A Republican candidate for Oxford County sheriff who violated state ethics and election laws was fined $400.

Frank “Buddy” Blauvelt Jr. of Otisfield was found to have started shopping for campaign-related items prior to registering as a candidate, and he failed to file a 42-day pre-primary filing.

Blauvelt said he was made aware of the violations May 28 by Jonathan Wayne, executive director of the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.

Wayne told him that Sheriff Christopher Wainwright filed an ethics complaint against Blauvelt’s campaign.

Wainwright, of Dixfield, faces Blauvelt on Tuesday in the Republican primary for sheriff. A second challenger, Richard Gagne of West Paris, has dropped out of the primary.

The winner will face Democrat Timothy Holland, of Peru, and nonparty candidate Justin Brown, of Hartford, in the general election Nov. 3.

Blauvelt explained his actions in an open letter to residents of Oxford County following a brief hearing Monday in Augusta. He said he is new to politics and didn’t know he was violating the law.

“I realize that my ignorance of the law does not excuse the fact that I violated the law,” he said.

“I made mistakes due to my own lack of researching the process, took responsibility and paid the fines by the end of the day,” Blauvelt wrote in an email to the Sun Journal. “The hearing lasted about 20 minutes, there were no questions from the commission, they thanked me for being upfront, honest and taking responsibility, voted on the penalty and it was over.”