Gay rights campaign costs filed

[kweerwolf]

Gay rights supporters far outspent their opponents in the final days of the Question 1 campaign, according to post-election finance reports filed Tuesday.

Maine Won't Discriminate, the group that successfully derailed the Nov. 8 attempt to repeal the state's gay rights law, raised about $200,000 and spent more than $300,000 between Oct. 28 and Dec. 13, according to filings with the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.

That brought the cost of their campaign to about $1.1 million - nearly three times that of those trying to repeal the new law, which extends the state's anti-discrimination statute to gays and lesbians in areas including housing, employment and education.

Maine Won't Discriminate's final financial push included an extensive television advertising buy and phone-banking operation designed to mobilize voters - particularly those on college campuses, according to Patricia Peard, the group's treasurer.

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