaulding Today Newspapers I'm certain this is not indicative of how he would manage the city's checkbook. I'm positive. EDITORIAL: No DACA Without Wall & Fixing Immigration Like · Reply · 2 · 6w System Paul StJean · Are Maine Democrats About To Lowell High School Rig Election And “Bern” Their How could you possibly know this? $200 in parking http://maineexaminer.com/ben-chins-car-towed-due-to-pile-of-unpaid-parking-tickets-days-before-election/ 2/5 1/22/2018 Ben Chin’s Car Towed Due To Pile Of Unpaid Parking Tickets Days Before Election How could you possibly know this? $200 in parking tickets is not exactly a random oversight. There is a Own U.S. Senate candidate? behavioral pattern here. Trump Admin Opens Door For Like · Reply · 1 · 6w Maine Work-for-Welfare Requirements Naran Row-Spaulding Paul StJean - I forgot to include the "sarcasm" tagline. My bad.

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Paul StJean · Lowell High School Naran Row-Spaulding Ahh, that changes the whole dynamics of my response.

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Scott Lynch · Manager at Lynch & Van Dyke, P. A. Everybody gets a parking ticket. Even responsible people are late paying them from time to time. However, you have to be irresponsible to let the tickets accumulate to the point of towing. That's like 10 (at least) ignored tickets. I got the boot once in Portland when I was an immature college student. I deserved it and learned a lesson. My problem with Mr. Chin is that he apparently hasn't grown up. This feels like "entitlement" to me. Just like when he put a campaign sign on my business lawn without permission both in 2015 and again this year. When I contacted his campaign in October... See More

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John Pomelow Sr. · Timbuktu, Tombouctou, Mali MPA likely paid them. Shouldn't he have to pay interest as well and face some sort of discipline for his failure to pay and pay within a timely manner?

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Robert Scout Reed · Finance / Board Member at Official City of Lewiston, Maine Another who thinks the law does not apply to him

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Peter Lavallee · Lewiston High School I’m sure he figured that he wasn’t responsible for the tickets and that somebody else should pay it forward for him.

Like · Reply · 2 · 6w http://maineexaminer.com/ben-chins-car-towed-due-to-pile-of-unpaid-parking-tickets-days-before-election/ 3/5 1/22/2018 Ben Chin’s Car Towed Due To Pile Of Unpaid Parking Tickets Days Before Election Paul StJean · Lowell High School Yeah, all those faulty meters that wouldn't take his quarters.

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Charlie Sherrill The law doesn't apply to libtards.

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Kristina Buono Mason · Biddeford, Maine You win the prize for utterly stupid statements. Like · Reply · 5w

Drew Perez Sr I guess from now on he will literally be "running" for office...

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1/22/2018 New leaked emails cast doubt on Chin’s defense of racism claims in Lewiston

BUZZ » FEATURES » LOCAL NEWS » NEWS » OPINION POLITICS »

New leaked emails cast doubt on Chin’s defense of racism claims in Lewiston

by Administrator 12/8/2017 | 8:01 Posted in Central Maine 0

LEWISTON – Less than a day after Lewiston Mayoral candidate Ben Chin asserted to the Lewiston Sun Journal that he had never called the community or any neighborhood in the community racist, two new leaked emails are casting doubt on the honesty of Chin’s statement.

The emails, written by Chin to his inner campaign team, were leaked to Maine Examiner by a campaign insider concerned about the direction of the campaign. Screenshots of both emails are Search the site available at the end of this article.

Send Your Tips One of the emails, written by Ben Chin on Wednesday July 19, shows Chin describing his work knocking on doors Have a tip for a great or important story for Maine Examiner? Email [email protected] beginning on Old Chadbourne Road and ending at No Name Pond, Chin Find us on Facebook writes to his campaign team, “Some really Ben Chin, candidate for Mayor of Lewiston, racist people in Maine. the beginning, some really nice people in the end.”

http://maineexaminer.com/new-leaked-emails-cast-doubt-on-chins-defense-racism-claims-in-lewiston/ 1/4 1/22/2018 New leaked emails cast doubt on Chin’s defense of racism claims in Lewiston

Another email, written on August 2, Chin describes his experience Maine Examiner in “working class” neighborhoods around the South Ave that are 374 likes off Lisbon Street by saying “Quite a bit of racism, anti-downtown stuff as well, including among supporters.”

Like Page The Lewiston Sun Journal article where Chin claimed to have never called any Lewiston neighborhood or the community of Lewiston 1 friend likes this in general racist was written by Lewiston Sun Journal reporter Steve Collins.

Collins’ son appears regularly as one of the inner campaign team members on the leaked Ben Chin emails. The Lewiston Sun Journal article does not display a disclaimer on this matter and it is not clear if the newspaper has taken measures to ensure the integrity of their coverage.

The candidate, who has come under scrutiny after a campaign insider began leaking internal emails, hopes to win the December 12th election to replace Mayor Bob MacDonald.

Chin, who is the political director for the Maine People’s Alliance and an Augusta lobbyist, faces Shane Bouchard, a Lewiston native and small business owner, who serves on the Lewiston City Council, to replace MacDonald as Mayor of Lewiston. Latest News

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Email written by Ben Chin on August 2, 2017.

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Naran Row-Spaulding Does "racist" mean "opposes him politically"?

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Bruce Bell Hillary with a penis.

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1/22/2018 Leaked Emails: Ben Chin calls voters ***holes, opposed merger for fear of property tax cut

BUZZ » FEATURES » LOCAL NEWS » NEWS » OPINION POLITICS »

Leaked Emails: Ben Chin calls voters ***holes, opposed merger for fear of property tax cut

by Administrator 12/10/2017 | 10:27 Posted in Central Maine 0

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Ben Chin is running to be Mayor of Lewiston, Maine. The election is December 12, 2017. Send Your Tips

LEWISTON – Two leaked emails from a Chin campaign insider Have a tip for a great or important concerned about the direction of the campaign offer an inside story for Maine Examiner? Email look into Ben Chin’s opinion of voters he marks as “other” in his [email protected] daily campaign report to his team, and shed light on his position change on the Lewiston/Auburn merger proposal that was on the ballot in November. Find us on Facebook

The emails, written by Chin on October 16th and October 30th show Chin reporting back to his campaign team on the voters he spoke with that day. In both emails, Chin refers to all the voters in his “other” category as “assholes.”

While the number of voters Chin labels as “assholes” in these two emails is just a few, it is important to note that in other emails http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-emails-ben-chin-calls-voters-holes-opposed-merger-for-fear-of-property-tax-cut/ 1/5 1/22/2018 Leaked Emails: Ben Chin calls voters ***holes, opposed merger for fear of property tax cut

leaked to Maine Examiner, Chin often identified voters in the Maine Examiner same manner throughout the course of his campaign. 374 likes

One of the emails also sheds light on Chin’s Lewiston-Auburn merger positions, where Chin writes to his campaign team that Like Page the talk of cost-savings causes him to worry that spending cuts will ensue. He points to discussion around merger supporters 1 friend likes this “harping” on property tax savings as the reason his gut tells him to take a position to oppose the merger.

Other leaked emails released by Maine Examiner have shown Chin mocking Lewiston voters who complain about their property taxes and joking with a member of his campaign about making voters beg for Chin to raise their property taxes.

Maine Examiner has provided screenshots of both new leaked emails at the end of this post.

These leaked emails are the latest in a stream of leaks from a campaign insider that began about a week ago. Chin hopes to win the election to replace Mayor Bob MacDonald this coming Tuesday, December 12th. Chin, the political director of the Maine People’s Alliance and an Augusta lobbyist, faces Shane Bouchard, a Lewiston native and small business owner, who serves on the Latest News Lewiston City Council to replace MacDonald as Mayor of Lewiston. Roll Calls: Maine Female Genital Mutilation Bill – How Did Your Rep Vote?

