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ENTENZA-QUAM CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER INVESTIGATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA
By Michael B. Brodkorb | August 28, 2006
Democratic PACs might have broken law
The secretary of state's office has forwarded possible evidence to Attorney General Larry Long that at least two Democratic political action committees failed to report $55,000 in contributions from an out-of-state donor.
"We have turned all of that over to the AG," Secretary of State Chris Nelson said.
Long said last week he can't confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
But Nelson said his office forwarded items to the attorney general indicating that South Dakota PACs might have violated the state's campaign-finance law by not reporting the contributions.
Nelson didn't name the PACs, but he did say they are related to a controversy surrounding contributions made by the wife of a prominent Democratic politician in Minnesota.
Nelson's office began looking into the matter in July after news reports in Minnesota linked the political contributions of Lois Quam, a wealthy businesswoman there, to at least two Democratic-controlled political action committees in South Dakota.
The contributions, made in 2003, were allegedly funneled through the PACs to the South Dakota Democratic Party. The state party then sent most of the money back to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota. Documents faxed anonymously to Minnesota reporters purportedly show that the money ended up in a DFL campaign committee controlled by Matt Entenza, Quam's husband.
Entenza is the minority leader in the Minnesota House. Last month, he withdrew from the Minnesota attorney general's race after admitting to hiring a firm to research Mike Hatch, Minnesota's current attorney general and a DFL candidate in this year's governor's race.
The South Dakota inquiry focuses on what happened to the checks allegedly written by Quam. Nelson said the checks aren't reflected on the finance reports that PACs are required to file with the state.
Nelson declined to say how many PACs were involved.
Quam reportedly wrote a check for $30,000 to a PAC controlled by Bret Healy, the former executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party. Another check for $25,000 allegedly was written days later to a PAC controlled by Debra Elofson.
Elofson currently serves as the legislative director for state Democrats.
The PACs didn't report the checks in their year-end reports. Elofson did not return a call left at the party's office in Sioux Falls on Wednesday.
Healy said the checks were deposited into a separate account and reported on another PAC report.
"It's much ado about nothing," he said.
When asked how checks written to two PACs ended up in the account of a third PAC, Healy said, "The reality is, if you go deposit something at a bank, it processes pretty easily."
Healy identified the third PAC as the South Dakota Legislative Leadership PAC. A review of secretary of state records found a similar PAC called the South Dakota Leadership PAC, but no reports exist for the entity before 2004.
The South Dakota Democratic State House Fund, another PAC, did report $45,000 in contributions from Quam in 2003. But it isn't clear if that $45,000 was a separate contribution.
Quam could not be reached for comment.
Jason Schulte, the current executive director of the South Dakota Democrats, said the contribution predates his arrival at the party.
State political parties "routinely transfer different types of money to each other to maximize resources," Schulte said.
"This is a question as to whether or not those two PACs accurately reported income," he said. "To the best of my knowledge, the state Democratic Party reported all of its activity accurately."
In Minnesota, campaign-finance complaints are handled by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board, a six-member board that has the power to investigate and punish violators.
Executive Director Jeanne Olson said Tuesday that she's barred from confirming or denying the existence of a complaint. She did say all complaints are investigated and that the board issues a public decision about each complaint.
"When a complaint is filed, we have to issue findings concerning probable cause," Olson said.
Decisions aren't available until 24 hours after they're issued, she said.
Earlier this month, the board fined Entenza $28,105 for violating Minnesota campaign-finance limits last year.
Both Entenza and Quam have ties to South Dakota. Entenza attended Augustana College, and the two have contributed thousands of dollars to South Dakota Democrats during the past few years, according to federal campaign reports. Source: Argus Leader, August 28, 2006
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14 Responses to “ENTENZA-QUAM CONTRIBUTIONS UNDER INVESTIGATION IN SOUTH DAKOTA”
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August 28th, 2006 at 9:50 PM
MDE: you stirred up a hornet’s nest in South Dakota with your findings. The Healy mentioned in the story is the former executive director of the Democratic Party in SD and is very close to Tom Daschle. It is said that the Daschle gang pushed these large-scale contributions which were shuffled around like it was a Wall Street hedge fund. They say that the Attorney General is aggressively purusing this case and that Healy and other prominent SD Democrats likely face some big problems. Anonymous in Aberdeen.
