Staff for the Maine Ethics Commission are not recommending an investigation into an assortment of allegations made by a Republican lawmaker and a conservative website against Democratic Senate President Troy Jackson.
Republican Rep. John Andrews, of Paris, alleged that Jackson provided false information to the agency about his residency in Allagash because he and his partner had purchased a home in Augusta in 2019.
Jackson called the complaint a partisan attack and he compared the home purchase to long-term rentals or hotel stays that are common with legislators who reside in rural districts far from the State House.
He also noted that he votes in Allagash, pays taxes there and that his family and children still live there.
While ethics staff acknowledge in their preliminary report that they haven't conducted a fact-finding probe, they write that Jackson's explanation appears plausible and consistent with guidance from the Attorney General's office.
Ethics staffers also wrote that they don’t have jurisdiction to tackle Andrews' other allegations about Jackson's travel reimbursement or information he gave to obtain the home loan insured by the Federal Housing Authority.
Their recommendation is not the final word on the issue. That falls to the commission, which will take up the matter next week.