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Are Maine Democrats About To Rig Election And “Bern” Their http://maineexaminer.com/leaked-emails-ben-chin-calls-voters-holes-opposed-merger-for-fear-of-property-tax-cut/ 2/5 1/22/2018 Leaked Emails: Ben Chin calls voters ***holes, opposed merger for fear of property tax cut Own U.S. Senate candidate?

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Ed Alberts He's the asshole...

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Larry Lars Cummins What a dick.. Like · Reply · 6w

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1/22/2018 Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Today Newspapers

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Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Today Newspapers

by Administrator 01/17/2018 | 10:27 Posted in Maine News 0

To paraphrase George Orwell, in an age of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act. We think that pretty much says it all when it comes to the attacks by top liberal Maine Democrats on Maine Examiner in the Boston Globe and several Maine Today Media newspapers this week.

Not a single article published by Maine Examiner can be proven “fake” or false. Search the site

When Ben Chin’s internal campaign emails were leaked to us, we took extra steps to verify they were real. Those attacking us say that we took these emails “out of context” when we published them. We provided screenshots of the full emails in the articles for Send Your Tips all to see. Have a tip for a great or important story for Maine Examiner? Email The article attacking us said that we ran a story that a known [email protected] convicted pedophile who was associated with Ben Chin was at the polls collecting signatures for a Maine People’s Alliance referendum. The Globe quoted Ben Chin denying association with the man. Find us on Facebook

Maine Examiner published pictures of this person at the polls at a table for the MPA along with a picture of him standing behind Ben Chin on stage previously at a campaign event, and a link to an article that showed screenshots of this person on Ben Chin’s campaign volunteer list, a list that the Chin campaign published on the internet for anyone to see. We also had two sources verify this person’s presence in the building and at the table for our report.

http://maineexaminer.com/maine-examiner-response-to-attacks-in-boston-globe-maine-today-newspapers/ 1/4 1/22/2018 Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Today Newspapers

We will admit to making a mistake when reporting that Ben Chin’s Maine Examiner car had been towed due to unpaid parking tickets. Our sources 374 likes gave us a mix of old and new information, resulting in us reporting that Mr. Chin’s unpaid parking tickets went back to his time attending Bates. Apparently Mr. Chin had taken care of some Like Page of those previous tickets well before his car was towed. But the crux of the story, that Ben Chin’s car was towed due to a pile of 1 friend likes this unpaid parking tickets over $200, was true. The fact that Mr. Chin’s car was towed was later verified by other media, including the Bangor Daily News.

Compare our admission of this one small mistake on a detail of a story to an incident shortly after that where the Lewiston Sun Journal was blasted by the Auburn Police Department for publishing a false story claiming there was a robbery at Auburn’s Washburn School even though the Auburn PD told the Sun Journal there was no robbery.

We all make mistakes. Our mistake was much smaller than that one.

The article attacking us complained that we did not ask a State Senator for comment on him using taxpayer funding to purchase advertising from himself because we raised the question of him earning a commission on those sales. We went straight to his employer with our inquiry. In the article we reported we had waited three days for a response before publishing. We have Latest News another source saying Mr. Chenette did earn a commission. Mr. Roll Calls: Maine Female Genital Chenette denies it. Mutilation Bill – How Did Your Rep Vote? The Boston Globe story that first delivered all these attacks pushed the narrative that we are not legitimate because of the Congressman Bruce Poliquin anonymous nature of the bylines of our site and suggested our Announces He’ll Donate Pay During Shutdown articles are not true. Cote, Caron, Russell Biggest The Maine Today Media newspapers have used the term “Fake Surprises In Reports From Maine News” in headlines to describe us even though one of their Candidates For Governor papers has reported on the stories we broke being true. Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine We believe the frustration from the political left over our stories is Today Newspapers simply because they are unable to argue the facts, so they need to EDITORIAL: No DACA Without attack the messenger. It is a standard tactic for a political Wall & Fixing Immigration movement that operates from the playbook of Saul Alinsky, who System famously told his acolytes to “go after people and not institutions, Are Maine Democrats About To people hurt faster than institutions.” Rig Election And “Bern” Their http://maineexaminer.com/maine-examiner-response-to-attacks-in-boston-globe-maine-today-newspapers/ 2/4 1/22/2018 Maine Examiner Response To Attacks In Boston Globe, Maine Today Newspapers What those attacking us would like to do is ignore the facts in our Own U.S. Senate candidate? stories and attack us personally to try to silence us. Trump Admin Opens Door For Maine Work-for-Welfare We will not be silenced. We will continue publishing fact-based Requirements news and content.

The political power brokers in Maine will not like a lot of what we publish. But it will be factual and it will be verified.

The liberal newspapers that have used the term “Fake News” in their headlines to describe us should apologize to their readers.

So much of what Maine Examiner has published was ignored in these attacks on us. A story about a proposed bill reducing Maine’s excise tax on new vehicles sponsored by a State Senator who is a Democrat: ignored. A story about Maine tax breaks that only benefit a few wealthy and powerful people: ignored. A detailed report on how the Obamacare individual mandate was hurting tens of thousands of Maine lower and middle-income families: ignored.

We may produce some news content that liberals and progressives don’t want you to read, but we get our facts straight and we provide the proof to back up our claims. Just because some powerful people don’t want you to read these stories does not mean they are worthy of the “Fake News” label these newspapers are trying to apply to them.

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1/22/2018 This anonymous Maine ‘news’ site may have tipped a big election — Politics — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine

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Politics This anonymous Maine ‘news’ site may have tipped a big election

By Michael Shepherd, BDN Staff • December 18, 2017 5:45 am Updated: December 19, 2017 12:18 pm

Amber Waterman | BDN Ben Chin, a progressive who lost the Lewiston mayoral election by 145 votes to Republican Shane Bouchard, was targeted with seven negative reports on a conservative website in the days before the election.

LEWISTON, Maine — As he greeted voters at Longley Elementary School, Ben Chin was hearing all about his emails as Lewiston residents walked out of the polling place during last week’s mayoral runoff election, but it was too late.

The progressive activist lost by 145 votes to Mayor-elect Shane Bouchard, a Republican, after he was rocked during the last nine days of the race by seven stories from a new website that caught fire on social media with help from the Maine Republican Party.

One Maine Examiner headline said “Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters ‘Bunch of Racists’” and featured a real email that apparently forwarded https://bangordailynews.com/2017/12/18/politics/this-anonymous-maine-news-site-may-have-tipped-a-big-election/ 1/5 1/22/2018 This anonymous Maine ‘news’ site may have tipped a big election — Politics — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine out of a group of campaign operatives. In it, Chin describes a day of canvassing when he had positive interactions but also ran into “a bunch of racists.”

On Election Day, a middle-aged man leaving the polls said goodbye to Bouchard. To Chin, he said “not a racist” and refused to talk to a reporter.

Chin may be the first Maine politician derailed by a new phenomenon: anonymous conservative “news” websites whose most effective pieces blend a kernel of truth from opposition research with large factual and rhetorical leaps traditional media ethics would prohibit.

Article continues below highlights

The Maine Examiner and the nationalist and conspiratorial Maine First Media surfaced in 2017, after President Donald Trump’s election the previous year in a campaign defined by Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and the Republican’s attacks on media in an environment where Gallup measured trust in the press at an all-time low.

Michael Socolow, a journalism professor at the University of Maine in Orono, said “the delegitimization of the credible press has opened the playing field to a lot of alternative information outlets” that may look like news sites but that operate little like them.

“Some information outlets are propaganda, some information outlets are credible, some information outlets know the rules of attribution and some don’t,” Socolow said.

Both of the new Maine sites look somewhat like news sites. The Maine Examiner, for example, commingles political items with more benign ones — including one on an author’s night in Freeport — but a reader can’t find out who’s bankrolling it or writing the posts.

