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Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
First Circuit rules Maine ban on foreign government election spending likely unconstitutional
A campaign sign on Portland's Eastern Promenade. Nov. 3, 2023. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on Friday that a law passed by Maine voters in 2023 prohibiting foreign government spending in elections is likely unconstitutional. The ruling underscores that the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on corporate contributions continues to control the campaign finance landscape, those on both sides of the issue said. The decision, which affirmed a district court's temporary stay on the state from enforcing the law, is not the final word, as it will next return to the lower court. The law prevents foreign government-influenced entities, defined as companies with 5% or more foreign government ownership, from donating to state and local ballot measures. It also requires media outlets to establish policies to stop campaign ads from those prohibited entities. Voters overwhelmingly approved the law in 2023 with 86% voting in support. 'We really wanted to deal with the underlying root problem here of the inability of citizens to control their own elections,' said Maine Sen. Rick Bennett, chair of the ballot question committee and independent candidate for governor. 'Now with this ruling… it means that foreign-government controlled entities, even with 100% foreign government control, can still spend millions of dollars in Maine elections.' Meanwhile, Charles Miller, a senior attorney at the Institute for Free Speech who filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs, argued the decision sends a message that states can't put vague parameters on free speech. Utilities, media groups sue state over foreign electioneering ban 'I think that we citizens have to all be on high alert for clever ways that politicians are going to use to try to limit our speech rights, and we have to fight against it, even when the target of those laws at the time are things that we don't want to hear,' Miller said. This law was one of two campaign finance changes Maine voters passed by referendum in recent years. In 2024, voters also overwhelmingly approved a law to place limits on donations to political action committees that independently spend money to try to support or defeat candidates — teeing up a path to get the Supreme Court to reevaluate its 2010 decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections. A decision on the lawsuit filed against the 2024 referendum is expected on Tuesday, before which the state agreed not to enforce that law. The plaintiffs believe Friday's ruling could have consequences for that case, too. The Office of the Maine Attorney General, which is defending the law on behalf of the state, does not comment on pending litigation, Director of Public Affairs Danna Hayes said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Three different lawsuits arguing the ban on foreign government spending is unconstitutional were consolidated in the appeal. The utility companies Central Maine Power and Versant Power each filed a lawsuit. Two media groups, the Maine Association of Broadcasters and the Maine Press Association, jointly filed another. The majority opinion issued on Friday, written by Judge Lara Montecalvo, concluded that the law is too broad in its definition of foreign government because it silences U.S. corporations that have their own First Amendment rights. Central Maine Power is owned by the Spanish multinational company Iberdrola, while Versant's parent company is owned by the city of Calgary in Canada. The companies' filings outlined concern that the law prevents them from speaking on matters of concern to their company. As the decision notes, this referendum was passed amid attempts to prevent the construction of an energy transmission line to Canada, which CMP and Versant would benefit from. The companies spent millions to oppose that referendum as well as another in 2023 that would have replaced the utilities with a consumer-owned utility. While the court found that Maine has a 'compelling interest' to limit foreign government influence in its elections, it ruled that the state has no such interest in trying to limit the 'appearance of' foreign influence, such as with CMP and Versant. The appeals court specifically highlighted a challenge it sees with the law's practical implementation, given the prevalence of corporate ownership of publicly traded companies these days, which Miller sees as noteworthy. 'A corporation might not even know when it crosses that 5% threshold because of the way that stocks are traded routinely on a daily basis,' Miller said. 'They could enter into and out of that threshold without even knowing it.' The appeals court agreed, noting further that, 'as a consequence, U.S. corporations with First Amendment protections will likely choose not to speak at all rather than risk criminal penalties,' the court wrote. Bennett noted that the percentage that constitutes foreign influence will continue to be litigated, adding, 'If we have to consider adjusting the law because of the ultimate court decision, whenever that comes months from now, then I think the Legislature could consider that.' However, he also noted that there are other parts of the law that aren't being challenged, one being a requirement that Maine's congressional delegation put forth an 'anti-corruption' resolution in Congress that could undo Citizens United. The opinion, supported by all three of the judges on the First Circuit panel, also concluded that the 5% threshold looks like 'an end-run around Citizens United, aimed at silencing a large swath of corporations merely because they are corporations.' This is the crux of the issue at hand and broader attempts to place stricter regulations on spending in elections, those on both sides agree. 