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MDE EXCLUSIVE: CAMPAIGN EMAIL SOLICITATIONS SUGGEST RITCHIE MAY HAVE USED HIS OFFICIAL OFFICE FOR CAMPAIGN PURPOSES; LETTER REQUESTING INVESTIGATION WILL BE FILED THIS MORNING #2
By Michael B. Brodkorb | October 29, 2007
I have received the letter sent to Jim Nobles, the Legislative Auditor for the State of Minnesota, earlier this morning requesting that he investigate how contact information provided at an official meeting of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office ended up being used by Ritchie's campaign to solicit campaign contributions.
The letter, signed by two attendees of the April 2nd meeting organized by Ritchie's official office at taxpayer expense, call Ritchie's actions "an abuse of his position as the chief elections officer":
"On October 22, 2007 we each received a campaign email from Mark Ritchie that included a solicitation for campaign contributions. It is our belief that Mr. Ritchie used his capacity as Secretary of State to collect information from prospective donors and transfered that information to his campaign. We believe that this is an unwarranted use of government resources and an abuse of his position as the chief elections officer." Source: Giga and Tomczak letter to Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles, October 29, 2007
Click here to read entire letter sent to Mr. Nobles.
I have yet to receive a return call or email from Secretary of State Ritchie's official office or from Ritchie's campaign. I will publish any response I received from Ritchie's official office or from his campaign responding to the specific allegations made by Giga and Tomzcak.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed throughout the day for more information on this developing story.
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12 Responses to “MDE EXCLUSIVE: CAMPAIGN EMAIL SOLICITATIONS SUGGEST RITCHIE MAY HAVE USED HIS OFFICIAL OFFICE FOR CAMPAIGN PURPOSES; LETTER REQUESTING INVESTIGATION WILL BE FILED THIS MORNING #2”
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October 29th, 2007 at 12:13 PM
Isn’t Richie the “non-Partisan” Secretary of State?
October 29th, 2007 at 12:18 PM
I find the reaction to this to be remarkable on a number of fronts.
First:
The Ritchie allies are all on the same message.
To paraphrase, ‘it doesn’t matter whether or not Ritchie used his official office to raise campaign funds, the complaints are being filed by Republicans.’
Obviously that is an absurd line of reasoning.
Second:
From Ritchie’s official office and campaign? Radio silence.
Bottom Line:
Ritchie seems to have done one of two things. He either a) did something ILLEGAL and abused his official office by using it to solicit campaign funds, or b) did something UNETHICAL by allowing his campaign to use email addresses he should have known were attained by his official office.
He needs to tell us whether he did something ILLEGAL or whether he did something UNETHICAL.
This clown car ran a race entirely focused on “getting politics out of the secretary of state’s office.”
Whether he did something ILLEGAL or UNETHICAL, he appears to have used the official office to do one of the most political of political things someone in elected office can possibly do, raise campaign contributions for himself.
And he wants to fairly administer elections in ’08 and 2010?
How?
October 29th, 2007 at 12:41 PM
It’s time to lock down all the staff computers at the SOS office. I’m picturing virtual shredders throughout the office today attempting to wipe clean any evidence.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:22 PM
[...] Allegations have surfaced that Secretary Ritchie has used his office improperly: I have received the letter sent to Jim Nobles, the Legislative Auditor for the State of Minnesota, earlier this morning requesting that he investigate how contact information provided at an official meeting of Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s office ended up being used by Ritchie’s campaign to solicit campaign contributions. [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 1:53 PM
When will the MSM pick up on this? Pat Lopez will probably right a story in three or four days. It’s ahocking how lazy the political journalists are in the Twin Cities.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:29 PM
How many more crooked DFL’ers do we need to expose before we get the mainstream press to actually show what these hacks are up to.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:46 PM
Where’s your proof? Giga is a registered lobbyist so it’s pretty easy to see how he could get on a fundraising list. Tomczak has been active it lots of stuff as well, so it would not be a stretch that he ended up on there either.
As for Ritchie not responding, get real, people on both sides take political shots everyday without usually getting a response. It’s not news, that’s probably why the MSM is not running with it. Show some proof then you might get some ink.
October 29th, 2007 at 2:54 PM
Gary,
The address I provided to the Secretary of State’s office was a new address that I got with my new job in April. It is not an address that was floating around the political world for anybody to pick up.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:35 PM
Gary cover all you can but in 2008 the people of MN will realize just how crooked the current DFL’ers are!!
October 29th, 2007 at 3:45 PM
I am not covering for anyone,if Ritchie screwed up he should own up to it, but again I have yet to be convinced from the evidence presented so far.
I will be very interested to hear what the legislator auditor finds, because I have my doubts.
October 29th, 2007 at 4:36 PM
You have doubts because it is a DFL’er.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:25 AM
[...] A few weeks ago, Michael Brodkorb at MDE broke the story – Minnesota’s DFLer Secretary of State Mark Ritchie was abusing the power of his office to get political contributions. [...]