An email to the Maine Examiner’s tip line was returned with a Friday message saying they’re “not interested in an interview,” and that while the site is “right of center,” they “cover stories other Maine media is not covering” and will “hold politicians accountable.” It was only signed “E.”

https://bangordailynews.com/2017/12/18/politics/this-anonymous-maine-news-site-may-have-tipped-a-big-election/ 2/5 1/22/2018 This anonymous Maine ‘news’ site may have tipped a big election — Politics — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine Garrett Murch, a spokesman for the Maine Republican Party, which pushed Maine Examiner posts on social media and in party emails denouncing Chin, said he didn’t know who ran the site and declined comment after being asked if the party coordinated with them.

Article continues below highlights

Maine First Media was run by Matthew McDonald of Bangor, who said Friday that he sold it in November for “thousands” of dollars to a Nebraska man. (The Bangor Daily News isn’t naming the man because he couldn’t be reached for comment.)

Maine First Media got a boost in April, when it published a video of former Maine Senate candidate Richard Fochtmann joking about suicide at a party event that caught fire on conservative media. The party disavowed Fochtmann’s remarks, but both he and the party told NBC affiliate WCSH that he apologized right after saying it. That wasn’t on the video.

McDonald called traditional media a “dying thing” and said he started the site because he thought Maine outlets weren’t covering Trump fairly and that he “can start something that has more influence than your newspaper.”

“And I did,” he gloated.

These sites exploit conservatives’ lack of trust in the press and traditional reporting methods. If Chin’s emails were passed to an interested mainstream news outlet, he would likely be contacted for an explanation of the “racist” language.

https://bangordailynews.com/2017/12/18/politics/this-anonymous-maine-news-site-may-have-tipped-a-big-election/ 3/5 1/22/2018 This anonymous Maine ‘news’ site may have tipped a big election — Politics — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine The Maine Examiner doesn’t have to do that and can move faster — without nuance.

On election night, Chin placed lots of blame on the emails, saying they morphed into a “lies vortex” that became “this impossible conversation” with certain voters. Bouchard said the emails “really hurt” his opponent “because they spoke to the people of Lewiston.”

Partisan media isn’t new in Maine. The conservative Maine Heritage Policy Center and Chin’s employer, the progressive Maine People’s Alliance, run news arms. As Maine Goes, a conservative site, has traded in anonymous political rumors since its 1998 founding.

But the two partisan organizations label their news operations as their own, and As Maine Goes is a message board and not a news operation.

Steve Robinson, a former editor for the Maine Heritage Policy Center’s outlet who is now a producer for Massachusetts conservative radio host Howie Carr, said these pieces “are always better when you put your name on it.” But, he conceded, “it worked” on Chin.

Another Maine Examiner story released just before the election said Chin’s car had been towed for “years” of parking tickets. His car was towed because he had $200 or more in unpaid tickets, according to Lt. David St. Pierre, who oversees parking enforcement for Lewiston police.

St. Pierre said the tickets didn’t go back “years,” but only to September. And he said that Chin’s car was towed on Dec. 7. That was three days later than the Maine Examiner said and the same day it published its post.

Chin paid the bill promptly and got his car back. He won’t be driving it to the mayor’s office.

For a roundup of Maine political news, click here for the Daily Brief. Click here to get Maine’s only newsletter on state politics via email on weekday mornings.

Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.

Correction: An earlier version of this piece referred to Matthew McDonald as a pastor. He said Monday that he resigned from a church that he formerly worked at. It was a reporter’s error.

Have feedback? Want to know more? Send us ideas for follow-up stories.

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1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe

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In Maine, is GOP linked to ﬂurry of anonymous attacks?

By Brian MacQuarrie

GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 14, 2018

Ben Chin, a 32-year-old Democrat, ran away with the preliminary vote in November for mayor of Lewiston, the second-largest city in Maine. But he couldn’t avoid a runoff with City Councilor Shane Bouchard, a Republican backed by Governor Paul LePage.

Shortly after the November election, an anonymous conservative website called the Maine Examiner began hammering Chin as a smug, leftist outsider in a long- struggling city where many residents had resisted an FACEBOOK influx of Somali immigrants. A website took a statement from mayoral candidate Ben Chin out of context and spread it as a scoop, his supporters “Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters ‘Bunch of contend. Racists,’ ” the secretive site posted on Dec. 3, kicking off a barrage of negative stories.

That quote was taken out of context. But nine days later, he lost the runoff by 145 votes — a narrow defeat he and his supporters blame in part on the website’s attacks, many of which were quickly recirculated on Facebook by the state Republican Party.

Fake news — misleading stories that have mushroomed in the age of social media and that became Internet fodder during the 2016 presidential election — had found a way into Maine

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 1/6 1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe politics, Chin’s supporters said. Of even more concern to some Democrats: It appeared that the GOP was working directly with the site.

“The stories just created so much confusion,” Chin said in an interview. “You had people believing things that were exactly the opposite of the truth.”

The posts also have alarmed state Democrats and media observers, who fear that this type of hyperpartisan, anonymous reporting could be a test run for the 2018 governor’s race.

The state Republican Party declined to comment on whether it coordinated with the Examiner but sharing the site’s stories greatly increased their visibility.

Garrett Murch, the state GOP’s spokesman and political director, also declined a phone interview to discuss the Examiner’s influence. Murch, who joined the state GOP staff in July, worked for five years as a communications adviser for Jeff Sessions when the US attorney general was a Republican senator from Alabama.

But in an e-mail, Murch conceded that the site has made a difference.

“I don’t really have much to say,” Murch wrote. “I guess I can give you this: ‘Their stories seem to have often checked out and had some measure of impact.’ ”

Chin easily outpolled Bouchard in the five-candidate preliminary election, 42 percent to 29 percent. But in a smaller field, Bouchard consolidated support.

The Examiner drew only scant attention after it began posting on Facebook in September — just three likes and five shares until Nov. 9.

But when the state Republican Party posted an Examiner story that day on the potential perils of Medicaid expansion, the website suddenly became noticed. The GOP post on Facebook was shared 58 times. After that, the GOP began to repost the Examiner regularly, including its attacks on Chin. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 2/6 1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe The state party’s executive director, Jason Savage, also puts Examiner stories on his personal Facebook page, sometimes shortly after the original post. Savage could not be reached for comment.

The Examiner has been cloaked in anonymity. Nearly all of its articles carry a byline of “administrator,” and its ownership is not divulged in the registry of Internet addresses. A Globe request for comment was answered with a brief, anonymous e-mail.

“We are not interested in interviews at this time,” it read. “Thank you.”

The Examiner’s campaign against Chin, a Bates College graduate, began Nov. 28 when it posted a story — picked up from a national right-wing site, The Daily Caller — that accused Chin’s campaign of retaining a convicted pedophile as a volunteer. Chin said that the man had been known as a Lewiston activist but that he did not participate in the campaign and had been asked not to attend any campaign events.

Its Dec. 3 post reported that Chin had complained to his staff “that voters in Lewiston’s Ward 6 are racists,” citing a leaked campaign e-mail. Read in its entirety, the e-mail indicates that Chin was not referring to Ward 6 as a whole.

Chin wrote that on June 15 he knocked on 64 doors and had 47 conversations with prospective voters, 32 of whom were strong supporters or leaning toward him. He also mentioned speaking with two African-American families, one potential volunteer whose sister died of an overdose, and a woman who had supported the lame-duck Republican mayor “but is coming our way.”

At the end of the summary, he wrote, “bunch of racists, too.’

Four days later, the Examiner cited “multiple sources” in reporting that Chin’s car had been towed because of “years of unpaid parking tickets.” However, police told the Lewiston Sun Journal that the car had been towed but that the tickets dated only to September.

One constant in the Examiner’s reporting is that the target of the story is not given a chance to comment.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 3/6 1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe Anonymity and mystery also extend to Maine First Media, another right-wing website that was created a year ago.

Matthew McDonald, a Bangor resident who founded the site, sold Maine First in November but would not divulge its new owners, except to say that they have connections with Nebraska and Maine.