'Fundamentally, the problem goes back to this notion that the courts are stuck with this precedent saying that money is speech and corporations are people,' Bennett said. Citizens United overturned century-old campaign finance restrictions by allowing corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds on elections. Fundamentally, the problem goes back to this notion that the courts are stuck with this precedent saying that money is speech and corporations are people. – Maine Sen. Rick Bennett 'Really the most critical point overarching all of this is the court's recognition that this case is controlled by Citizens United,' Miller said. Miller believes the circuit court's point on that decision in particular could also have consequences for the lawsuit against the 2024 referendum, in which Miller is representing the plaintiffs. Three months after Citizens United, in v. FEC, the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court upheld that contributions to PACs cannot be regulated, either, so long as the PAC is independent from the campaign it is supporting. That decision essentially created the 'super PAC,' which can receive unlimited contributions but can't contribute directly to candidates. Other lower federal and state courts followed suit and the ruling was never reviewed by the Supreme Court. Those behind Maine's 2024 referendum to place limits on donations to PACs, including legal scholar Larry Lessig, argue that the reasoning behind SpeechNow is incorrect. They say large contributions to PACs inevitably create a risk of quid pro quo corruption, given that donors and candidates have the opportunity to collaborate even if a PAC is independent. Supporters therefore expected, and planned, for the referendum's legality to be challenged, presenting an eventual path to the Supreme Court. Lessig previously told Maine Morning Star he specifically chose to introduce the referendum in the jurisdiction of the First Circuit Court because it hasn't ruled on whether Super PACs are constitutionally required — meaning there is no precedent. 'They came to Maine to do this because they thought the First Circuit was their best chance to get a court to sort of try to sidestep or ignore Citizens United, and this opinion indicates that they have no appetite to do so,' Miller said. Editor's Note: The Maine Press Association, which filed one of the lawsuits, represents about 50 newspapers and digital news outlets in the state, including Maine Morning Star. 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Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Revived efforts for Maine voters to elect constitutional officers founder
Voters cast their ballots at the Quimby School gymnasium in Bingham, Maine on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Michael G. Seamans/ Maine Morning Star) Renewed efforts by some lawmakers for the state to adopt a system where voters elect the state's constitutional officers again failed this year. Maine is an outlier in having the Legislature appoint constitutional officers and state auditors. Rather than giving that power to state legislators, most states popularly elect their treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general. States vary more on how they select auditors. For decades, some lawmakers have proposed changing the selection process, such as allowing the public to decide instead through a direct popular election, but such attempts have failed. The Maine House of Representatives and Senate killed all of the proposals to change the selection process this year. LD 455, sponsored by Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), would have amended the constitution to require the popular election of the secretary of state, attorney general and state treasurer. Both chambers voted against it, so it died upon adjournment on Wednesday. LD 508, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), sought to essentially do the same. The Senate indefinitely postponed it on June 11, killing the bill, on a motion from Bennett. Other bills, all sponsored by House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor), focused on switching to popular elections for specific positions. LD 150 proposed a constitutional amendment to allow for the popular election of the state treasurer. It also died after the Senate followed the House in rejecting it earlier this month. That's also the case for LD 147, which proposed a constitutional amendment to require the popular election of the secretary of state, and LD 149 that would do so for the attorney general. Bennett also offered an alternative election process for constitutional officers and the state auditor in LD 1193. Instead of a popular election, this bill would still have the Legislature elect these positions but with an open ballot system, under which a lawmaker's vote would be publicly available. However, LD 1193 remained tabled in the Senate upon adjournment. Since it was not one of the bills carried over into next year, the bill died when the Legislature adjourned on Wednesday. Sen. Richard Bradstreet (R-Kennebec) proposed in LD 1068 switching to popularly elect the state auditor, though not through a constitutional amendment. That bill also remained tabled in the Senate upon adjournment and died since it was not carried over. The state auditor is not a constitutional officer, however another bill, LD 1052, sought to make it one through a constitutional amendment. Sponsored by Rep. Suzanne Salisbury (D-Westbrook), the bill passed both chambers in initial votes, however failed enactment in the House, which was the crucial vote as constitutional amendments need to win the support of two-thirds of lawmakers for enactment. The bill was then placed on what's called the appropriations table because it required funding. Constitutional amendments ultimately have to be approved by voters even if they pass the Legislature, and therefore always have associated ballot costs. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which manages the table, decided not to fund LD 1052 this year but it will be carried over into next year for consideration. (More on that here.) Though, if funded next year, this bill would still face a steep path to passage given the failed enactment in the House. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican field for 2026 Maine governor's race slow to take shape
