Maine’s ethic commission took a strong stand Thursday against corruption in state politics.

The commission fined two candidates and two consultants record amounts for their misdeeds during 2004. More importantly, the commission recognized the seriousness of the situation and handed the case over to the Attorney General’s Office for possible criminal charges.

Former candidate for the state Senate Julia St. James of Hartford was ordered to pay fines and restitution of $24,088. Former House candidate Sarah Trundy of Minot faces a $2,981 bill. Consultants Dan Rogers of Auburn and Jessica Larlee of Minot face fines of $17,700 and $15,500, respectively.

During their meeting, commissioners took staff-recommended fines and made them bigger. They also added the possibility of criminal charges.

Good. The four deserve to have the book thrown at them. Their actions undermine the state’s Clean Election Act, abused public trust and showed a fundamental disrespect for democracy.

According to the ethics commission, the four misused public money and did not maintain required campaign records. But the misdeeds really go further than that.

Hearings about the four’s actions uncovered that Trundy and St. James were token candidates at best, who got involved in election at the urging of Rogers and Larlee without any real intention of mounting credible campaigns.

The two candidates attracted public money that was essentially handed over to consultants for campaigns that existed only on paper.

In addition to his actions with St. James and Trundy, Rogers was also fined for preparing a fake political mailer in an attempt to discredit Biddeford Democrat Stephen Beaudette. The literature claimed that Beaudette had been endorsed by the Coalition for Homosexual Marriage in Maine. The group doesn’t exist.

What happened in 2004 goes beyond a simple failure to account for campaign spending or faulty record keeping. It was a scam designed to use the Clean Election Act to make money.

The Clean Election Act is intended to level the playing field for candidates seeking statewide office and to reduce the influence of money and fundraising on politicians. The law largely works. It was not intended as a welfare program for political hacks.

By hitting the offenders hard, the ethics commission makes an important statement that it will not tolerate candidates, campaigns or consultants who attempt to game the system. Tough penalties and high fines should be a deterrent to others who might be considering the same sort of activities.

The public, for the most part, has a healthy, built-in skepticism of politicians, and there are already too many doubts about the integrity of elections in the United States. If such shenanigans were allowed to go unchecked, that skepticism could turn into full-blown distrust, and maybe even hatred.

We talk about politics like it’s a game, spiced with sports metaphors aplenty. It’s not. It’s a serious business that has serious consequences – and serious punishment when the rules are broken.