“The people that bought it would prefer not to talk about that,” McDonald said.

On Jan. 4, Maine First Media posted a story that read, “EXPOSED: Open-Border Leftists Plot to Invade Rural Maine with Muslim Refugees.” On Jan. 3, another Maine First story carried the headline: “Mainers Paying the Price for Mass Immigration, Refugee Racket Expansion.”

Trained as a clergyman, McDonald said that anonymity allows Maine First the freedom of uninhibited expression by unpaid writers who don’t use bylines. When he served as editor, he largely concerned himself with grammar and punctuation, he said.

The purpose, he said, was to credit the achievements of President Trump and his America First agenda. “I just couldn’t find a fair and balanced media source,” McDonald said.

The sites are clearly affecting state politics, but they lack any traditional sense of accountability, said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine.

“When you have an anonymous website, who knows who’s bankrolling it?” Brewer said. “I think all Mainers not only should know but deserve to know. They can publish whatever they want, but it would be helpful to know who’s paying for the information.”

Brewer’s concerns were echoed by Judith Rosenbaum, a University of Maine communications professor who specializes in social media. Hearing new voices is important, she said, but such a platform comes with responsibility.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 4/6 1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe “My biggest concern is: Do we have a citizenry that is able to discern credible news from news that is really rumors and gossip?” Rosenbaum said.

State Senator Justin Chenette, a Democrat from Saco who has been targeted by the Examiner, said he may request a state ethics inquiry into whether the Maine Republican Party has collaborated with the Examiner.

“Hey, let’s put the cards on the table. Is the state GOP secretly funding this site?” Chenette said. “There’s clearly a connection. Why are they sharing these fake news articles?”

Chenette accused the website of recklessly suggesting Dec. 21 that he had received commissions from personal campaign ads, paid with taxpayer funds, that he placed in the newspaper where he works as an advertising representative.

The Examiner wrote that its reporting raises “questions about Chenette’s use of taxpayer money for his campaign and the possibility of unethical personal benefits Chenette may have received.”

Chenette denied being paid commissions by the Biddeford Journal Tribune, the only daily newspaper based in York County, which Chenette represents.

“This is basically a glorified right-wing conspiracy blog that is disguised and masked as a news site,” said Chenette, who added that anonymity could allow the owners of such sites to skirt campaign finance laws. “So far, it looks like its sole purpose is slandering progressive Democrats like me.”

McDonald, the Maine First Media creator, said the site has a different purpose.

“There was no media platform for people who are looking for a story that puts President Trump in a positive instead of a negative light,” McDonald said. “We built something that changed the culture of media in Maine, and we did it in ways that were outside the box.”

In the end, he added, “people are intelligent enough to make up their own minds about a story.”

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at [email protected]. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 5/6 1/22/2018 In Maine, is GOP linked to flurry of anonymous attacks? - The Boston Globe

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/14/maine-gop-linked-flurry-anonymous-attacks/2getuy8zHTIr90bXMA4SkK/story.html 6/6 ATTACHMENT BB

1/22/2018 Democrats say fake news posted on conservative website, shared by Republican Party, tainted Lewiston mayoral race

Democrats say fake news posted on conservative website, shared by Republican Party, tainted Lewiston mayoral race

www.pressherald.com/2018/01/15/maine-republican-party-promoting-fake-news-sites-that-target-democrats/

By Brian MacQuarrie The Boston Globe January 15, 2018

“Leaked Email: Ben Chin Says Lewiston Voters ‘Bunch of Racists,’ ” the secretive site posted on Dec. 3, kicking off a barrage of negative stories.

That quote was taken out of context. But nine days later, he lost the runoff by 145 votes – a narrow defeat he and his supporters blame in part on the website’s attacks, many of which were quickly recirculated on Facebook by the state Republican Party.

Fake news – misleading stories that have mushroomed in the age of social media and that became Internet fodder during the 2016 presidential election – had found a way into Maine politics, Chin’s supporters said. Of even more concern to some Democrats: It appeared that the GOP was working directly with the site.

“The stories just created so much confusion,” Chin said in an interview. “You had people believing things that were exactly the opposite of the truth.”

The posts also have alarmed state Democrats and media observers, who fear that this type of hyperpartisan, anonymous reporting could be a test run for the 2018 governor’s race.

“It’s very, very troubling,” said Phil Bartlett, chairman of the Maine Democratic Party. “There is no real accountability. The average voter and consumer of social media does not immediately recognize that it is fabricated information.” 1/22/2018 Democrats say fake news posted on conservative website, shared by Republican Party, tainted Lewiston mayoral race

This image shows the online posting from a conservative website that attacked Lewiston mayoral candidate Ben Chin.

The state Republican Party declined to comment on whether it coordinated with the Examiner but sharing the site’s stories greatly increased their visibility.

Garrett Murch, the state Republican Party’s spokesman and political director, also declined a phone interview to discuss the Examiner’s influence. Murch, who joined the state party staff in July, worked for five years as a communications adviser for Jeff Sessions when the U.S. attorney general was a Republican senator from Alabama.

But in an email, Murch conceded that the site has made a difference.

“I don’t really have much to say,” Murch wrote. “I guess I can give you this: ‘Their stories seem to have often checked out and had some measure of impact.’ ”

Chin easily outpolled Bouchard in the five-candidate preliminary election, 42 percent to 29 percent. But in a smaller field, Bouchard consolidated support.

The Examiner drew only scant attention after it began posting on Facebook in September – just three likes and five shares until Nov. 9.

But when the state Republican Party posted an Examiner story that day on the potential perils of Medicaid expansion, the website suddenly became noticed. The Maine Republican Party’s post on Facebook was shared 58 times. After that, the state party began to repost the Examiner regularly, including its attacks on Chin.

The state party’s executive director, Jason Savage, also puts Examiner stories on his personal Facebook page, sometimes shortly after the original post. Savage could not be reached for comment. 1/22/2018 Democrats say fake news posted on conservative website, shared by Republican Party, tainted Lewiston mayoral race

“We are not interested in interviews at this time,” it read. “Thank you.”

The Examiner’s campaign against Chin, a Bates College graduate, began Nov. 28 when it posted a story – picked up from a national right-wing site, The Daily Caller – that accused Chin’s campaign of retaining a convicted pedophile as a volunteer. Chin said that the man had been known as a Lewiston activist but that he did not participate in the campaign and had been asked not to attend any campaign events.

Its Dec. 3 post reported that Chin had complained to his staff “that voters in Lewiston’s Ward 6 are racists,” citing a leaked campaign email. Read in its entirety, the email indicates that Chin was not referring to Ward 6 as a whole.

At the end of the summary, he wrote, “bunch of racists, too.’

One constant in the Examiner’s reporting is that the target of the story is not given a chance to comment.

Anonymity and mystery also extend to Maine First Media, another right-wing website that was created a year ago.

Matthew McDonald, a Bangor resident who founded the site, sold Maine First in November but would not divulge its new owners, except to say that they have connections with Nebraska and Maine.

“The people that bought it would prefer not to talk about that,” McDonald said.

“I didn’t care what they were writing about. My concern was never the story, per se,” but rather “just make sure where to put your semicolon,” McDonald said. “It’s kind of new media, right? We really just opened up the box and let people glow.” 1/22/2018 Democrats say fake news posted on conservative website, shared by Republican Party, tainted Lewiston mayoral race

The purpose, he said, was to credit the achievements of President Trump and his America First agenda. “I just couldn’t find a fair and balanced media source,” McDonald said.

The sites are clearly affecting state politics, but they lack any traditional sense of accountability, said Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine.

“My biggest concern is: Do we have a citizenry that is able to discern credible news from news that is really rumors and gossip?” Rosenbaum said.

State Sen. Justin Chenette, a Democrat from Saco who has been targeted by the Examiner, said he may request a state ethics inquiry into whether the Maine Republican Party has collaborated with the Examiner.

