Watchdog asked to look into Ritchie allegations

St. Paul, Minn. (AP) — A Republican who got a campaign solicitation from Democratic Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has filed a formal complaint with state campaign regulators.

John Tomczak asks the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to investigate the Ritchie campaign's alleged use of an e-mail list collected during official business.

Tomczak says he and a colleague provided their e-mail addresses during a meeting on civic education at the Secretary of State's office, and later received a campaign message from Ritchie that included a request for contributions.

His complaint accuses Ritchie of illegal use of government resources for a campaign.

Tomczak says he submitted the complaint on Friday.

A spokesman for the Secretary of State's office referred questions to Ritchie's campaign office, which didn't immediately respond to an e-mail message.