An attorney for Gov. Paul LePage will once again appear in a Maine courtroom Tuesday to defend the Governor's decision to hold up more than $1 million in budgeted public campaign funding.
The lawsuit in superior court is brought by seven candidates in what's called the Maine Clean Election program. The taxpayer-financed program distributes payments to candidates who collect a set amount of five-dollar checks to qualify.
Supporters of voter-approved program say the Governor could single-handedly destroy it by refusing to sign a financial order that would release budgeted funds to 120 qualified legislative candidates and another running for the office of governor.
Patrick Strawbridge, LePage's attorney who is also representing the Governor in a lawsuit over a voter-approved Medicaid expansion law, argues that the courts can't decide when the governor should sign a financial order.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs say the Governor is not executing the law and putting clean election candidates at a disadvantage.
Originally published July 23, 2018 2:58 p.m.
