Dark money and blurred alliances drum up resistance to CMP power line project
In political campaigns, outside interests commonly masquerade as grass-roots organizations in an effort to gain local support. Campaign finance rules also have made it hard to know where the money’s coming from.
That trend now is reaching Maine energy politics in the fight over the New England Clean Energy Connect proposal, even though there’s no mention of the project on the November ballot.
Opposition is growing to the plan for Central Maine Power and its parent company, Avangrid, to build a $1 billion corridor through 145 miles of Maine forestland to connect hydro resources in Canada with Massachusetts. But dark money and opaque alliances are making it difficult to determine who some of the opponents really are.