Dear Editor:

House District 45 candidate Clinton Collamore’s explanation of his previous resignation as a Representative has more to the story than he is telling.

His simple explanation, that he resigned after being found guilty of a Maine Clean Election Act violation and signature forgery and it was a mistake is not the sequence. He was indicted on Dec. 15, 2022, pleaded not guilty on Feb. 16, 2023, and resigned that day. He pleaded guilty on June 12, 2023. The 20 aggravated-forgery counts were dismissed. He pleaded guilty to 11 counts of unsworn falsification and one count of violating the Clean Election Act. The Ethics Commission states that he admitted forging scores of contributor signatures on receipt forms, cash-contribution receipts, and money orders.

Those were not one mistake. The indictment runs 42 pages, with photocopied exhibits dated from Feb. 2 to Aug. 17, 2022. Exhibits A through L are Qualifying Contribution Receipt and Acknowledgment forms. Exhibits M through R are cash-contribution forms. Exhibits S and T are postal money orders. On the receipt forms, the circulator must affirm that he collected the contributions, that each signature is genuine, that the money came from the contributor’s own funds, and that nothing of value was given in exchange. Collamore’s name and signature appear in that block. The form also says falsifying any information on it is punishable by law, and each required signature is labeled “contributor’s signature.” The indictment is a public record at the Wiscasset courthouse.

The 20 dismissed counts were Class B aggravated forgery: up to 10 years and a $20,000 fine each. Unsworn falsification is a Class D crime: up to 364 days and a $2,000 fine. The Clean Election count is a Class E crime, up to six months and a $1,000 fine. The Act also authorizes a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation. He received 72 hours in jail, 100 hours of community service, and no fine. He returned the $14,274 he had been paid.

Augusta needs people with good judgment. On this record, Collamore does not meet that test.

Joe Grant

Wiscasset