Jun. 29—The Maine governor's race is still more than a year away, but already four high-profile Democratic candidates are vying to succeed Gov. Janet Mills, setting up what's expected to be a heavyweight primary. Among Republicans, though, there are a lot of names but no front-runners. And one of their more viable options — Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford — announced last week that he was unenrolling from the Republican party to run for governor as an independent. There is still plenty of time for more candidates to join the mix, but now that the state Legislature has adjourned, a lot of eyes have turned to the 2026 governor's race and whether Mainers will continue what has been more than a half-century tradition of not electing back-to-back governors from the same party. "On the Republican side, the people who have announced so far are kind of lesser-known or second-tier candidates," said Mark Brewer, a professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Maine. Brewer noted, however, that it's still early and he expects the field to grow. Among the prominent names that have been mentioned are: Rep. Laurel Libby, Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, former Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, and former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Candidates have until March 16 to turn qualifying signatures in to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State ahead of primaries that are nearly a year away. The Democratic field started to take shape early and could be set. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows declared her candidacy in March followed by former Senate President Troy Jackson's announcement last month, and Hannah Pingree, a former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives who recently left a position in the Mills administration and is the daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, declared earlier this month. Angus King III, a businessman, renewable energy entrepreneur and the son of U.S. Sen. Angus King, announced his bid in early May. Bennett's decision to run as an independent had long been rumored but it will certainly impact next year's race. The Republican field has been slower to build momentum. While seven people have filed campaign finance paperwork with the state to run, none are well-known and several have no experience holding elected office. "There are no big Republican names out there right now, but I would be stunned if we didn't have at least one high-profile Republican get into the race," Brewer said. A LOOK AT WHO'S IN Perhaps the most politically well-known Republican candidate so far is Sen. Jim Libby, R-Standish, a professor at Thomas College who is serving his sixth nonconsecutive term in the Legislature and who also ran in the Republican primary for governor in 2002. Other candidates include Bobby Charles, a Leeds resident and lawyer who served as an assistant secretary of state under President George W. Bush, Owen McCarthy, a medical technology entrepreneur from Gorham, and David Jones, a Falmouth real estate broker. Steven Sheppard of Bangor, Ken Capron of Portland and Robert Wessels of Norway have also filed paperwork with the state to run. Some other names that have been rumored as possible candidates include Laurel Libby, the Auburn representative who is a prolific fundraiser and who has been in the spotlight recently for her criticisms of Maine's policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports; Stewart, the current Senate minority leader from Presque Isle; Mason, a former Senate majority leader who also was a candidate in the Republican primary in 2018; and Poliquin, Maine's 2nd District congressman from 2015-19 and a former state treasurer. Libby said last week that she is "actively exploring a run for governor." She said she is confident in her donor base and fundraising potential and doesn't see a need to rush a decision. "There's still plenty of time," Libby said. Mason, who finished a distant second to Moody in the 2018 primary, also said he is thinking about getting in the race. "I ran for the job in 2018, so I think I would be lying if I said I didn't want the job," he said. "I'm looking to see how the field shakes out and, if I feel I can make a contribution and see a path to win, I might get in. I'm definitely interested." Stewart and Poliquin did not respond to messages asking if they are considering getting in the race. Brent Littlefield, who worked on past Poliquin campaigns and is also a longtime strategist for former Gov. Paul LePage — now a candidate for the U.S. House seat held by Rep. Jared Golden — said the Republican field for this year's race is likely to grow. Littlefield noted that LePage was relatively unknown outside of Waterville, where he served as mayor from 2004 to 2011, before winning statewide office in 2010, and said it's not necessarily a "big name" that will win. "Certainly, very few people outside of Waterville knew LePage in 2010, and he became governor of the state for eight years," Littlefield said. "The field is wide open. I think there may be additional candidates who enter, but no one should begin to guess at this point who might serve as the next governor." THE WAITING GAME Candidates may also be waiting to see what other possible contenders do. "I think a lot of Republicans who might be potentially interested are waiting to see what Laurel Libby does," Brewer said. "Is she going to get in? Is she not going to get in? If she does get in, does she clear the field? ... I think a lot of people are watching to see what she does." There were no contested primaries in the last governor's race in 2022, when Gov. Janet Mills was running for re-election and was challenged by LePage, who sought an unprecedented third nonconsecutive term and didn't face any primary opponents. Mills, a Democrat, cannot seek reelection next year because of term limits. Some want