MN GOP: "BILL LUTHER IS TAKING FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS FOR A RIDE"
Luther's political funds still flow
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Minnesota Democrat Bill Luther was not on the ballot for the U.S. House last year, but that didn't stop the former congressman from accepting $12,500 in donations and racking up $63,443 in bills for campaign office expenses, travel and gas for two pickup trucks.
Now two years out of office, Luther's spending is being questioned by Republicans and others who wonder how he could count the expenses as campaign costs when he mounted no campaign in 2003 or 2004.
"This situation clearly raises a lot of questions," said Larry Noble, former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and now executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks election spending. "It's not only unusual, it could be illegal."
Others say Luther's activity could be legitimate if he genuinely had an eye on the 2004 U.S. House race in Minnesota's Second District -- where he filed as a candidate in 2003 -- or even if he was laying the groundwork for a future House or Senate race.
"It's reasonable to think he was considering it," said Amy Kauffman, director of Hudson Institute's Project on Campaign and Election Laws. "A lot of people who are in office and lose it want to go back, and they're just waiting for the right moment."
While not ruling out another race, Luther said the expenses reflect an ongoing process of winding down campaign activities after 28 years in public life.
His political resumé includes four terms in Congress and two decades in the Minnesota Legislature.
"I have not been pursuing any kind of campaign," Luther said. "It's just a winding-down of expenses and campaign activities, liquidating property and stuff like that."
Minnesota Republicans, however, say they plan to challenge the campaign spending Luther reported since he filed federal candidacy papers in January 2003 -- two months after he lost his U.S. House seat.
"Bill Luther is taking federal campaign finance laws for a ride," Minnesota Republican Party spokesman Randy Wanke said.
Bills for truck upkeep
Luther's campaign spending included $5,852 in upkeep and repairs for a pair of pickup trucks, which he said he kept until the end of last year.
According to an analysis for the Star Tribune by Dwight L. Morris and Associates, a campaign consulting company, $1,316 of that money was for gas. That would pay for about 10,000 miles of travel over the past two years, depending on fuel costs and the vehicles' fuel efficiency.
Luther also expensed $1,995 for a trip to the Democratic National Convention in Boston last summer, according to FEC records.
Because Luther did not enter a House race last year -- and it became increasingly clear he was not a candidate for any office -- other campaign finance experts also have questioned his fundraising and spending.
"As far as the stink test goes, this goes well beyond it," said consultant Dwight Morris, who has a contract with the Star Tribune to analyze campaign data.
After Luther filed his statement of candidacy in January 2003, most political observers expected a rematch with Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who had unseated him in November 2002.
At the time, however, Luther said he filed as a candidate only to "consider different options."
Noble, the FEC's top lawyer from 1987 to 2000, said he believes that that's not sufficient to justify Luther's subsequent campaign fundraising and spending.
"The problem is it's supposed to be related to a specific election," he said. "You can't just have a committee under federal election law that is for the purpose of you running for some future election, when you're not specifying what the election is."
Kauffman disputes that interpretation, noting that while federal law pegs political contributions to specific races, it also allows candidates to roll over unused funds to new campaign organizations for subsequent races.
"I'm not saying I condone it, but I don't think he [Luther] is doing anything illegal," Kauffman said.
'A little odd'
Luther's most recent FEC reports, filed in September, show him with a campaign war chest of $73,451.
FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said Luther's ongoing campaign organization, which seems to exist only on paper, might seem "a little odd." But he said he doubts Luther will run afoul of the FEC as long as he reports all his disbursements and counts new contributions toward any race he eventually enters.
Luther's GOP critics are boring in on his spending, not his fundraising, which has been modest since he left office.
Almost all the donations he received came from a dozen individuals between April and July 2003, when he plausibly could have been considering a 2004 House race.
The Republicans also say they are inclined to accept Luther's contention that his trip to the Democratic convention was related to exploring a future candidacy. But they question his continued use of campaign vehicles.
"Not only is his personal use of a vehicle that was paid for with campaign funds inappropriate, we also believe that it may violate recent bipartisan campaign finance reforms," Wanke said.
Biersack said current law allows candidates to use campaign funds for any legitimate campaign-related expenses, generally defined as costs that wouldn't have been incurred but for their run for office.
Offices dismantled
Luther maintains that, if anything, he probably underestimated the personal costs he incurred for campaign-related transportation.
Much of the time he used the campaign pickup trucks, he said, he was moving office supplies and equipment between his former campaign office in Oakdale and his home in Brooklyn Park, as well as to and from storage units in Oakdale and Hastings.
He said he also used the trucks to close his former congressional district office in Woodbury.
He estimates that he drove much more than 10,000 miles in the past two years as he wrapped-up his old campaign -- and prepared for an unspecified political future.
The mystery surrounding Luther's intentions has spread to Washington, where conservative columnist Robert Novak recently mentioned him as a possible intra-party challenger to Sen. Mark Dayton next year.
Luther dismissed the report, saying he would never run against Dayton, one of several Democrats to whom Luther's campaign organization has contributed money.
