Frequent Asked Questions

I made a mistake where I accepted $5 cash donations from people I know while I was at events such as the Friendship Lobster Boat Races, a yard sale, and didn’t have the forms with me. The people asked me to just fill it out for them. I did, with no attempt to disguise my handwriting.

There were two charges per person who made a $5 donation as there is a list of donations they are supposed to put their name on, as well as an individual slip of paper saying they made the donation. They dropped the charges on the forged people,because they all did. Therefore,as a result, it was considered by all as no ill-intent on my part.

I pled guilty to 12 misdemeanors for filling out the donation slips for real people, who made real donations.

The court process takes a long time, and is very costly both financially and emotionally. I wanted it done. I actually saw a therapist. I was very embarrassed, and it was hard on my family.

From the court, I was given 100 hours of community service. That was no problem for me as I do that anyway. I did that at Medomak Exchange and I cleaned veteran’s headstones at Wavus Camps in Jefferson for a weekend. I also voluntarily paid back all the clean elections money I received, as well as voluntarily paying back money I received for the brief time I was in the legislature.

It would take too long to clear my name and I didn’t want it to negatively impact my constituents. The party made it clear I would have no committees and they didn’t want to work with me. The Speaker of the House requested that I do.

It was a mistake and I have learned from it. The donations were all legitimate and from real people, the mistake was that I filled out the paperwork for the people. When the State investigated, the 12 people who were contacted all said they had given me the $5, but not filled out the forms. I also did what I could to make things right. Many people voted for me knowing the state was investigating because they knew the donations were genuine.

Many in the community have asked me to run. I had no intent to, but as time has gone on, I figured it is now or never. I want to do it right this time. People are having issues with rent/housing, heat, food, bills, taxes, just getting by, and the list goes on. We need people working together to resolve the issues that impact all of us. There is way too much fighting in Washington, DC, and in Augusta. This is Maine. Mainers work together and get things done.

The investigators thought I made up names of individuals who contributed to my campaign. It was just the opposite. The contributors all donated and that’s what they found out. Then I was charged with forging some names even though those contributors requested that I do so.