Maine Rep. Clinton Collamore Sr., D-Waldoboro, listens as his attorney Richard Elliott addresses a group of reporters after pleading not guilty to fraud charges at Lincoln County Superior Court on Thursday. Soon after, Collamore announced his resignation from the Maine Legislature. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

WISCASSET — A Maine lawmaker who pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he defrauded the state’s clean elections program announced that he is resigning from his seat.

Rep. Clinton Collamore Sr., D-Waldoboro, is charged with 20 counts of aggravated forgery, 11 counts of unsworn falsification and one count of violating the Maine Clean Election Act. He pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance in Lincoln County Superior Court on Thursday.

Collamore, who served as a selectman in Waldoboro before his election to the Maine House in November, spoke to reporters after his court appearance and chalked up the charges to mistakes he made as an inexperienced candidate. His attorney said Collamore filled in the signatures of donors after he neglected to get them to sign, but he did not intend to defraud the program.

“I’m not a career politician. This is all new to me,” Collamore told reporters. “I should have paid more attention to the rules.”

Collamore also said he will resign his seat and return to the state the salary he has collected since being sworn into office. He said he also would reimburse the more than $14,000 in public campaign funding he received.

“I’m really, really sorry,” he said.

Collamore has not attended a legislative session since Jan. 17, which was a week before news broke about his Dec. 15 indictment. He had not requested a formal leave of absence and resisted pressure to resign his seat, including from House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, who also took away his committee assignment.

Despite not being at the State House, Collamore received $6,860 in salary, a constituent services allowance and travel-related reimbursements since being sworn into office. He told reporters that his absence was because of health concerns related to stress since his indictment was made public last month, although he didn’t provide details.

His attorney, Richard Elliott, told reporters that Collamore did not intend to defraud anyone or break the law. He said his client had received small-dollar donations from supporters to qualify for the state’s clean election funds and filled out the paperwork at a later date, without having those donors sign the required form. He later filled in the forms and their signatures before submitting them to the state.

“He didn’t follow the rules well,” Elliott said.

Rep. Clinton Collamore Sr., D-Waldoboro, prepares to address the media after pleading not guilty to fraud charges at Lincoln County Superior Court on Thursday, when he also announced his resignation from the Maine Legislature. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Elliott said that improperly filled out forms accounted for less than half of the donations required to qualify for funding.

Staff at the Maine Ethics Commission, which enforces state campaign finance laws, said they believe Collamore forged more than 30 contributor signatures.

Collamore’s 42-page indictment accuses him of committing 20 counts of aggravated forgery, a Class B crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine; 11 counts of unsworn falsification (Class D); and one count of violating Maine’s Clean Election Act (Class E).

About 200 legislative candidates receive Clean Election Act funding each election year, the commission said.

To qualify, candidates must collect small-dollar qualifying contributions from at least 60 registered voters in their districts and submit them to the commission’s office by April 20 of the election year. A contributor must give $5 and sign a form affirming their contribution came from personal funds. Collamore’s lawyer said that his client submitted enough valid forms to qualify for funding and that those that were not properly filled out were less than half of the forms he submitted.

Collamore, a 62-year-old lobster fisherman and former machinist and union official at Bath Iron Works, represents the District 45 communities of Bremen, Friendship, Waldoboro and Washington.

Lawmakers are earning a total of $16,245 for this year’s legislative session and are paid biweekly over a six-month period. Collamore had been paid $6,860 in salary, a constituent services allowance and travel-related reimbursements since being sworn in, according to the Office of the Executive Director of the Legislature.

State officials said Thursday that they haven’t received Collamore’s formal resignation.

Once it is received, one of the towns in Collamore’s district will need to notify the governor of the vacancy and the governor will notify the Department of the Secretary of State. The secretary of state will consult with the governor’s office and set a date for a special election.

Political parties need to be given at least 15 days to choose candidates and state officials would require at least 45 days to get ballots to and from residents overseas and in the military.

That means it will be at least two months for a special election to fill the seat.

Staff Writer Randy Billings contributed to this story.