NO on 1 Calls for Full Campaign Disclosure

Slams Question 1 Campaign for Raising New Distortions, Hiding Donors

The NO on 1 campaign called on the Question 1 campaign to stop changing the subject and focus instead on its issues of lopsided funding by a national organization intent on hiding its donor base from the voting public.  In fact, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the number one donor to the Yes campaign is in court today to stop any donor disclosure.

The NO on 1 campaign noted that instead of answering those questions, the Yes campaign turned its attack guns on Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree.

"It is both ironic and insulting that the Yes on 1 campaign tries to attack a citizen legislator who fully discloses her livelihood on the very day their largest donor is in court to hide its fundraising base from the Maine voting public," said Jesse Connolly, NO on 1 campaign manager.  

According to Maine campaign finance reports, the Yes campaign has received more than $1.55M from the National Organization for Marriage which is essentially financing that campaign.  Today, NOM is in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent Maine campaign officials from asking them to reveal its individual contributors.  

Today, in another attempt to distract voters, the Yes campaign alleged that Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree did not disclose a short-term consultancy with the NO on 1 campaign.  In fact, Pingree serves as a citizen legislator and makes her livelihood as a professional fund raiser for causes and organizations she supports.  The NO on 1 campaign, operating on a full transparency basis both with Maine campaign officials and voters, revealed a $5,175 payment to Pingree on Oct. 7 in its latest campaign report.

"We engaged Hannah Pingree because she's a fundraising professional and she helped us for a short time," said Connolly.  "Now, they've launched yet another baseless attack which is simply to cover up the big story today, that their number one donor doesn't want anyone in Maine to know where their money comes from.  Do they honestly think we just fell off the turnip truck?"