LEWISTON – The Maine Democratic Party may be facing fines of up to $15,000 for failing to file a campaign expense report to the Maine ethics commission for money spent on behalf of Rep. Deborah Simpson, the Democratic candidate for state Senate District 15, within the time frame required.

The money was spent on two separate mailings, sent out in mid-September.

The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices will determine Monday what kind of action to take against the Maine Democratic Party, which is seeking a waiver of all fines.

“If someone owes (the commission) a campaign finance report and it is filed late, the way that election law works is, there is a preliminary amount that is calculated by the commission staff based on a formula,” said Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the ethics commission staff.

According to the formula, the total penalty for the Maine Democrats would be nearly $8,000, but the penalty is capped at $5,000.

In addition to the potential penalty for filing late, Maine Democrats could also face a fine of up to $10,000 because the late filing delayed the payment of matching funds to Simpson’s opponent, Republican state Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, by 20 days.

Wayne said the determination of whether to assess a fine and the amount of the possible fine is at the discretion of the commission.

Simpson and Snowe-Mello are clean elections candidates, which means they are entitled to matching funds if an outside group spends money on their opponent’s behalf. But the law’s language is technical when it comes to determining which expenditures trigger matching funds.

The Maine Democratic Party says the text of the mailings it approved would not have triggered matching funds.

“This is a vendor problem; it was an issue with the printer,” said Rebecca Pollard, spokeswoman for the Maine Democratic Party. The party is requesting a waiver of the fine, Pollard said. “The party approved and paid for an issue advocacy mail piece and then the vendor actually made a change to the text.”

Ourso Beychok Johnson, the Louisiana-based company specializing in political communications and direct mail that was hired by the Maine Democrats, issued a letter on Oct. 8 admitting to changing the language of the mailer.

“It was our intent to ‘make the mail better’ … we made the change at the last minute,” said Michael Beychok, president of the company, in the letter to Chuck Quintero of the Maine Senate Democratic Caucus.

Dan Billings, a lawyer working on behalf of the Maine Senate Republican Committee, the political action committee that brought the situation to the attention of the ethics commission, said no matter who made the error, the party is still responsible.

“I do find their explanation lacking,” Billings said. “The idea that a vendor would change content of a mailing after a final sign-off is hard to believe.”

Neither side disputes that the mailing fit the requirements that entitled Snowe-Mello to $13,194 in matching funds, which she received on Oct. 8. Neither side believes Snowe-Mello’s ability to campaign was significantly harmed by the delay in matching funds, because she still had sufficient time to spend the money effectively.

But Billings said he does not see any reason why the Democrats should not have to pay the $5,000 fee for filing a late report.

“Even if you accept everything they say as true, they are still responsible for the actions of their vendor,” he said.