Incumbent Oxford County Sheriff Chris Wainwright filed an ethics complaint against Republican primary challenger Frank Blauvelt Jr. last Thursday, accusing him of failing to comply with campaign filing and finance requirements by expending campaign funds prior to filing as a candidate.
“Monday I had a hearing regarding the attached response to an ethics complaint filed against me. I took full responsibility for me errors. Being new to this process and by my own fault, not properly researching the rules I made a mistake that resulted in 2 violations of the election laws,” said Blauvelt in a social media post.
“Hopefully you will all see this for what it was, and honest mistake by a rookie candidate who is guilty of 2 things. Making purchases prior to officially registering as a candidate, and filing those same purchases late. I admitted my guilt without question and had paid my fines before the end of the business day,” he added.
The Republican primary heated up when Wainwright, running for a third four-year term as Republican sheriff, filed an ethics complaint accusing Blauvelt of making $6,989 worth of campaign expenditures from October 2025 through January 2026, prior to registering as a candidate with the Maine Ethics Commission on January 14.
The expenditures were on printing equipment financed via loans from Blauvelt to his own campaign.
Blauvelt promptly admitted his failings and attributed it to ignorance of the specifics of campaign finance rules.
“I made no effort to hide, conceal, or otherwise disguise any of these purchases and fully disclosed them after being told that they were in violation,” he said in a letter to the Ethics Commission.
“I accept full responsibility for the violations and will immediately comply with whatever decision the commission comes to,” he added.
During a Monday hearing, the Ethics Commission unanimously assessed that Blauvelt registered late as a candidate, for which he was ordered to pay a $100 fine. The commission also assessed that he was late in filing his January 2026 semiannual finance report and voted unanimously to reduce that fine from $1,000 to $300.
Blauvelt said in his Facebook post that he paid both fines by the end of the business day on Monday.
The Maine Wire reached out by phone and email to both the incumbent and Blauvelt.
Blauvelt responded by reiterating his publicly released statement, but Wainwright did not immediately respond.
Blauvelt has a lengthy 30-year law enforcement career, beginning as a patrol deputy. He later moved to work in Border Patrol, before beginning his current role as a School Resource Officer with the Oxford Sheriff’s Department at Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram.
“There are many challenges to be met, and these are a few I will address promptly should I be elected,” Blauvelt told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
“The level of trust and confidence in the office from the public, other agencies, and even the county commissioners has suffered. This can only be rectified through a change in leadership, and I am qualified, willing, and excited to be an integral part of the change should you choose to elect me,” he added.
Wainwright has served as sheriff for eight years and has a 36-year career in law enforcement that began in the Oxford Sheriff’s Department when he was just 19.
During his time as sheriff, he has worked to restore the Oxford County Jail from a holding facility to a full-service jail.
“I joined the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office at 19, and over the past 36 years, I have gained a deep understanding of this agency, its responsibilities, and how best to serve the people of this county,” Wainwright told the Lewiston Sun Journal.
[RELATED: Mills Orders Hearings Over Request to Remove Oxford Sheriff for Alleged Misconduct…]
Wainwright has faced significant controversies during his time as sheriff. In 2024, the Oxford County Commissioners requested that Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) remove Wainwright from office.
The commissioners alleged that Wainwright pressured a deputy to show leniency to a personal acquaintance, appointed school resources officers without proper training and certification, and improperly sold firearms from evidence lockers.
After a hearing process, Gov. Mills declined to remove the sheriff from office.
A third Republican candidate, Richard Gagne, ended his campaign, though his name will remain on the ballot. He urged supporters to vote for either Wainwright or Blauvelt but did not endorse either candidate.
Wasn’t “ Blauvelt “ a villain in one of the James Bond movies ?