Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill must pay a $1,000 fine for violating campaign finance laws, according to a cease and desist letter from the Office of the Attorney General.
An investigation found that Liot Hill misused campaign funds by claiming personal items, like her car registration, clothing and a cleaning service, as campaign expenses. She also inadvertently used campaign funds to pay for things like urgent care, home heating oil and grocery store purchases, according to the letter sent last Wednesday by Brendan O’Donnell, senior assistant attorney general.
Liot Hill, whose district includes Concord and much of the western portion of the state, explained to the attorney general’s office that she thought those purchases counted as campaign-related expenses. She used the cleaning service after campaign events at her home, and she drove thousands of miles across the district in the car she registered with campaign funds while running for office last year.
O’Donnell said her assumption was wrong.
In addition to the fine, Liot Hill has agreed to reimburse the campaign for expenses deemed improper by the attorney general’s office.
“I used limited funds very efficiently to run a grassroots campaign, and I’m really proud of that,” Liot Hill said. “I am sorry that there were mistakes, and I have taken corrective action promptly and will continue to be in compliance.”
Liot Hill said she’ll defer to the attorney general’s office on its interpretation of the law, but she disagrees on some points; she thinks candidates should be able to expense clothing, for instance, to their campaigns.
“There’s no doubt that candidates need clothing to run their campaigns,” Liot Hill said. “I was on the campaign trail for 14 months straight… I literally wore out two pairs of boots. I had to purchase clothing to wear on the campaign trail, and that is, I think, a very reasonable campaign expense.”
The letter from O’Donnell also details that Liot Hill was inconsistent in using her campaign card for campaign expenses, sometimes using her personal card for those purchases.
O’Donnell recognized that the 2024 election was Liot Hill’s first time running for statewide office and handling campaign finance reporting requirements.
“However, you chose to run for executive council and to accept more than $100,000 in campaign contributions,” O’Donnell wrote. “Those decisions created an obligation for you to familiarize yourself with campaign finance requirements, ensure that your personal and campaign accounts were kept separate and ensure that no contributions were expended for personal subsistence.”
Liot Hill was not the only elected official to be fined late last week. Rep. Jason Osborne, the Republican majority leader from Auburn, was fined $2,000 and Rep. Joe Sweeney, the deputy majority leader from Salem, was fined $500. Both were penalized for overdue finance reports.
The Committee to Elect House Republicans, chaired by Osborne, was fined $1,500 for overdue and inaccurate reports.