“Hey, let’s put the cards on the table. Is the state GOP secretly funding this site?” Chenette said. “There’s clearly a connection. Why are they sharing these fake news articles?”

The Examiner wrote that its reporting raises “questions about Chenette’s use of taxpayer money for his campaign and the possibility of unethical personal benefits Chenette may have received.”

Chenette denied being paid commissions by the Biddeford Journal Tribune, the only daily newspaper based in York County, which Chenette represents.

McDonald, the Maine First Media creator, said the site has a different purpose.

In the end, he added, “people are intelligent enough to make up their own minds about a story.”

Brian MacQuarrie can be contacted at:

[email protected]

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Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices Mail: 135 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333 Office: 45 Memorial Circle, Augusta, Maine Website: www.maine.gov/ethics Phone: 207-287-4179 Fax: 207-287-6775

2017 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT FOR PARTY COMMITTEES COMMITTEE TREASURER Maine Republican Party Benjamin Lombard 9 Higgins Street 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 Augusta, ME 04330 PHONE: (207) 622-6247 EMAIL: [email protected] EMAIL: [email protected] REPORT DUE DATE REPORTING PERIOD JANUARY QUARTERLY REPORT 01/16/2018 10/01/2017 - 12/31/2017

FINANCIAL ACTIVITY SUMMARY RECEIPTS TOTAL FOR PERIOD TOTAL FOR YEAR 1. CASH CONTRIBUTIONS (SCHEDULE A) $45,876.88 $248,297.51 2. OTHER CASH RECEIPTS (INTEREST, ETC.) $709.23 $904.44 3. LOANS (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 $0.00 4. TOTAL RECEIPTS (LINE 1 + 2 + 3) $46,586.11 $249,201.95 EXPENDITURES 5. EXPENDITURES TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE (SCHEDULE B) $0.00 $0.00 6. OPERATING EXPENDITURES (SCHEDULE B-1) $60,057.87 $255,423.43 7. LOAN REPAYMENTS (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 $0.00 8. TOTAL PAYMENTS (LINE 5 + 6 + 7) $60,057.87 $255,423.43 OTHER ACTIVITY 9. IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS (SCHEDULE A-1) $0.00 $0.00 10. TOTAL LOAN BALANCE AT END OF PERIOD (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 11. TOTAL UNPAID DEBTS AT END OF PERIOD (SCHEDULE D) $0.00

I, BENJAMIN LOMBARD, CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS TRUE, ACCURATE, AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.

REPORT FILED BY: BENJAMIN LOMBARD REPORT FILED ON: 01/10/2018 LAST MODIFIED: 01/10/2018 PRINTED: 01/22/2018 COMMITTEE ID: 1175 SCHEDULE A CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

For contributors who gave more that $50, the names, address, occupation, and employer must be reported. If "information requested" is listed instead of occupation and employer, the candidate is waiting to receive that information. Cash contributions of $50 or less can be added together and reported as a lump sum. Contributor Types

1 = Individual 9 = Candidate / Candidate Committee 2 = Candidate/ Spouse/ Domestic Partner 10 = General Treasury Transfer 3 = Commercial Source 11 = Transfer from Previous Campaign 4 = Nonprofit Organization 12 = Contributors giving $50 or less 5 = Political Action Committee 13 = Contributors giving $100 or less 6 = Political Party Committee 14 = Contributors giving $200 or less 7 = Ballot Question Committee 15 = MCEA Payment 8 = Other Candidate/ Candidate Committee 16 = Financial Institution DATE CONTRIBUTOR OCCUPATION AND TYPE AMOUNT RECEIVED EMPLOYER