August 28th, 2006 at 9:53 PM
Ahhh, didn’t ya just know this was coming? Perp walkin’ is becoming the “in thing” for Democraps these days.
August 29th, 2006 at 6:27 AM
Have you noticed all the usual DFL defenders have been pretty quiet about this? Hmmm….
August 29th, 2006 at 7:07 AM
Raving, we’re all waiting for you to insert a “just because they did it doesn’t mean they’re guilty” comment.
August 29th, 2006 at 7:17 AM
“MDE: you stirred up a hornet’s nest in South Dakota with your findings.”
Perhaps the name of the blog should be changed to “Minnesota and South Dakota Democrats Exposed.”
August 29th, 2006 at 11:14 AM
Surprise,surprise ! Michael, with the recent STRIB interest once again in campaign financing
I’ll be waiting for them to do an in depth examination of how the DFL HAS BEEN GAMING the
very ELECTION laws they have passed over the past
5 or 6 TWO YEAR CYCLES ! OH! I GUESS I’LL have to
have you do it, because the STRIB would have to embarrass THEIR CLIENT THE DFL !!
August 29th, 2006 at 11:22 AM
Hannah? Ohhh, Hannah!! DFL Dink…you out there?…Raving? Anyone?
The Silence Of The Lefty’s..LOL!
August 29th, 2006 at 1:03 PM
We know libs scatter when the light of truth shines on them. They’re over at Kos getting some talking points.
August 29th, 2006 at 2:39 PM
You guys are the best! Andrew, Chris, Kris Nelson: I would really like to hear what you have to say!
August 29th, 2006 at 8:54 PM
Heeellllloooooo Lefty’s!
LOL!
August 29th, 2006 at 9:34 PM
Following the logic here.
Entenza and Quam give money to SD PACs. Those PACs are under the direction of Bret Healy and Debra Elofson.
The assertion is that Healy and Elofson then gave money to the SD Democratic Party and the SD Democratic Party gave money to the Minnesota DFL.
Ok, I got that.
So my question is, which of these people leaked those Kinko’s checks?
We can be sure it was not Entenza or Quam. Why put the nail in your own coffin.
It doesn’t seem to be Healy or Elofson. Why? Because this has gotten them in some apparent trouble. They must have known that would happen is this was brought to the front burner. So that also rules out the SD Democratic party. They never got checks from Entenza or Quam. If the story is true, then they got money from Healy and Elofson. Right?
So this leaves the Minnesota DFL. I don’t know about you, but if I was orchestrating something this complex, I would want copies of the checks being sent to SD to make sure I got back the right amount.
So the question here is, who was it at the Minnesota DFL, or which former Minnesota DFL staff is behind this?
Was it the chair?
The Executive Director?
I know the chair was Mike Erlandson. Who was the Director at the time? Anyone know?
Anyway, just some thoughts after reading all this.
August 29th, 2006 at 11:52 PM
I don’t post for a day or two, or skip a topic, and you think you must have something real? Sheesh.
I’m all for prosecuting real crimes whereever they may be found, right, left, or center.
I’m a bit suspicious of the timing of announcements of illegal activity for political gain, but you may have something substantive.
On the other hand, you may just have sloppy bookkeeping and loose laws. Of course, IANAL. Mmmmm, delicious dilly bar.
Keep poking those sticks under those rocks, boys. We need more honest politicians and fair campaign financing – on both sides of the aisle.
October 8th, 2006 at 1:17 AM
Since Dow’s last big record, divisions in U.S. are wider
WASHINGTON — The last time the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record home equity loan America was living in a giddy economic era when home equity loan times and budget surpluses seemed as if they might continue indefinitely.
February 9th, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Nothing can stop me by posting these comments.