Kelliher to file letter with Campaign Finance Board admitting "mistake."

Posted at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2009 by Tom Scheck (1 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

DFL House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher says she will send a letter sent a letter to the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board today telling the board her campaign for governor made a mistake regarding donor contributions.

Kelliher said her campaign directed three donors to give to the DFL Party to help her pay for using the party's voter database, after getting party approval to do it. Party attorneys later said the donations were illegal and returned $1,500 in contributions to the donors. She said three people, Ruth Usem, Blanche Hawkins and Rich Ginsberg contributed $500 each to the party on Kelliher's behalf. Kelliher said Ginsberg, a lobbyist for several groups including the Mille Lacs Band of the Ojibwe and Hennepin County, already gave the maximum contribution of $500 to Kelliher's campaign.

Kelliher said she will accept any penalty the Campaign Finance Board imposes on her campaign.

"We have since corrected the mistake. And I take responsibility for not having gone to, you know, directly to an attorney from the beginning of this. That process has changed on our campaign from here on out."

Here's my interview with Kelliher: Listen

But that isn't enough for Minnesota Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton. He and the MNGOP filed a complaint today with the Campaign Finance Board asking them to investigate the situation.

"This scheme needs to be investigated and we think that it's important that we get to the bottom of this. I think that the speaker coming forward is the politically sensitive thing to do but this isn't over yet."

Here's Sutton's news conference: Listen

Meanwhile Republican state Representative Tom Emmer, who is also running for governor, wants Kelliher to step down as Speaker of the Minnesota House. Kelliher's spokesman in the Speaker's office hasn't returned a call regarding Emmer's statement. Kelliher's campaign manager says Kelliher will not step down as Speaker.

Comments (1)

I think the press is being way too kind about this. I have worked in political fundraising, the rules are clear. I am confident this was not an honest mistake, if you disagree with me read the manual at Minnesota's Campaign Finance Board. I am confident that anyone reading the free, easily accessible manual that guides the process would agree this is not an honest mistake.

Posted by Jill Johnson | December 11, 2009 12:44 PM

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