PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Republican Gov. Paul LePage is defending his refusal to release over $1 million in overdue public campaign funds to more than 120 legislative candidates and one gubernatorial hopeful.
LePage and his finance chief Alec Porteous argued in briefs Friday that courts can’t decide whether a governor should sign a financial order.
Several publicly financed candidates and an advocacy group are suing LePage and Porteous for refusing to sign routine financial orders this spring to release the money due through June. They argued LePage is curtailing political speech at the height of an election cycle.
Their lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order releasing the money.
In a separate issue, public funding to candidates after July 1 also remains on hold because lawmakers haven’t fixed an error in Maine’s budget.
Paul LePage is defending his refusal to release over $1 million in overdue public campaign funds to more than 120 legislative candidates and one gubernatorial hopeful.
