An anonymous letter received by some North Yarmouth residents sparked allegations of campaign finance statute violations.
Subject of the letter is Article 6, Referendum Question #5 to amend North Yarmouth Land Use Ordinance. Included is the question as it appears on the ballot with language explaining proposed changes encouraging voters to approve the measure.
Multiple residents posted copies of the letter to the community Facebook page criticizing it was unsigned. A repeated claim stated it was designed to confuse, tricking residents to believe it was sent from town hall or endorsed by the select board.
No town logo or official markings appeared on the correspondence.
Maine Ethics Commission responded, “Maine campaign finance law only covers towns of 15,000 or more people, or towns who have voluntarily decided to ‘opt in’ to being under our jurisdiction, and North Yarmouth is not in either of those groups, thus municipal ballot questions and referendums are not subject to Maine campaign finance law.”