For the utter buffoonery it exposed, Wednesday’s hearing before the state Commission on Ethics and Election Practices will go down in Maine election lore. It also could tarnish the program that provides public financing for candidates running for state office.

The commission is investigating two campaigns from 2004 for the possible misuse of taxpayer money. Julia St. James of Hartford challenged state Sen. Bruce Bryant in District 14. Sarah Trundy of Minot ran against Rep. Joan Bryant-Deschesne in House District 96. Both St. James and Trundy lost.

During testimony Wednesday, the two candidates described what appears to amount to sham campaigns. They said they were recruited to run by two political operatives who apparently profited from the campaigns, Daniel Rogers of Auburn and Jessica Larlee of Minot. Rogers could not be located by the Ethics Commission; Larlee was among the witnesses testifying.

St. James qualified for more than $50,000 in public financing for her campaign. After the election, she returned $13,752, but did not provide documentation for most of the campaign’s expenses. According to the commission, she paid Rogers $11,000 but did not explain why. She bought no advertising and only sent out a single mailer.

Trundy received $4,488 in Clean Election funding and spent all of it except $1. She paid Rogers $1,000.

Larlee was the treasurer for both campaigns and received money from St. James’ campaign.

Whether St. James or Trundy were serious about their campaigns, we can’t say. But their testimony shows that they did not conduct themselves in a serious manner.

St. James testified she went on a fake date in order to obtain a Republican voters list from Lewiston City Councilor Stavros Mendros, who was running for the state Senate himself. St. James told the commission she never expected to win, but was trying to run a real campaign. She also said that she had suffered a head injury in 2003 that left her impaired. “They figured I was a stoner with a head injury,” she told the commission.

Trundy cried during her testimony, admitting she wasn’t very involved in her campaign. “I didn’t do a whole lot. Jessica [Larlee] did just about everything.” When questioned, Trundy couldn’t say who she had run against or remember how many votes she had received.

Testimony often twisted away from “Campaign and Elections” to National Enquirer territory. St. James admitted that she was taking prescription drugs, but then said her testimony would not be affected. Larlee said she would not talk about a campaign dirty trick in Biddeford and then proceeded to do so.

The hearing plunged off the cliff into absurdity when Larlee refused to testify unless St. James left the room. The reason: “I am psychic and I don’t want Julie sending attacks at me,” Larlee said. “I’m very sensitive to psychic energies.”

Bizarrely, the commission acquiesced. It was a public hearing, and St. James is under investigation. She should not have been required to leave the room under such ridiculous circumstances. Commissioners, it would appear, caved in for expediency – a bad decision.

The behavior on display Wednesday is an embarrassing tangle of campaign dirty tricks, failed interpersonal relationships and disregard for the law. The consequences – which the participants don’t seem to grasp – are serious.

Thousands of dollars in public money are in dispute. If it’s determined that the candidates or their supporters willfully or knowingly violated the law, they could be charged with a Class E crime, fined up to $10,000 and forced to repay the money they spent from the Clean Election Fund.

The intent of Maine’s Clean Election Act is to limit the impact money can have on the political process and to level the playing field for candidates not blessed with deep pockets or wealthy friends. It appears, in this case, the system of public financing has been abused.

If that’s the case, protecting the integrity of future elections demands a stern response. Naive candidates or not, excuses won’t cut it if the law’s been broken.