Staff from the Maine Ethics Commission are recommending substantial fines and restitution against four politicians accused of abusing the Clean Election Act.

The financial punishment does not go far enough.

When the Maine Commission on Government Ethics and Election Practices convenes on Dec. 16, it should endorse the fines and refer the case to the attorney general with a recommendation for a criminal investigation.

The Ethics Commission has been investigating the 2004 campaigns of Julia St. James of Hartford and Sarah Trundy of Minot since June. During the lengthy investigation, it uncovered outrageous behavior by the two candidates and two political consultants involved in their races. St. James ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in District 14 and Trundy ran as a Green Independent Party candidate in House District 96. They were advised by Daniel Rogers of Auburn and Jessica Larlee of Minot.

All four face fines. The commission staff recommends that Rogers be fined $12,500; St. James, $12,000; Larlee, $5,500; and Trundy $500. In addition, St. James would have to repay $11,088 in state money she received for her campaign but was unable to properly account for.

The fines are substantial, but the staff’s findings leave little doubt about the seriousness of the violations. According to the staff report, Rogers and Larlee recruited St. James and Trundy, political novices, to run for office just so the consultants could have access to public money. Their actions constitute a “substantial breach of the public trust,” staff wrote.

In addition, the investigation uncovered that Rogers was involved in a political dirty trick during a Biddeford campaign. Rogers is accused of creating a fictitious group, the “Coalition for Homosexual Marriage in Maine,” and sending campaign material out under its name with the intent of hurting a candidate running for the State House. The stunt failed to have its intended impact on the election, but represents an ugly point in Maine politics.

The purpose of Maine’s Clean Election Act was to reduce the impact of big-money donations on campaigns for state office and to level the playing field for candidates of limited personal means. By financing elections with money that comes with no strings attached, candidates could run free from the influence and pressure of raising large sums of money.

The act was not designed, and should not be considered, public assistance for second-rate political consultants.

By forwarding its findings to the AG’s office, the Ethics Commission would show future candidates and the would-be king- and queen-makers hoping to advise them that the state takes clean elections seriously.

There’s a lot of nastiness that goes on in a typical campaign. Part of Maine’s Clean Election law is to hold candidates accountable for the things they say and do.

Accountability in this case means a criminal investigation.