AUGUSTA — A Wilton state representative pled guilty Tuesday to charges related to his application for Maine Clean Election Act funds.
Rep. Randall Hall, a Republican, pled guilty to one count of unsworn falsification and one count of criminal violations of the clean election act, according to the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.
Commission staff found 17 signatures “that appeared to be falsified on the forms,” according to a victim impact statement filed in court by the ethics commission.
Hall, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, successfully used the state’s clean election fund in three previous campaigns for office. His attorney, Josh Tardy, also did not return a call seeking comment on the case.
“The reasons for Mr. Hall’s actions in this case are still unclear,” Martha Currier, assistant director of the ethics commission said in the statement. “At best there might have been an effort to cut corners, or at worst, a nefarious action to defraud the public.”
Hall was sentenced to 48 hours in jail, to be served in a first-offender alternative sentencing program and 100 hours of community service, according to the ethics commission.
In a statement, House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) called for Hall to resign.
“Pleading guilty to violating election laws betrays the public trust,” Fecteau said. “Plain and simple.”
Fecteau said if Hall does not resign, he will refer the matter to the House Ethics Committee. Hall is in his final term in the House and is prevented from running for office again because of term limits.