to see her challenge U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, but Mills has not announced any future political plans. Since there is no official start to campaign season, predicting when the field might be set is difficult. In the 2018 governor's race, Shawn Moody, an auto body entrepreneur who ran as an independent in 2010 and who became the Republican nominee, did not announce he was entering the race until November 2017, just a little over a month after Moody joined the party. Mills, who was attorney general at the time, announced her candidacy in July 2017. "It's not so much the Republicans are late (in announcing candidates), it's that the Democrats went early this cycle," Brewer said. McCarthy, one of the candidates who has declared as a Republican in the race already, acknowledged in a written statement that he doesn't have the name recognition or political experience of some of the Democrats who have gotten in the race, but he said that's not a bad thing. "If people are looking for more of the same from Augusta, they'll have plenty of options," he said. "But if they are looking for something different, someone with modest roots who understands their struggles, someone with an unmatched work ethic and grit and who will fight to build a better future for Maine's working families — then I'm their candidate." Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican Sen. Rick Bennett announces independent bid for Maine governor
Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) addresses the upper chamber on May 7, 2025. (By Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) After decades of public service as a Republican, state Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford announced on Tuesday that he is running for governor as an independent. 'My candidacy is not an indictment of either party,' Bennett told Maine Morning Star in an interview. 'It's an indictment of the party structure and parties as the solution to solving our problems.' Calling his independent bid liberating, Bennett said he intends to take his message — one of fiscal responsibility — directly to Maine people and not a subset of the electorate, an approach he sees as a return to Maine's independent tradition. 'I see politics beginning to slide more towards the politics of Washington,' Bennett said, 'and I think we have the opportunity as Maine people to say no to that.' A lifelong Mainer, Bennett currently serves as Oxford County's senator, a term he plans to finish in 2026 to total 18 combined years of nonconsecutive service in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, including formerly serving as Senate president. He's vied for higher office before. Running as a Republican, Bennett narrowly lost a bid for Maine's 2nd Congressional district in 1994 and a primary race for U.S. Senate in 2012. He then went on to chair the Maine Republican Party from 2013 to 2016, casting a vote for President Donald Trump the year of his exit as the party's elector. But his votes in the Legislature in recent years position him as one of the most bipartisan legislators. Bennett said he doesn't think he's changed his views much throughout his time in public office. Rather, he thinks the Republican Party, and politics more broadly, has embraced a toxicity that detracts from what he sees as the most pressing issues facing the state: declining quality education, a lack of access to health care particularly in rural areas and affordable housing. 'A lot of the energizing elements in the Republican Party are not what I think respond to the needs of a lot of Maine people,' he said. Bennett offered a similar critique amid the state budget debate in March. One of two Republicans to vote for a proposed change package that sought to address the urgent MaineCare deficit, Bennett told Maine Morning Star at the time that he was concerned about the growing demand for fidelity in politics entering Maine. 'There's an element in the Republican Party and the Republican caucuses that is sort of feeding off the chaos and disruptive energies of Donald Trump,' Bennett said, 'and it's really not a good thing to see.' That supplemental budget ultimately failed after opposition from others in his caucus who refused to back it without structural reform to the program, which is Maine's version of Medicaid. Later in March, Bennett voted against the two-year budget, as well as the addition passed last week. However, he was a rare voice among Republicans in not objecting to the budget being something largely crafted and advanced by Democrats, the majority party. 'We think about these things in partisan terms far too much,' he said in March. 'I object to this budget because it represents a dramatic failing of the Legislature to do its job.' Reiterating the reform he's long pushed for, Bennett said in an interview ahead of announcing his gubernatorial bid that, if elected, he would push for the Legislature to overhaul its budget process, specifically by building in opportunities to re-evaluate baseline spending, which the budget plan passed in March continued as is. While ultimately joining Republicans in opposing the budget plans for the next biennium, Bennett is no stranger to bucking his party. Recently, he joined Democrats in voting against a bill to ban transgender girls from playing girls sports or using girls bathrooms or locker rooms, as well as a slate of other proposals that sought to roll back protections for trans Mainers. While stating that he was initially unsure how he would vote, Bennett said in a speech on the Senate floor that he shared the proposals with his daughter, Abby, describing her as an accomplished athlete. 'Her response was simple and struck me deeply,' Bennett said. 'She said, 'These bills make me sad.' Her feelings gave me permission to be honest about mine too. I feel sadness that these are before us… I'm saddened by the hardening of silos and the temptation to stigmatize those who are different.' Bennett also joined Democrats in voting for a bill to restrict local authorities from carrying out federal immigration enforcement, specifically raising concern that municipalities would be on the hook to pay for their local police taking on federal immigration enforcement work, expanding their legal risk with no compensation. 