Capitol View: June 17, 2010 Archive

State GOP taking new tack in Horner flap

Posted at 1:55 PM on June 17, 2010 by Tim Pugmire (4 Comments)
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

The state Republican party is taking a new approach to its allegation that Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner received an illegal campaign contribution.

GOP officials filed a complaint today with the Office of Administrative Hearings
claiming Horner colluded with pollster Bill Morris and his Minneapolis-based research company Decision Resources Ltd. The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board declined to investigate the same complaint last week because the issue did not fall under its jurisdiction.

Michael Brodkorb, deputy chairman of the state GOP, continues to allege that Horner received poll information from his former business associate well before the information had been made public.

"It's pretty clear to us, based on the evidence, that the campaign solicited and received a corporate contribution, and also that the campaign failed to be reimbursed or pay for any portion of the poll they received."

If an administrative law judge decides the GOP complaint has merit, the matter could be the subject of a hearing within a few days.

Horner's campaign manager, Stephen Imholte, said he was waiting to comment until after he had a chance to discuss the complaint with the campaign's attorney.

UPDATE

Horner campaign spokeswoman Marti Jones released this statement:

Today's filing by the state Republican Party is bogus and a waste of tax payer's dollars. This claim is yet again another desperate, false tactic to draw attention away from the issues because their candidate will not address the needs of Minnesota. The Horner campaign looks forward to addressing substantive issues with the Republican Party.

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Chaudhary fighting to keep endorsement

Posted at 2:57 PM on June 17, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature

State Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, is trying to stop local party leaders from taking a vote to rescind their earlier endorsement of his re-election bid.

Chaudhary recently sent e-mails to DFL Central Committee members in Senate District 50 asking them to prevent the endorsement from being revisited. The committee is scheduled to meet June 28.

"In my view, undoing the collective judgment of an entire Senate District convention, based on an already settled issue, would cause harm to the entire DFL effort," Chaudhary wrote. "So let's cast aside our divisions, and unite around the values we have always shared."

The incumbent legislator has been taking heat over his efforts near the end of the 2010 legislative session to pass new fishing rules for a lake where he owns a cabin. Earlier this month a Minnesota Senate ethics panel ruled that Chaudhary's actions violated the "accepted norms of Senate behavior" and threatened "public confidence" in the Legislature. But members of the bipartisan subcommittee concluded that Chaudhary did not have a conflict of interest.

Former state representative Barb Goodwin of Columbia Heights is challenging Chaudhary in the DFL primary on Aug. 10.

Here's the e-mail:

Dear Central Committee,

Satveer

Building and Trades to back Kelliher

Posted at 4:36 PM on June 17, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: Campaign 2010, Campaign 2010: Minnesota Governor

The Minnesota Building and Trades union will back Democrat Margaret Anderson Kelliher's campaign for governor at a Friday news conference, according to a person with knowledge of the endorsement. The union, which initially backed DFL state Sen. Tom Bakk, has stayed on the sidelines during the DFL endorsement.

Kelliher has been picking up plenty of union endorsements over the past few weeks. With the support of the Building and Trades, Kelliher is being backed by 13 different unions.

Democrat Mark Dayton also has support from several unions including AFSCME Council 5, the United Steel Workers and the Teamsters.