ALFRED — The Maine Attorney General’s Office is poised to bring criminal charges against former Maine House Rep. David Burns, R-Alfred, in the wake of findings by the state ethics commission that he violated Maine campaign finance laws.
“We anticipate initiating formal criminal charges against David R. Burns next week,” said Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for Attorney General William Schneider, Tuesday afternoon. She declined to elaborate.
Burns, of Alfred, tendered his resignation from the Legislature to House Speaker Robert Nutting in a telephone call Tuesday morning, said Nutting’s spokesman, Jim Cyr. It was announced via email from the speaker’s office at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The resignation took effect immediately.
“Earlier today, I spoke with David Burns of Alfred who informed me that he is resigning from his position as state representative, effective immediately,” Nutting said in a prepared statement Tuesday. “The announcement follows the completion of the Attorney General’s investigation into Burns’ alleged mishandling of Clean Election funds. I believe this is the appropriate step for him to take, as we Republicans insist our members maintain the highest ethical standards possible.”
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Burns said he wouldn’t be making any statements and referred questions to his attorney, Bill Logan, who did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
A first-term legislator, Burns represented House District 138, which includes Alfred, Limerick, Newfield and Shapleigh. Elected in November 2010, his term began in January 2011.
This past November, Burns was found guilty by the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices of violating eight Maine election finance laws, including falsifying records, misusing Clean Elections Act funds, making false statements, illegally mingling MCEA funds with personal funds, using funds not related to his campaign, mis-reporting expenditures, using campaign funds for personal use and using MCEA funds to pay for goods received prior to his certification as a MCEA candidate.
After their findings, the ethics commission referred the matter to the office of the Maine Attorney General.
Ethics commission Chairman Walter McKee, during the November hearing, called Burns’ actions “mind-boggling.”
“I certainly have never seen anything at this level in terms of severity,” said McKee at the hearing.
The ethics commission ordered Burns to repay about $2,300, which he has done, a spokesman said last month, but voted to hold off on assessing penalties until the attorney general’s investigation wrapped up.
Ethics commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne said such cases are “extremely rare,” but Burns is not the only legislator to run afoul of campaign finance laws.
According to the Associated Press, former Democratic legislator William Walcott of Lewiston was sentenced in 2008 to six months in jail after admitting he stole public campaign money during Maine House races in 2004 and 2006. A prosecutor at the time said it was the longest sentence for violating the public campaign finance law. Walcott resigned from the Legislature in 2007 during the probe of his campaign finances.
“I’m relieved to see that Rep. Burns finally resigned his seat after months of controversy around his abuse of Clean Elections funds,” said House Democratic Leader Emily Cain. “No lawmaker ”“ Republican or Democrat ”“ is above the law. We must be held to a higher standard and should not tolerate the abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
Cain Tuesday publicly called for Burns’ resignation just a couple of hours before Nutting announced Burns had resigned. Had he been a member of her caucus, she said, she would have asked him to resign when the ethics commission made its findings.
Nutting, the House speaker, saw it differently, preferring to wait until the attorney general’s investigation was complete, and took Cain to task for her words.
“Regrettably, Rep. Emily Cain, the leader of the minority House Democrats, issued a press release (Tuesday) morning, calling for Burns’ resignation before there had been a resolution to the matter,” said Nutting. “I felt it was more appropriate to proceed with the presumption of innocence for Rep. Burns while the investigation was ongoing.”
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