10/2/2017 Welfare to Work PAC 5 $350.00 PO Box 441 Augusta, ME 04332 10/3/2017 JOHN HATHAWAY SHUCKS MAINE LOBSTER 1 $170.00 190 MILLS ROAD KENNEBUNKPORT, ME 04046 DESCRIPTION: OWNER 10/5/2017 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS 3 $1,000.00 12405 POWERSCOURT DRIVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63131 10/5/2017 JAYNE GILES PENQUIS 1 $150.00 15 TOZIER STREET BELFAST, ME 04915 DESCRIPTION: CEO 10/5/2017 S. W. COLLINS CO., INC. DESCRIPTION: 3 $500.00 P. O. BOX 70 Unknown CARIBOU, ME 04736 10/5/2017 KAREN VACHON STATE OF MAINE 1 $175.00 25 OCEAN AVENUE SCARBOROUGH, ME 04074 DESCRIPTION: STATE REPRESENTATIVE 10/10/2017 SCHIAVI CUSTOM BUILDERS 3 $500.00 754 MAIN STREET OXFORD, ME 04270 10/11/2017 PR FORTIN & SONS 3 $250.00 103 RUSSELL ROAD MADISON, ME 04950 10/12/2017 LUCINDA BRAKEY BRAKEY ENERGY, INC. 1 $100.00 115 DEERFIELD ROAD NEW GLOUCESTER, ME 04260 DESCRIPTION: VICE PRESIDENT 10/12/2017 ALLYSON CAVARETTA MEADOWMERE RESORT 1 $175.00 P.O. BOX 2347 OGUNQUIT, ME 03907 DESCRIPTION: OWNER/DIRECTOR SALES & MARKETING 10/12/2017 HOLLY LUSK STATE OF MAINE 1 $135.00 587 HARPSWELL NECK ROAD HARPSWELL, ME 04079 DESCRIPTION: POLICY ADVISOR 10/12/2017 BRUCE L POLIQUIN FEDERAL GOVERMENT 1 $250.00 P.O. BOX 50 OAKLAND, ME 04963-4732 DESCRIPTION: U.S. CONGRESSMAN 10/16/2017 ZIMBA COMPANY INC. 3 $100.00 P.O. BOX 336 FAIRFIELD, ME 04937 10/18/2017 BERNSTEIN SHUR 3 $500.00 P.O. BOX 9729 PORTLAND, ME 04104 10/18/2017 DUNSTAN DENTAL CENTER, LLC 3 $250.00 618 US ROUTE ONE, SUITE 4 SCARBOROUGH, ME 04074 10/19/2017 AMY ARATA SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $175.00 607 BALD HILL ROAD NEW GLOUCESTER, ME 04260 DESCRIPTION: REAL ESTATE INVESTOR 10/19/2017 CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS 3 $4,000.00 12405 POWERSCOURT DRIVE ST. LOUIS, MO 63131 10/19/2017 STACEY GUERIN MAINE HOUSE OF 1 $250.00 79 PHILLIPS ROAD REPRESENTATIVES GLENBURN, ME 04401 DESCRIPTION: LEGISLATOR 10/19/2017 STACEY GUERIN MAINE HOUSE OF 1 $175.00 79 PHILLIPS ROAD REPRESENTATIVES GLENBURN, ME 04401 DESCRIPTION: LEGISLATOR 10/23/2017 G&E ROOFING CO., INC. 3 $250.00 669 RIVERSIDE DRIVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 10/23/2017 JAYNE GILES PENQUIS 1 $100.00 15 TOZIER STREET BELFAST, ME 04915 DESCRIPTION: CEO 10/25/2017 SARA BURNS CMP 1 $250.00 189 BENSON ROAD MANCHESTER, ME 04351 DESCRIPTION: PRESIDENT 10/25/2017 JANE SEXTON 1 $35.00 P.O. BOX 357 GORHAM, ME 04038 INFO REQUESTED 10/31/2017 COLE HARRISON INSURANCE 3 $100.00 P.O. BOX 358 KENNEBUNK, ME 04043 10/31/2017 MAINE BEVERAGE ASSOCIATON 3 $250.00 77 WATER STREET HALLOWELL, ME 04347 10/31/2017 Priorities for Coastal Maine PAC 5 $100.00 P.O. Box 887 Wells, ME 04090 10/31/2017 RHUMB LINE RESORT 3 $1,000.00 PO BOX 3067 KENNEBUNKPORT, ME 04046 10/31/2017 JULIE SHEEHAN F.O. BAILEY REAL ESTATE 1 $100.00 P.O. BOX 2436 SOUTH PORTLAND, ME 04116 DESCRIPTION: Real Estate Professional 11/1/2017 MICHELLE DALE MAINE REPUBLICAN 1 $35.00 409 CHURCH HILL ROAD PARTY AUGUSTA, ME 04330 DESCRIPTION: OFFICE DIRECTOR 11/1/2017 BONNIE HEPTIG SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $175.00 P.O. BOX 630 MOODY, ME 04054 DESCRIPTION: Attorney/Legal 11/1/2017 LISA KEIM STATE OF MAINE 1 $70.00 1505 MAIN STREET DIXFIELD, ME 04224 DESCRIPTION: STATE SENATOR 11/1/2017 PATRICIA KEYES 1 $35.00 3A BLACK'S LANDING BELFAST, ME 04915 11/1/2017 MARYANNE KINNEY STATE OF MAINE 1 $35.00 40 MAPLE LANE KNOX, ME 04986 DESCRIPTION: STATE REPRESENTATIVE 11/1/2017 CATHLEEN MANCHESTER KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY 1 $105.00 19 MAIN STREET GRAY, ME 04039 DESCRIPTION: Real Estate Professional 11/1/2017 CYNTHIA NESBIT L.L. BEAN 1 $170.00 164 ROBERTS ROAD BOWDOIN, ME 04287 DESCRIPTION: ANALYST 11/1/2017 JOAN PETERSEN RETIRED 1 $35.00 480 NORTH SEARSPORT ROAD SWANVILLE, ME 04915 DESCRIPTION: Retired 11/1/2017 MARTHA RAY HOMEMAKER 1 $35.00 225 ROWE STATION ROAD NEW GLOUCESTER, ME 04260 DESCRIPTION: Homemaker 11/1/2017 GINGER LEIGH SMITH MERRILL LYNCH 1 $35.00 919 NORTH RIVER ROAD AUBURN, ME 04210 DESCRIPTION: Financial/Investment 11/1/2017 DIANA THURSTON TD BANK 1 $70.00 406 SABBATHDAY ROAD NEW GLOUCESTER, ME 04260 DESCRIPTION: IT RISK & COMPLIANCE AUDITOR 11/1/2017 JOSEPH TURCOTTE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL 1 $35.00 121 SOUTH STREET, UNIT A COMMITTEE PITTSFIELD, ME 04976 DESCRIPTION: STATE DIRECTOR 11/8/2017 KATE IKHSANOVA MAINE REPUBLICAN 1 $35.00 396 MAIN STREET, APT. C PARTY WESTBROOK, ME 04092 DESCRIPTION: FINANCE EXECUTIVE 11/14/2017 BATH IRON WORKS DESCRIPTION: 3 $1,000.00 700 WASHINGTON STREET Unknown BATH, ME 04530 11/14/2017 ROBERT FULLER SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $5,000.00 11215 SEVEN LOCKS ROAD POTOMAC, MD 29854 DESCRIPTION: PRIV. FIDUCIARY 11/14/2017 Welfare to Work PAC 5 $350.00 PO Box 441 Augusta, ME 04332 11/27/2017 ICE PAC 5 $41.88 PO BOX 5671 AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/27/2017 KOKADJO CONSTRUCTION INC. 3 $1,000.00 3424 LILY BAY ROAD GREENVILLE, ME 04441 11/27/2017 KOKADJO TRADING POST 3 $1,000.00 3224 LILY BAY ROAD GREENVILLE, ME 04441 11/27/2017 SPECTRUM MONTHLY & PRINTING DESCRIPTION: 3 $1,000.00 95 EDDY ROAD SUITE 101 Unknown MANCHESTER, NH 03102 11/27/2017 Welfare to Work PAC 5 $7,000.00 PO Box 441 Augusta, ME 04332 11/28/2017 Welfare to Work PAC 5 $350.00 PO Box 441 Augusta, ME 04332 11/29/2017 RIPLEY & FLETCHER CO. 3 $1,000.00 80 MAIN STREET SOUTH PARIS, ME 04281 12/1/2017 WALTER JACKSON RETIRED 1 $500.00 55 BURBANK LN YARMOUTH, ME 04096 DESCRIPTION: Retired 12/1/2017 JAMES MCBRIDE RETIRED 1 $2,000.00 58 HIGH RIDGE ROAD NORWAY, ME 04268 DESCRIPTION: Retired 12/1/2017 MICHAEL F. COOK & ASSOCIATES 3 $50.00 PO BOX 549 FARMINGTON, ME 04938 12/4/2017 MAYHEW FOR MAINE 9 $60.00 13 MAYFLOWER LANE SOUTH CHINA, ME 04358 12/4/2017 JAMES NICHOLAS RETIRED 1 $50.00 2 COTTAGE ROAD SOUTH PORTLAND, ME 04106 DESCRIPTION: Retired 12/4/2017 RAVEN STRATEGIES LLC 3 $40.00 9 THOMAS DRIVE SCARBOROUGH, ME 04074 12/5/2017 Welfare to Work PAC 5 $7,000.00 PO Box 441 Augusta, ME 04332 12/8/2017 JAMES MCBRIDE RETIRED 1 $1,000.00 58 HIGH RIDGE ROAD NORWAY, ME 04268 DESCRIPTION: Retired 12/11/2017 G&E ROOFING CO., INC. 3 $1,400.00 669 RIVERSIDE DRIVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/14/2017 SAZERAC COMPANY, INC. 3 $1,000.00 10400 LINN STATION ROAD, SUITE 300 LOUISVILLE, KY 40223 12/14/2017 SERRA CONSULTING LLC 3 $1,540.00 227 WATER STREET, 2ND FLOOR AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/18/2017 AT&T SERVICES, INC. 3 $1,000.00 99 BEDFORD STREET BOSTON, MA 02111 12/18/2017 CAROLYN CARIGNAN RETIRED 1 $35.00 185 SCHOOL STREET BERWICK, ME 03901 DESCRIPTION: Retired 12/21/2017 JEFF'S CATERING 3 $200.00 PO BOX 377 BREWER, ME 04412 TOTAL CASH CONTRIBUTIONS $45,876.88 SCHEDULE B-1 OPERATING EXPENDITURES

EXPENDITURES TYPES

CNS Campaign consultants POL Polling and survey research

CON Contribution to other candidate, party, committee POS Postage for U.S. Mail and mail box fees

EQP Equipment (office machines, furniture, cell phones, etc.) PRO Other professional services

FND Fundraising events PRT Print media ads only (newspapers, magazines, etc.)

FOD Food for campaign events, volunteers RAD Radio ads, production costs

LIT Print and graphics (flyers, signs, palmcards, t-shirts, etc.) SAL Campaign workers' salaries and personnel costs

MHS Mail house (all services purchased) TRV Travel (fuel, mileage, lodging, etc.)

OFF Office rent, utilities, phone and internet services, supplies TVN TV or cable ads, production costs

OTH Other WEB Website design, registration, hosting, maintenance, etc.