'I, for one, am concerned about the use of Maine resources and the taking of those resources for activities that are governed by whatever party is in the White House,' he said on the Senate floor. 'We need to focus on Maine.' Bennett has championed the Wabanaki Nations' push for state recognition of their sovereignty, sweeping reform that current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has opposed. He's also taken interest in laying the groundwork for a four-day work week and eliminating daylight saving time, though such a change would be contingent on federal approval. Bennett has also advocated for significant campaign finance reform, which, as he put it, is 'unfortunately one of the things that the Republicans and Democrats agree on in Augusta.' This year, the Legislature rejected a bill Bennett proposed to offer Mainers transparency regarding who spends money in elections by requiring political action committees to disclose their donors over $5,000. The proposal was based on an Arizona law that has already been tested in and held up by the courts. In 2023, Bennett also chaired the ballot question committee for a referendum Maine voters passed to ban companies from spending money on referendum campaigns if they are partially owned by a foreign government or entity. He also supported the referendum passed last year to place a $5,000 limit on super PACs, which are independent political action committees that can currently raise and spend unlimited funds. However, both of those reforms were blocked as legal battles play out in the courts. While Bennett has previously run his campaigns under the Maine Clean Elections Act, which offers full public financing of political campaigns, he said he will not be doing so for his gubernatorial bid, noting the currently inadequate funding for the program and higher qualifying contribution requirements for governor that he sees as difficult to achieve without the backing of a political party. A bill the Legislature passed, which Bennett supported, could also change how Mainers cast their votes in the gubernatorial race in 2026. It currently awaits the governor's approval. LD 1666 would expand ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference, for general and special elections for governor and state legislators. RCV is currently used for federal elections and gubernatorial and state-level primary elections in Maine. 'I wasn't wild about ranked-choice voting but the voters of Maine said twice that they want it,' Bennett said, referring to Mainers initially voting the system into law and later expanding it. 'So, I have been supporting it and trying to make it work.' Though, Bennett declined to comment on how he thinks the expansion of this voting method would impact the governor's race. The Republicans currently running for governor are state Sen. James Libby of Cumberland, Robert Charles of Bangor, who worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration, Navy veteran Steven Christopher Sheppard, also of Bangor, Kenneth Capron of Portland, David John Jones of Falmouth, Owen McCarthy of Gorham, Democratic contenders include Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson and the children of two of Maine's current members of Congress, Hannah Pingree, also the former head of Gov. Janet Mills' Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Angus King III. There is also one other unenrolled candidate so far, Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover Foxcroft. The Republicans currently running for governor are state Sen. James Libby of Cumberland, Robert Charles of Bangor, who worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration, Navy veteran Steven Christopher Sheppard, also of Bangor, Kenneth Capron of Portland, David John Jones of Falmouth, and Owen McCarthy of Gorham. Democratic contenders include Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson and the children of two of Maine's current members of Congress, Hannah Pingree, also the former head of Gov. Janet Mills' Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, and Angus King III. There is also one other unenrolled candidate for governor so far, Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover-Foxcroft. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Needs results': New REAL CEO looks to stabilize finances
At the start of June, seven members of the Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) as were laid off as part of restructuring the organization. A new president and Chief Executive Officer was also announced last week, in Rick Bennett. Monday was his first day on the job. 'When we start to look forward, there's a number of items that we hope to accomplish,' said Bennett. 'First of all, REAL doesn't need more reports, it needs results. We're really looking to ignite the passion for financial stability, a direction forward and clarity that's really going to stem around creating a plan that's sustainable. Bennett believes that it should also be backed by private sector investment. 'We obviously have a financial challenge and we're at that crossroads right now of where challenge meets opportunity,' he said. 'I think to the City of Regina, there's an expectation that we stabilize finances and that's been well underway. We've got a critically focused board of directors at this point who have communicated that mandate to the entire team.' Bennett hopes to see the diversification of programming on the overall site and would like to see that applied to the buildings on a regular basis. 'We've got a challenge in terms of the physical infrastructure reaching the end of its life cycle, and that's going to be one of our biggest nuggets to solve,' he said. Bennett also mentioned that the depth of infrastructure, hotel availability, roads, airport access, public transportation, all play a critical role in terms of activating the local space.
