Madia volunteer caught removing Paulsen signs

Posted at 10:09 PM on September 27, 2008 by Tom Scheck (8 Comments)

A volunteer for DFLer Ashwin Madia's campaign (and a spouse to a Madia staffer) is caught on video removing Erik Paulsen signs. Watch the video here (it was shot by a member of the Paulsen campaign and MDE's Michael Brodkorb who is consulting for the Paulsen campaign.

Madia and Paulsen are running in what has become a rough and tumble contest in Minnesota's 3rd District.

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Comments (8)

It was clearly a set-up. I'm amazed the media kept reporting on Brodkorb's side of the story. Here's my understanding of it:

http://flickr.com/photos/s4xton/2890470306/

-Aaron

Posted by Aaron | September 28, 2008 8:37 AM

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Let us examine this. For weeks in his blog Michael Brodkorb has subjected readers to screaming headlines such as: “LAWN SIGN VANDALS STRIKE AGAIN!” and accusatory commentary such as: “the theft of Paulsen lawn signs.” Then this Eagan blogger and Paulsen consultant simply HAPPENED to be hungry and HAPPENED to be engaged in conversation in a Perkins restaurant near Ashwin Madia’s office (which HAPPENS to be a really long way from Eagan) with a friend that HAPPENED to be wearing a reflective vest easily seen in a night video and this blogger HAPPENED to be carrying a video camera which he states in his blog he always carries when out and about (I know I always HAPPEN to carry at least one video camera with me at all times…doesn’t everyone?) and he HAPPENED to see a Madia volunteer removing a sign in a public right of way. It is Ugly Pants night in Maple Grove and we all know who HAPPENS to be wearing them. Can we PULEASE get back to talking about issues instead of prepubescent GOTCHAS!

Posted by DeeAnn Christensen | September 28, 2008 9:55 AM

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Dumb thing to do by the Madia volunteer, but I do agree with you Aaron...more than slightly supicious that Brodkorb and his reflectorized buddy would just happen to be at a Perkins less than a block from Madia's HQ. Since Perkins doesn't o.k. putting signs on their property and there isn't any private property on that side of Hemlock, why were those signs put there?

Posted by rainman | September 28, 2008 4:43 PM

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Why aren't the media reporting that the signs were illegally placed in the right-of-way? In other words, the signs were littering public property. Why wouldn't someone pick them up like so much litter? And why not report that fact?

Posted by George Hayduke | September 29, 2008 6:58 AM

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Political Signs are the property of the Campaign.
If you take the sign, regardless of where they are placed it is theft.

And this wasn't just a volunteer, this was the wife of Madia communications director Dan Pollock who was caught stealing and trying to destroy the signs.

Why is it that the DFL think they get to commit crimes if they think someone else is wrong.

Such as Bush lied so I get to destroy the front of the Macy's in St. Paul.

If the communications director for Madia thinks a sign is in the wrong place, you call they city - you don't send your wife out to steal the signs.

If I see a car in a no parking zone, I don't get to steal the car, I call the cops - same here.

Posted by Sam | September 29, 2008 10:29 AM

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It is illegal for a member of a campaign to remove another candidates signs. A campaign communication director's wife would certainly know that. If they think they are placed illegally, the thing to do is call the police to check it out and have them removed so the other campaign can pick up their property.

The Madia campaign will clearly do anything or say anything no matter how off the wall it is to get elected.

Posted by Bob Weideman | September 29, 2008 10:51 AM

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Information the public and all campaigns should be aware of, how legally address the issue of campaign lawn signs in prohibited locations:

ex:

Complaint: Location of signs: On CORPORATE property

Regulated by statute: MS 211B.15

Contact: Office of Administrative Hearings 651-361-7837
www.oah.state.mn.us

Choose: Information – Fair Campaign Process page (there is a complaint form there)

http://www.oah.state.mn.us/faircampaign/faircampaign.html

Posted by eb | September 29, 2008 3:50 PM

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I wouldn't assume that the spouse of a campaign employee would know the ins and outs of campaign laws. It could be that she saw the signs on public property and thought she could deal with them as you would any other piece of litter or debris on public property.

Regardless of whether she was right or wrong, it seems like the greater issue is the time, money, and false outrage spent by the Paulson campaign trying to trap Madia volunteers.

So what's worse, a premeditated attempt by a Paulson consultant to entrap volunteers solely for the sake of scoring cheap political points or a 'crime' of passion when a volunteer removes a sign that shouldn't be there in the first place?

Maybe the worst part is how the media refuses to cover both sides of this 'story,' or that they cover it at all instead of something actually important.

Posted by tkp | September 30, 2008 3:20 PM

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