PHO Phone banks, automated telephone calls

DATE OF PAYEE REMARK TYPE AMOUNT EXPENDITURE

10/2/2017 AMAZON.COM, INC. SPEAKER & MICROPHONE EQP $64.28 1200 12TH AVE SOUTH STE. 1200 SEATTLE, WA 98144 10/5/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $11.98 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 10/6/2017 ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC SOFTWARE OFF $10.54 345 PARK AVENUE SAN JOSE, CA 95101 10/6/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $47.46 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 10/6/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $32.69 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 10/10/2017 THE GO DADDY GROUP INC ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION OFF $15.17 14455N. HAYDEN ROAD SUITE 226 SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260 10/12/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $6.43 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 10/12/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,429.61 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 10/13/2017 AMAZON.COM, INC. OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $44.67 1200 12TH AVE SOUTH STE. 1200 SEATTLE, WA 98144 10/13/2017 AMAZON.COM, INC. OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $16.09 1200 12TH AVE SOUTH STE. 1200 SEATTLE, WA 98144 10/13/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $54.84 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 10/16/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $15.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 10/16/2017 THE GO DADDY GROUP INC ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION OFF $15.17 14455N. HAYDEN ROAD SUITE 226 SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260 10/16/2017 WEEBLY WEBSITE HOSTING WEB $54.00 460 BRYANT STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107 10/19/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $21.91 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 10/23/2017 AMERICAN AIRLINES LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE TRV $417.40 4333 AMON CARTER BLVD REIMBURSEMENT: TRAVEL: AIR FORT WORTH, TX 76155 10/24/2017 AMAZON.COM, INC. OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $24.34 1200 12TH AVE SOUTH STE. 1200 SEATTLE, WA 98144 10/24/2017 TIGERDIRECT COMPUTER PURCHASE EQP $226.81 7795 WEST FLAGLER ST SUITE 35 MIAMI, FL 33144 10/25/2017 Maine Republican Party ALLOCATION TRANSFER OTH $10,000.00 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 10/30/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,477.40 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 10/31/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 10/31/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/1/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $32.87 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 11/1/2017 WEEBLY WEBSITE HOSTING WEB $49.00 460 BRYANT STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107 11/6/2017 ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC SOFTWARE OFF $10.54 345 PARK AVENUE SAN JOSE, CA 95101 11/7/2017 KIM PETTENGILL EVENT CONSULTING CNS $343.75 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/8/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $1.53 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 11/14/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,475.77 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 11/15/2017 ALBISON'S PRINTING, INC. PRINTING & DESIGN SERVICES: LIT $221.55 124 RIVERSIDE DRIVE ENVELOPES AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/15/2017 LITTLEFIELD CONSULTING CONSULTING PRO $1,000.00 455 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW SUITE 108 WASHINGTON, DC 20001 11/15/2017 MAINE MIST OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $18.96 581 MAINE AVE. FARMINGDALE, ME 04344 11/15/2017 Maine Republican Party ALLOCATION TRANSFER OTH $7,000.00 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 11/15/2017 GARRETT MURCH TRAVEL: MILEAGE TRV $86.64 258 BARTON ROAD WINDSOR, ME 04363 11/15/2017 KIM PETTENGILL EVENT CONSULTING CNS $343.75 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/15/2017 RIVERSIDE DISPOSAL TRASH REMOVAL OFF $48.00 700 RIVER ROAD CHELSEA, ME 04330 11/15/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $36.34 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 11/16/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $17.49 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 11/16/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $104.59 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 11/16/2017 THE NONANTUM RESORT EVENT EXPENSE: MEALS & OTH $11,434.73 95 OCEAN AVE LODGING KENNEBUNKPORT, ME 04046 11/28/2017 FALABELLA OFFICE REPAIR & MAINTENANCE PRO $1,000.00 32 FRED'S WAY GRAY, ME 04039 11/29/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,473.50 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 11/29/2017 Maine Republican Party ALLOCATION TRANSFER OTH $5,000.00 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 11/30/2017 MICHELLE DALE TRAVEL: MILEAGE TRV $39.10 409 CHURCH HILL RD AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 DOLLAR TREE IKHSANOVA REIMBURSEMENT: OTH $11.72 730 CENTER STREET EVENT EXPENSE: DECORATIONS AUBURN, ME 04210 11/30/2017 EKATERINA IKHSANOVA TRAVEL: MILEAGE TRV $85.95 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 KIM PETTENGILL EVENT CONSULTING CNS $343.75 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 SENATOR INN AND SPA FACILITY RENTAL OTH $350.00 284 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $586.38 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 11/30/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $118.51 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 11/30/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 11/30/2017 USPS IKHSANOVA REIMBURSEMENT: POS $1.47 126 WESTERN AVE POSTAGE EXPENSE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/1/2017 STAPLES OFFICE SUPPLIES OFF $29.46 P.O. BOX 689020 DES MOINES, IA 50368 12/5/2017 ADOBE SYSTEMS, INC SOFTWARE OFF $10.54 345 PARK AVENUE SAN JOSE, CA 95101 12/6/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $22.43 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/7/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $25.00 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/8/2017 ANEDOT MERCHANT FEES OTH $35.30 P.O. BOX 84314 BATON ROUGE, LA 70884 12/8/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $51.99 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/11/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $200.00 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/11/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $200.00 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/11/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $200.00 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/13/2017 FACEBOOK DIGITAL ADVERTISING WEB $200.00 1 HACKER WAY MENLO PARK, CA 94025 12/14/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,473.50 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 12/14/2017 LITTLEFIELD CONSULTING RECORDED CALLS PHO $4,214.97 455 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW SUITE 108 WASHINGTON, DC 20001 12/15/2017 KIM PETTENGILL EVENT CONSULTING CNS $343.75 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/20/2017 Maine Republican Party ALLOCATION TRANSFER OTH $6,000.00 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 12/28/2017 EPAY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PAYROLL SAL $1,473.50 INC. 19 MIDSTATE DRIVE, SUITE 110 AUBURN, MA 01501 12/29/2017 KIM PETTENGILL EVENT CONSULTING CNS $343.75 9 HIGGINS ST AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/29/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 12/29/2017 TD BANK BANK FEES OTH $2.00 101 WESTERN AVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENDITURES $60,057.87 ATTACHMENT DD

2017 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT FOR PARTY COMMITTEES COMMITTEE TREASURER Maine Republican Party Benjamin Lombard 9 Higgins Street 9 Higgins Street Augusta, ME 04330 Augusta, ME 04330 PHONE: (207) 622-6247 EMAIL: [email protected] EMAIL: [email protected] REPORT DUE DATE REPORTING PERIOD OCTOBER QUARTERLY REPORT 10/05/2017 07/01/2017 - 09/30/2017

FINANCIAL ACTIVITY SUMMARY RECEIPTS TOTAL FOR PERIOD TOTAL FOR YEAR 1. CASH CONTRIBUTIONS (SCHEDULE A) $141,520.74 $202,420.63 2. OTHER CASH RECEIPTS (INTEREST, ETC.) $146.00 $195.21 3. LOANS (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 $0.00 4. TOTAL RECEIPTS (LINE 1 + 2 + 3) $141,666.74 $202,615.84 EXPENDITURES 5. EXPENDITURES TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE (SCHEDULE B) $0.00 $0.00 6. OPERATING EXPENDITURES (SCHEDULE B-1) $112,302.99 $195,365.56 7. LOAN REPAYMENTS (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 $0.00 8. TOTAL PAYMENTS (LINE 5 + 6 + 7) $112,302.99 $195,365.56 OTHER ACTIVITY 9. IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS (SCHEDULE A-1) $0.00 $0.00 10. TOTAL LOAN BALANCE AT END OF PERIOD (SCHEDULE C) $0.00 11. TOTAL UNPAID DEBTS AT END OF PERIOD (SCHEDULE D) $0.00

I, BENJAMIN LOMBARD, CERTIFY THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT IS TRUE, ACCURATE, AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE.

