Gov. Janet Mills has raised more than $250,000 to cover costs of her second inauguration set for Wednesday, according to a report released by her Transition and Inaugural Committee.

The governor received $256,445 in donations and has spent $24,671, the report said.

Gov. Janet Mills at the Blaine House in Augusta on Dec. 6, for her first extended interview since her convincing reelection win. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The governor’s pre-inauguration fundraising and spending report was filed with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices. The filing deadline was 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Mills will be sworn in for her second term on Jan. 4 at the Augusta Civic Center, and will give her address at around 7 p.m.

Among the biggest contributors to Mills’ 2023 inauguration were a health insurance company, a couple of law firms, and a paper company, according to the report.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield donated $10,000; Pierce Atwood of Portland, $10,000; Bernstein Shur of Augusta, $10,000; and ND Paper Inc. out of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, $20,000. ND Paper operates a paper mill in Old Town.

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Payments totaling $24,671 covered printing and postage expenses, legal services, and website development, according to the report.

Mills spent about $200,000 on her 2019 inauguration, which was also held at the Civic Center, but it took her campaign almost a year to settle up with the city-owned venue because the amount owed was $60,000 more than originally quoted.

The unexpected overage required the Mills campaign to conduct additional, post-deadline fundraising 10 months past the legal deadline to do so, which resulted in a $2,000 fine from the ethics commission under a 2015 law on inaugural finances.

Wednesday’s inauguration will feature original readings by Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bouwsma and poet Richard Blanco, who read a poem at the second inauguration of President Barack Obama nearly 10 years ago. The Pihcintu Multi-National Girls Choir of Portland and musician Dave Mallett will perform at 6:30 p.m. The Portland-based girls choir is composed of young immigrant women from more than a dozen countries.

Tuesday’s filing is required under a gubernatorial transition law passed by the Legislature in 2015, that allows the acceptance of donations to cover costs related to a governor-elect’s transition to office and inauguration. But the law requires anyone accepting such donations to establish a committee and appoint a treasurer to keep records of donations, as well as file a financial disclosure statement.

Tickets for Wednesday’s event are available online or by calling 207-358-9350 to reserve one to be picked up at will call. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis until the Civic Center’s capacity is reached.

An invitation-only inaugural celebration will take place Thursday from 7:00-10:00 p.m., also at the Civic Center.

Mills earned more votes than any governor in Maine history in her November victory over former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage. She is the first governor since 1970 to be elected with a clear majority for both terms in office.

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