LEWISTON – The man who ran for and lost the House seat vacated by William Walcott, the Lewiston legislator accused of campaign finance fraud, could be facing an ethics investigation of his own.

Because David Hughes of Lewiston hasn’t filed his Clean Election paperwork, the state doesn’t know where or how he spent the nearly $4,300 in taxpayer money he received through the Clean Election fund. Lacking that spending paper trail, the state’s ethics commission will meet Friday to decide whether to launch a formal investigation.

Hughes said he has “no good reason” for missing the Dec. 18 filing deadline, and he plans to file the required paperwork before the commission meets.

“Things just got hectic for me,” he said.

Maine’s Clean Election Act gives taxpayer money to candidates running for governor, state Senate and the House of Representatives, as long as those candidates accept very limited private contributions at the beginning of their campaigns and as long as they demonstrate community campaign support through fundraising. After the election, candidates must file paperwork showing they spent Clean Election money on their campaigns.

The commission said it reminded Hughes about that obligation on Nov. 13, more than a month before the deadline. Then a staff member called him Dec. 18 to remind him the filing deadline was that afternoon.

The commission said it contacted Hughes six more times, leaving a voice mail on Dec. 21, sending a certified letter, which Hughes signed for, on Dec. 28, sending another letter on Jan. 2, leaving two more voice mails in January and sending an e-mail Jan. 14.

When it still did not receive the requested paperwork, the commission placed the matter on its Friday meeting agenda.

Paul Lavin, ethics commission assistant director, said it’s “very uncommon” for candidates not to file paperwork. Of the 313 Clean Election candidates in 2006, only a few had issues because they didn’t spend all of their Clean Election money or because they spent it incorrectly. One of those was Walcott.

During the 2007 midterm special election to fill legislative seats that had become unexpectedly vacant, all 11 candidates received Clean Election money, Lavin said. Only Hughes has failed to return his paperwork.

Lavin is quick to point out that the commission isn’t accusing Hughes of misspending the money he received, though it also doesn’t have the paperwork it needs to say the money was spent correctly.

“We have no idea,” Lavin said. “Usually people file reports with us at least.”

Hughes faces mounting daily fines for failing to turn in his paperwork. It’s unclear how big that penalty will be since it’s based, in part, on Hughes’ financial activity.

Hughes said Tuesday he knows his paperwork is late and he’s prepared for the fine.

“The report just got lost in the shuffle,” he said. “There’s no excuse.”

Hughes said he was very close to 7-year-old Riley Davis, who was killed on Dec. 16 when he and two other children were using a flammable liquid to start a fire in a wood stove and the fire blew back on him. The boy’s unexpected death, Hughes said, was a shock that distracted him from campaign paperwork. A stay-at-home dad with two young children, he said he also had other things that dominated his attention.

“I’ll have the report filed before we meet on Friday,” he said.

Hughes, a Republican, lost the District 72 contest to Democrat Mike Carey.

Walcott recently pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including two counts of theft by deception, two counts of violating the Clean Election Act, two counts of misusing public property and three counts of making false reports.