LEWISTON — The state’s ethics commission declined Thursday to waive a $119 fine levied against the Lewiston Democratic City Committee for failing to file a campaign finance report on time.

According to a memo drafted by Jonathan Wayne, executive director for the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices, the committee was required to file its campaign finance report 11 days before the last general election, on Oct. 22, 2010. The report was required because the committee spent more than $1,500 during the calendar year on election-related activities.

The committee did not exceed that spending in 2009 and was not required to file a report, but did file a report in 2008.

About three weeks before the October deadline, according to Wayne, commission staff mailed a postcard reminder to Andrea Jermain, who was serving as the Lewiston committee’s treasurer, and to Stanley Pelletier, committee chairman.

The campaign finance report was filed Oct. 29, seven days after the deadline, and only after Jermain had called the commission on another topic. A fine of $119.14 was assessed for the late filing.

In December, Jermain filed a request to the commission to waive the fine “due to … mitigating circumstances.”

Jermain explained in her request for waiver that she had been elected in a special election in July to fill an opening for the treasurer’s position, and had asked “the committee and the previous treasurer what the time commitments, expectations and duties of the treasurer to be.” She was not apprised, she said, “of the need for campaign finance reporting at that time and was elected without” knowing about this requirement.

Additionally, she explained, she had no previous experience in finance reporting and “absolutely would not have accepted the nomination to this position had I known that I needed to submit campaign finance reports,” preferring instead to have had someone with more experience handle this paperwork required as treasurer.

Since she didn’t know about the requirement or deadline for filing the report, Jermain asked that the fine be waived and apologized for misunderstanding the reporting requirements. She also informed the commission that she intended to resign her position as treasurer with the Lewiston committee, “in hopes that someone with experience in campaign financing report(ing) will replace me.”

The commission reached the $119.14 fine using a formula based on the amount of financial activity during the filing period in 2010, the number of days late the report was filed, and the committee’s filing history. The penalty began accruing at 11:59 p.m. on the day the campaign finance report was due, and notice of the penalty was mailed to Jermain on Nov. 1, with a second notice mailed Dec. 17 threatening Jermain with a Class E misdemeanor charge for failing to pay the fine.

Her response to the commission and request for waiver was mailed four days later.

In the staff recommendation to the commission, Wayne points out that the penalty is against the Lewiston committee and not Jermain, and is not disproportionately high.

“We appreciate that communication within local party committees can be hampered due to turnover in the position of treasurer,” Wayne wrote, “in this instance, however, the postcards provided the committee with adequate notice of the filing deadline.”

The commission agreed and upheld the fine.

According to the campaign finance report filed by Jermain, the Lewiston committee received $1,133.50 in unitemized cash contributions in 2010, and spent a total of $1,702.33.

Of those expenditures, $160 was spent on radio advertising in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elizabeth Mitchell, $80.33 was spent to purchase lobster given away as a raffle prize, and the remainder of $1,462 was paid to the Androscoggin County Democratic Committee.

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