Apart from that, Luther said, "I'm not ruling anything out." Source: Star Tribune, January 29, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Minnesota Democrat Bill Luther was not on the ballot for the U.S. House last year, but that didn't stop the former congressman from accepting $12,500 in donations and racking up $63,443 in bills for campaign office expenses, travel and gas for two pickup trucks.
Now two years out of office, Luther's spending is being questioned by Republicans and others who wonder how he could count the expenses as campaign costs when he mounted no campaign in 2003 or 2004.
"This situation clearly raises a lot of questions," said Larry Noble, former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and now executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks election spending. "It's not only unusual, it could be illegal."
Others say Luther's activity could be legitimate if he genuinely had an eye on the 2004 U.S. House race in Minnesota's Second District -- where he filed as a candidate in 2003 -- or even if he was laying the groundwork for a future House or Senate race.
"It's reasonable to think he was considering it," said Amy Kauffman, director of Hudson Institute's Project on Campaign and Election Laws. "A lot of people who are in office and lose it want to go back, and they're just waiting for the right moment."
While not ruling out another race, Luther said the expenses reflect an ongoing process of winding down campaign activities after 28 years in public life.
His political resumé includes four terms in Congress and two decades in the Minnesota Legislature.
"I have not been pursuing any kind of campaign," Luther said. "It's just a winding-down of expenses and campaign activities, liquidating property and stuff like that."
Minnesota Republicans, however, say they plan to challenge the campaign spending Luther reported since he filed federal candidacy papers in January 2003 -- two months after he lost his U.S. House seat.
"Bill Luther is taking federal campaign finance laws for a ride," Minnesota Republican Party spokesman Randy Wanke said.
Bills for truck upkeep
Luther's campaign spending included $5,852 in upkeep and repairs for a pair of pickup trucks, which he said he kept until the end of last year.
According to an analysis for the Star Tribune by Dwight L. Morris and Associates, a campaign consulting company, $1,316 of that money was for gas. That would pay for about 10,000 miles of travel over the past two years, depending on fuel costs and the vehicles' fuel efficiency.
Luther also expensed $1,995 for a trip to the Democratic National Convention in Boston last summer, according to FEC records.
Because Luther did not enter a House race last year -- and it became increasingly clear he was not a candidate for any office -- other campaign finance experts also have questioned his fundraising and spending.
"As far as the stink test goes, this goes well beyond it," said consultant Dwight Morris, who has a contract with the Star Tribune to analyze campaign data.
After Luther filed his statement of candidacy in January 2003, most political observers expected a rematch with Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., who had unseated him in November 2002.
At the time, however, Luther said he filed as a candidate only to "consider different options."
Noble, the FEC's top lawyer from 1987 to 2000, said he believes that that's not sufficient to justify Luther's subsequent campaign fundraising and spending.
"The problem is it's supposed to be related to a specific election," he said. "You can't just have a committee under federal election law that is for the purpose of you running for some future election, when you're not specifying what the election is."
Kauffman disputes that interpretation, noting that while federal law pegs political contributions to specific races, it also allows candidates to roll over unused funds to new campaign organizations for subsequent races.
"I'm not saying I condone it, but I don't think he [Luther] is doing anything illegal," Kauffman said.
'A little odd'
Luther's most recent FEC reports, filed in September, show him with a campaign war chest of $73,451.
FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said Luther's ongoing campaign organization, which seems to exist only on paper, might seem "a little odd." But he said he doubts Luther will run afoul of the FEC as long as he reports all his disbursements and counts new contributions toward any race he eventually enters.
Luther's GOP critics are boring in on his spending, not his fundraising, which has been modest since he left office.
Almost all the donations he received came from a dozen individuals between April and July 2003, when he plausibly could have been considering a 2004 House race.
The Republicans also say they are inclined to accept Luther's contention that his trip to the Democratic convention was related to exploring a future candidacy. But they question his continued use of campaign vehicles.
"Not only is his personal use of a vehicle that was paid for with campaign funds inappropriate, we also believe that it may violate recent bipartisan campaign finance reforms," Wanke said.
Biersack said current law allows candidates to use campaign funds for any legitimate campaign-related expenses, generally defined as costs that wouldn't have been incurred but for their run for office.
Offices dismantled
Luther maintains that, if anything, he probably underestimated the personal costs he incurred for campaign-related transportation.
Much of the time he used the campaign pickup trucks, he said, he was moving office supplies and equipment between his former campaign office in Oakdale and his home in Brooklyn Park, as well as to and from storage units in Oakdale and Hastings.
He said he also used the trucks to close his former congressional district office in Woodbury.
He estimates that he drove much more than 10,000 miles in the past two years as he wrapped-up his old campaign -- and prepared for an unspecified political future.
The mystery surrounding Luther's intentions has spread to Washington, where conservative columnist Robert Novak recently mentioned him as a possible intra-party challenger to Sen. Mark Dayton next year.
Luther dismissed the report, saying he would never run against Dayton, one of several Democrats to whom Luther's campaign organization has contributed money.
Apart from that, Luther said, "I'm not ruling anything out." Source: Star Tribune, January 29, 2005
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