The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices voted 3-2 this morning to override its staff’s recommendation and proceed with an investigation into election improprieties on the part of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Stand for Marriage Maine PAC (SFMM).

Both groups are deeply involved in a highly contentious election campaign, reminiscent of California’s Prop 8, to eliminate marriage equality in the State of Maine. After both houses of the Maine legislature approved the state’s marriage equality law and it was signed into law by the governor, out of state groups led by the New Jersey-based National Organization for Marriage, Colorado’s Focus on the Family and the Knights of Columbus of Washington DC began demanding a referendum in Maine. Joined by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, these groups contributed a combined 99.999% of the money raised to fund Stand for Marriage Maine PAC.

Accusations of financial impropriety and of efforts by NOM to thwart campaign transparency laws by concealing donor information from the public were leveled by Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger, who both lodged formal complaints with the ethics commission and testified at today’s hearing in Augusta, Maine.

Karger, upon learning the commission would pursue an investigation, said this morning, “I’m extremely grateful for the courageous stand the commission took today.”

Letter’s filed by attorney’s representing both NOM and SFMM curiously deny guilt, while suggesting that if the anti-marriage-equality groups have violated election law in Maine, then the law must be unconstitutional. One of the letters reveals that NOM’s operating budget for 2009 is a cool $7 million. This financial revelation comes on top of the latest leak of another NOM 990 tax form that appeared at the Latter-Day Chino blog this morning.

According to a news blast from Californians Against Hate, NOM’s legal troubles aren’t limited to the investigation in Maine:

The State of Iowa is currently contemplating its own investigation, as a result of similar allegations against the National Organization for Marriage lodged by the state’s Interfaith Alliance Action Fund and One Iowa, into NOM’s independent expenditure of $86,060 to influence Iowa District 90’s special election.

Californians Against Hate founder Fred Karger has dogged large donors to California’s Prop 8 and initiated several successful boycotts of enterprises run by six-figure Prop 8 donors, including Hyatt hotelier Doug Manchester and self-storage tycoon Terry Caster. The Manchester boycott, said to have already cost the hotel magnate in excess of $7 million, recently gained the support of both Equality California and the Courage Campaign.

On the eve of this past Labor Day weekend, Karger was subpoenaed by the very same legal team — Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom — that is currently representing NOM and SFMM in Maine. Convinced that this new legal action is nothing more than an attempt to silence him, at The Huffington Post last week, Karger related the circuitous tale of how he came to be a citizen activist. A website, Five for Fred, and a Facebook cause have been set up to raise funds for Karger’s legal expenses.

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Earlier stories on NOM’s multi-state election meddling:

• Maggie the neighborhood bully
• Complaint filed against NOM in Iowa
• Maine ethics commission follow-up
• Brown versus Signorile
• NOM fails in attempt to buy Iowa election
• NOM challenged in Iowa
• Brian Brown’s mainly really bad day
• Maine election money-laundering alleged

Tags: Brian Brown, California, Californians Against Hate, Focus on the Family, Fred Karger, Iowa, Maggie Gallagher, Maine, NOM, Prop 8

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 7:26 pm and is filed under Places, Politics, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.