REPORT FILED BY: BENJAMIN LOMBARD REPORT FILED ON: 10/02/2017 LAST MODIFIED: 10/03/2017 PRINTED: 01/22/2018 COMMITTEE ID: 1175 SCHEDULE A CASH CONTRIBUTIONS

7/3/2017 RICHARD DYKE BUSHMASTER FIREARMS 1 $5,000.00 P.O. BOX 1385 WINDHAM, ME 04062 DESCRIPTION: CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD 7/10/2017 MILLERCOORS DESCRIPTION: 3 $1,000.00 3939 W. HIGHLAND BLVD Unknown MILWAUKEE, WI 53201 7/17/2017 REBECCA CUMMINGS PORTLAND PUBLIC 1 $125.00 21 FOX RUN SCHOOLS WINDHAM, ME 04602 DESCRIPTION: NURSE 7/17/2017 CATHY NICHOLS INFORMED WOMEN'S 1 $125.00 41 STAPLEFORD DRIVE NETWORK FALMOUTH, ME 04105 DESCRIPTION: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 7/25/2017 LESLIE DUBOIS MICHAEL DUBOIS PA 1 $125.00 588 MAIN STREET LEWISTON, ME 04240 DESCRIPTION: Office and Administrative Occupations 7/31/2017 PAUL COULOMBE RETIRED 1 $90,000.00 PO BOX 150 SOUTHPORT, ME 04576 DESCRIPTION: Retired 7/31/2017 GINGER KIEFFER US SENATOR COLLINS 1 $125.00 30 BUCKFIELD ROAD NORTH TURNER, ME 04266 DESCRIPTION: STAFF ASSISTANT 7/31/2017 DELAINA TOOTHMAN UNITY COLLEGE 1 $100.00 4 STILLWATER AVENUE OLD TOWN, ME 04468 DESCRIPTION: ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR 8/2/2017 DILLINGHAM FOR HOUSE 72 9 $40.00 P.O. BOX 164 OXFORD, ME 04270 8/2/2017 WALTER JACKSON RETIRED 1 $1,000.00 55 BURBANK LN YARMOUTH, ME 04096 DESCRIPTION: Retired 8/9/2017 JENNIFER BERRY SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $160.00 157 GAMAGE AVENUE AUBURN, ME 04210 DESCRIPTION: Consultant 8/9/2017 BARBARA HARVEY RETIRED 1 $125.00 PO BOX 8123 PORTLAND, ME 04102 DESCRIPTION: Retired 8/9/2017 HEATHER PRIEST STATE OF MAINE 1 $125.00 42 MEADOWRUE DRIVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 DESCRIPTION: SENATE SECRETARY 8/9/2017 SHELLEY RUDNICKI SHELLEY'S USED CARS 1 $125.00 211 NORRIDGEWORK ROAD LLC FAIRFIELD, ME 04937 DESCRIPTION: OWNER 8/9/2017 JULIE SHEEHAN F.O. BAILEY REAL ESTATE 1 $125.00 P.O. BOX 2436 SOUTH PORTLAND, ME 04116 DESCRIPTION: Real Estate Professional 8/9/2017 DELAINA TOOTHMAN UNITY COLLEGE 1 $125.00 4 STILLWATER AVENUE OLD TOWN, ME 04468 DESCRIPTION: ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR 8/14/2017 MARSHALL ARTS 3 $25.00 P.O. BOX 144 SOUTHWEST HARBOR, ME 04679 8/17/2017 TONYA FONS ENVIRONMENTAL 1 $125.00 P.O. BOX 1417 PROJECTS INC. AUBURN, ME 04210 DESCRIPTION: Office and Administrative Occupations 8/17/2017 HEATHER SIROCKI STATE OF MAINE 1 $125.00 32 GLENDALE CIRCLE SCARBOROUGH, ME 04074 DESCRIPTION: LEGISLATOR 8/21/2017 WALDO COUNTY REPUBLICAN 6 $125.00 COMMITTEE c/o Michael Cunningham, Chair; PO Box 724 Belfast, ME 04915 8/22/2017 ROBERT FULLER SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $22,000.00 11215 SEVEN LOCKS ROAD POTOMAC, MD 29854 DESCRIPTION: PRIV. FIDUCIARY 8/28/2017 NANCY FORD RETIRED 1 $125.00 128 BALD HILL ROAD WELLS, ME 04090 DESCRIPTION: RETIRED 8/28/2017 STEPHANIE HAWKE STATE OF MAINE 1 $125.00 76 PARK STREET BOOTHBAY HARBOR, ME 04538 DESCRIPTION: Office and Administrative Occupations 8/31/2017 MAINE REPUBLICAN PARTY BALLOT 7 $196.46 QUESTION COMMITTEE 9 HIGGINS STREET AUGUSTA, ME 04330 9/5/2017 AMERICAN LEGION WINSLOW 4 $100.00 HOLBROOK POST 1 P.O. BOX 582 ROCKLAND, ME 04841 9/5/2017 JENNIFER BERRY SELF-EMPLOYED 1 $100.00 157 GAMAGE AVENUE AUBURN, ME 04210 DESCRIPTION: Consultant 9/5/2017 MAC'S GRILL 3 $200.00 1052 MINOT AVENUE AUBURN, ME 04210 9/5/2017 MAINE TRUCK PAC 5 $500.00 PO BOX 857 AUGUSTA, ME 04332 9/7/2017 PAUL COULOMBE RETIRED 1 $1,000.00 PO BOX 150 SOUTHPORT, ME 04576 DESCRIPTION: Retired 9/7/2017 MITCHELL TARDY JACKSON LLC 3 $500.00 104 SEWALL STREET AUGUSTA, ME 04330 9/11/2017 MAINE SENATE REPUBLICAN MAJORITY 5 $9,000.00 P.O. BOX 1 AUGUSTA, ME 04332 9/11/2017 NICKERSON & O'DAY, INC. 3 $500.00 PO BOX 911 BANGOR, ME 04402 9/11/2017 HEATHER PRIEST STATE OF MAINE 1 $100.00 42 MEADOWRUE DRIVE AUGUSTA, ME 04330 DESCRIPTION: SENATE SECRETARY 9/15/2017 BENTLEYS' SALOON, LLC 3 $1,000.00 1601 PORTLAND ROAD ARUNDEL, ME 04046 9/15/2017 EAC LLC 3 $2,000.00 PO BOX 788 GRAY, ME 04039 9/18/2017 ASTRAZENECA 3 $1,000.00 PO BOX 15437 WILMINGTON, DE 19850 9/18/2017 PLAN BEE APIARY 3 $1,000.00 2532 MILTON MILLS ROAD ACTON, ME 04001 9/18/2017 THE SHED RESTAURANT 3 $175.00 1060 ROUTE 109 ACTON, ME 04001 9/18/2017 YANKEE MARINA & BOATYARD, INC. 3 $1,000.00 142 LAFAYETTE STREET PO BOX 548 YARMOUTH, ME 04096 9/20/2017 SHEREE BROWN PCAP 1 $150.00 50 NORTH STREET DOVER FOXCROFT, ME 04426 DESCRIPTION: OFFICE COORDINATOR 9/20/2017 HILLARY LISTER COLBY COLLEGE 1 $150.00 16 CHAPEL STREET AUGUSTA, ME 04330 DESCRIPTION: ARCHIVIST 9/20/2017 STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES 3 $200.00 16 SILVER STREET WATERVILLE, ME 04901 9/26/2017 FAIRPOINT COMMUNICATIONS 3 $500.00 1 DAVIS FARM ROAD PORTLAND, ME 04103 9/26/2017 MAYHEW FOR MAINE 9 $135.00 13 MAYFLOWER LANE SOUTH CHINA, ME 04358 9/26/2017 PATCO CONSTRUCTION, INC. 3 $500.00 475 MAIN STREET SANFORD, ME 04073 9/26/2017 WINTHROP REPUBLICAN TOWN 6 $89.28 COMMITTEE 137 PAMELA DRIVE WINTHROP, ME 04364 9/28/2017 MAINE RIGHT TO LIFE COMMITTEE 4 $250.00 P.O. BOX 257 AUBURN, ME 04212 9/28/2017 MEREDITH STRANG BURGESS BURGESS ADVERTISING, 1 $100.00 10 AMY LANE INC. CUMBERLAND FORESIDE, ME 04110 DESCRIPTION: ADVERTISING TOTAL CASH CONTRIBUTIONS $141,520.74 SCHEDULE B-1 OPERATING EXPENDITURES