By David Farmer,Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – Using strong words and making big allegations, the chairman of the state Democratic Party tried Tuesday to implicate independent gubernatorial candidate Barbara Merrill and state Republicans in a conspiracy to “defraud” taxpayers of up to $1.2 million in public financing for her campaign.

While documentation provided by Democrats show that at least 45 Republican state lawmakers made $5 qualifying contributions to Merrill’s efforts, no evidence of illegality was offered and party Chairman Ben Dudley said there are no plans to file a complaint with the ethics commission based on the information.

At least three current Democratic lawmakers also made contributions.

Tuesday marked the second consecutive day that the Democratic Party has questioned Merrill’s methods of qualifying for public financing of her campaign. On Monday, the party filed a complaint with the ethics commission alleging that state Sen. Chandler Woodcock, the Republican nominee for governor, and Merrill traded qualifying contributions as part of a potentially illegal quid pro quo.

To qualify for public financing for a gubernatorial campaign, candidates must collect at least 2,500 $5 qualifying contributions to the Maine Clean Election Fund from registered voters. According to disclosure records filed by the Merrill campaign with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, 45 Republican state lawmakers contributed on her behalf.

Among those, seven contributions were made on May 22, 19 on May 23 and another 12 on May 24, just days before the June 2 deadline for Merrill to qualify.

“We’ve discovered that it appears that Merrill, Woodcock and 45 Republican legislators coordinated to defraud Maine people out of potentially $1.2 million – $1.2 million that clearly will be used in negative attacks against Gov. (John) Baldacci and Democrats,” Dudley said.

“Many of these Republicans, apparently 19 of them, actually oppose the Clean Elections Act itself” and voted to repeal it in the last legislative session, Dudley said. “This appears to be a violation of the public trust.”

Dudley said the contributions fly in the spirit of the Maine Clean Election Act, but that he didn’t see them as being illegal.

Releasing the information, Dudley said, is intended to allow the facts to be “tried in the court of public opinion,” not to disqualify Merrill from receiving public financing.

“It certainly appears to us that they were scheming and gaming the system in order to get more money that would be used against Gov. Baldacci and Democrats,” Dudley said.

Merrill, a one-term state representative from Appleton and a former Democrat, responded to the allegations as she filed her own ethics complaint against the Maine Democratic Party later Tuesday. Merrill is seeking an investigation into a Democratic Party poll that she describes as illegal.

“Two weeks ago, John Baldacci’s folks were conducting a push poll, a negative push poll, suggesting that my husband, a former Democrat, was calling the shots in my campaign,” Merrill said. “Now, they’re suggesting that Chandler Woodcock is the man behind the screen. I think it’s high time that John Baldacci and his boys recognize that a woman is perfectly capable of not just running for governor of the state of Maine, but being governor.”

In addition to the 45 Republicans, Merrill also received qualifying contributions from Democratic state Reps. Stan Moody of Manchester, Charles Crosby of Topsham, and Marilyn Canavan of Waterville. Wilton independent Tom Saviello also contributed.

“It doesn’t mean that Marilyn Canavan or Stan Moody are going to support my campaign,” Merrill said. “They gave contributions because I asked them, and they support clean elections.”

Canavan, a former executive director of the ethics commission, said she contributed to Merrill because of the candidate’s work on a mental health parity bill as a lobbyist.

“When Barbara asked for a $5 contribution, I gave it to her,” Canavan said.

“I have to say that my support is for Gov. Baldacci, and I have made substantially larger contributions to his campaign. People give contributions for different reasons,” she said. “I’m still grateful for the work she did, but I firmly support Gov. Baldacci.”

Three Republican lawmakers identified as contributors told similar stories.

State Rep. Thomas Shields, R-Auburn, gave to Merrill. Reached by telephone Tuesday, he laughed at the allegations of a coordinated effort by Republicans, saying that he was “astonished” by the claim and that the Democratic Party and Baldacci were “grasping at straws” trying to cover up their record in office.

“She’s a friend of mine,” Shields said. “It was a gesture of goodwill.”

“In our caucus, we say you vote your conscience,” Shields said.

Shields, who has twice run publicly financed campaigns, described the law: “It’s legal for a Maine registered voter to give a $5 contribution. … The law allows a lot of good people to run who might otherwise not be able to.”

Rep. Joan Bryant-Deschenes, R-Turner, also said there was no coordinated effort by Republicans.

“I’ve worked with Barbara on some legislation,” Bryant-Deschenes said, “and she came to me and asked for a contribution. It’s something I did as a private citizen.”

Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, said he gave a contribution to all the gubernatorial candidates he knew who were seeking public financing, including state Sen. Peter Mills, R-Skowhegan, Woodcock and Merrill.

“I thought they were all good candidates,” Flood said.

All three denied any organized effort by the Republican Party to support Merrill.

Messages left with a number of other lawmakers identified as supporting Merrill’s bid for public financing were not returned Tuesday.

“What I’ve said over and over and over again is that the Republican Party isn’t going to go away, that the Democratic Party isn’t going to go away,” Merrill said. “An independent candidacy is all about attracting people from the parties as well as the people who have chosen not to participate in the parties. And I’m really proud that I’ve collected contributions from independents, Republicans, Democrats and Greens.”