People › State House
Gerry Runte D
State Representative, District 146
On the November ballot: State House District 146 (York)
June 9 primary for State House District 146 (Democratic): won, 1,666 votes (100%)
Findings
Prompts to look closer at the public records, each with the rule and the law it rests on. None is a finding of wrongdoing. All findings
Worth a look Ethics Commission
Before the Ethics Commission (2025-01-29): Request for Penalty Waiver – Hon. Walter Runte
Rep. Walter Runte, a candidate for the Maine House, was required to file a 24-Hour Report on October 25, 2024. His treasurer, Michelle Marean, filed the report on December 20, 2024. Rep. Runte requests a waiver of a preliminary penalty of $1,275.55. In the waiver request, Rep. Runte stated he did not understand that a 24-Hour Report was due when he obligated himself to pay for a postcard mailing. Staff recommendation: the Commission staff recommends reducing the penalty to $300. The motion: “To find the report was filed late and reduce the penalty to $300” Vote: 5-0.
What to check- The Commission's decision, in the motion and the minutes
The Commission's meeting of 2025-01-29The staff memo
Rule: Late-filing penalty before the Ethics Commission
“A campaign finance report is not timely filed unless a properly signed or electronically submitted copy of the report, substantially conforming to the disclosure requirements of this subchapter, is received by the commission by 11:59 p.m. on the date it is due.”21-A MRSA §1020-A(2) ✓ quoted from the saved copy · how this rule works
In the Legislature
House District 146 · 131st Legislature (2023–24), 132nd Legislature (2025–26) · 1,235 recorded votes, 2% not voting
Bills they sponsored: 11 (7 became law) — LD 186, LD 1270, LD 1619, LD 1726, LD 2112, LD 2113, LD 519, LD 542, LD 524, LD 2172, LD 2266
Named in lobbyists' reports
Events and spending on officials that lobbyists reported to the Ethics Commission since 2024 and whose list of officials names Gerry Runte: 4 from 4 clients. The cost is the whole event's or item's, shared by everyone it names, not what was spent on them.
| Client (lobbyist) | What, when | Cost (all named) |
|---|
Maine State Chamber of Commerce
Linda Caprara | Event: Energy Summit · November 2025 · names 8 members | $8,765 |
Maine Renewable Energy Association
Eliza Donoghue | Event: Maine Renewable Energy Association Annual Meeting - Dinner, Speakers Panel, Attended by MREA Members, Allies, and Some Officials · February 2024 · names 5 members | $18,853.75 |
Maine Center for Economic Policy
Maura Pillsbury | Event: lunchtime briefing · February 2024 · names 25 members | $589.08 |
Appalachian Mountain Club
Elizabeth Townsend | Event: Informational reception · January 2024 · names 24 members | $1,501.24 |
Matched by name and title (“Rep. Bell”, “Senator Brad Farrin”); a name that fits two members isn't counted. Check the reports on the lobbying system.
Campaign money: Representative · Clean Election
$8,950raised to date (the Commission's list, October 17, 2026); $851 spent
$0itemized in 2026, 0 contributions
$8,950Clean Election funding paid this year
$0from the candidate (incl. loans)
$8,099cash on hand on September 15, 2026 (42 Day Pre General Mcea Report)
How it was spent: $851
Palm cards, signs, stickers$750
Postage$101
Largest payees: Frame Media Strategies LLC $825 Palm cards, signs, stickers · US Postal Service $26 Postage
Payments in 2026, by the Ethics Commission's expenditure codes.
| Top contributors | Type | Total |
|---|
Runte JR, Walter on the Ethics Commission's campaign finance search. Itemized transactions: 2026 from the Commission's files as posted October 17, 2026, and 2025 from the campaign's own reports.