DFL raising second issue against Chaudhary

Posted at 12:04 PM on June 4, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: Campaign 2010, MN Legislature

A local DFL official says he's looking into a second issue that could cost state Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, his party endorsement.

Chaudhary is already under fire for his end of session push to restrict fishing on a lake where he owns a cabin. A Senate ethics panel ruled Wednesday 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.

Senate District 50 DFL leaders will vote later this month on whether to strip Chaudhary's endorsement. They will consider the fish flap, but they'll also consider the senator's backing of an unendorsed DFL candidate.

William Krueger, the local DFL party chairman, said Chaudhary's continued public support of Mark Dayton for governor is grounds for revoking his endorsement. Dayton is challenging the party's endorsed candidate, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, in the Aug. 10 primary.

Here's the party bylaw Krueger pointed to:

If a candidate who has been endorsed by a unit of the DFL Party gives personal endorsement, financial assistance, or other public support or public assistance to any candidate running against a DFL-endorsed candidate for any public office, or engages in any other act of malfeasance or nonfeasance, the central committee of the unit that endorsed that candidate may revoke the endorsement by a two-thirds majority vote of the members eligible to vote, following the procedures in the Bylaw under Article III, Section 17.

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