AUGUSTA -- The state ethics commission voted Monday to require a state Senate candidate to reimburse the Maine Clean Election Act fund more than $2,000 for a series of purchases made using public money.

Those expenses -- a truck cap and roof rack, the mileage driven to buy those items, a Global Positioning System, and a cooler with electronic cooling and warming capabilities -- were deemed personal, not campaign-related, by the commission.

By a vote of 5-0, the commission ordered independent Senate candidate Dana Kadey of Princeton to pay back the money.

"From my own perspective, I don't think there was any intentional will to deceive us," commission Chairman Michael Friedman said. "I don't see any ill intent in your own mind. Being a businessman, you thought these were legitimate expenses."

Kadey, 62, told the commission he feared that, if he used his own money to buy the items, he would be violating the guidelines for participating in the state's campaign financing system.

When candidates enter the Clean Election program, they cannot spend any of their own money on campaign expenses.

So far, Kadey has received $21,005 in Maine Clean Election Act funds. He faces two opponents in November -- incumbent Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry, and Democrat Karen Johnson of Machias.

Kadey said he suffers from a disease called membranous nephropathy, which affects his kidneys. He said the medication he takes to treat the disease makes him tired, so he said he purchased the truck cap in order to lie down when needing a break from campaigning.

"It's like I run into a wall and need to lie down then -- not in 15 minutes, but then," he said.

The roof racks are necessary to transport his homemade signs, and the cooler keeps ice frozen so he can control his muscle spasms, he said.

The GPS keeps him from getting lost while traveling Senate District 29, which covers all of Washington County, and parts of Hancock and Penobscot counties, he said.

When he ran for office two years ago, he racked up extra miles because he could not find places in the district.

"So far this time, I have not been lost," he said.

Kadey said he is sometimes confused by the guidelines that govern Clean Election money.

Commission members said they understand the confusion, but that the items in question can be compared to a candidate who buys a suit to wear while campaigning. While the suit -- or these items -- may be used as part of the campaign, they are mostly personal in nature.

With regard to the GPS, commission member Edward Youngblood said that, in the future, the device may be compared to buying a computer for a campaign. When the campaign is over, candidates are required to sell the computer for fair market value, then return the money to the state.

Friedman said while the role of GPS may change in the future, the commission is taking a public stand against it now.

"This vote sends a message to the public and candidates that GPS is considered, at least initially, to be a personal expense," he said. "If a candidate wants to run the risk, they will be held to a higher standard."

Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne also asked permission to review some purchases Kadey made as part of his 2006 campaign, when he carried a 26-pound rock to protest high taxes.

The purchases in question include a backpack, a pup tent and professionally-made sign that said "Take this rock off my back."

Kadey, who describes himself as "blessed in the area of financial resources," said he viewed the expenses as small.

"Little things that amount to $2,000 or $3,000, it didn't mean much to me at the time, and it still doesn't," he said.

The commission voted to allow Wayne and his staff to gather more information on the 2006 expenses.

Susan Cover -- 621-5642

scover@centralmaine.com