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LETTER FROM REPRESENTATIVE BROD AND EMMER REQUESTING A LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATION OF SECRETARY OF STATE MARK RITCHIE AND HIS POTENTIAL USE OF A STATE OFFICE FOR CAMPAIGN PURPOSES
By Michael B. Brodkorb | October 30, 2007
Click here to read the letter sent by Representative Brod and Emmer to the Representative Gene Pelowski, Chairman of the House Government Operations Committee, requesting an investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Ritchie may have used his official office to fund his political machine.
From the letter:
"If the allegations set forth in the Complaint are true, the immediate result would jeopardize the integrity and public trust in the Office of Secretary of State. In fact, if the allegations are borne out by the facts, the Secretary of State may have committed serious violations of campaign finance laws by possible using his elective office for campaign purposes." Source: Representative Brod and Emmer letter to Representative Gene Pelowski, October 30, 2007
Representative Brod and Emmer requested that Representative Pelowski respond in writing by November 6th to their request for an investigation into Ritchie.
Please check back to Minnesota Democrats Exposed throughout the day for more information on this developing story.
Topics: Uncategorized | 35 Comments »
35 Responses to “LETTER FROM REPRESENTATIVE BROD AND EMMER REQUESTING A LEGISLATIVE INVESTIGATION OF SECRETARY OF STATE MARK RITCHIE AND HIS POTENTIAL USE OF A STATE OFFICE FOR CAMPAIGN PURPOSES”
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October 30th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Laura Brod…continuing her history of grandstanding. I have all the respect in the world for Rep Emmer, but Brod is a toad. She sold-out the GOP in Hennepin County, which DID have an impact on the elections last year. Go ahead and jump on your soapbox, Laura…we know what you really stand for. And it ain’t the principles of the Mn GOP or the Party platform.
October 30th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Just call her Loathsome Laura, the Queen of the Sell-Outs.
October 30th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
$10 says DFLer Pelowski doesn’t proceed forward.
Keep it up MDE
October 30th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
More silence from Ritchie??
When is he going to step up and offer some sort of an explanation for this?
He is poorly serving Minnesotans.
October 30th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I would commend to all of you a thorough reading of Minnesota Statute 13, which deals with what is public and what is private data. If a law was broken, tell us what it was. Basically, all government data is public unless it’s classified as private by statute. Is there a statute that says attendee data at government sponsored conferences is private? I doubt it, but maybe there is, if so – tell us where it is.
Otherwise, all we have is breathy speculation (“If it turns out he beats his kids and has sex with animals, the DFL REALLY has a scandal on its hands!!!!”).
October 30th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
The loyalty here is quite touching, Mikey – Kiffmeyer made you feel like a real journalist, and you’re repaying that service quite handsomely.
Its like Pinnochio – Kiffmeyer’s the Blue Fairy, who took Brodkerb (Pinnochio) into meetings and made him feel like a real boy! I mean, journalist. Whatever.
Marionettes don’t become real – gee, its a good analogy to the idea of you as anything other than Ron Carey’s shill. Did Kiffmeyer ante up like Kennedy and Bachmann, and fork over a large ‘consulting fee’? But I digress… you find a few nutcases to file a complaint, and suddenly Tom ‘Off his Meds’ Emmer and Laura ‘Just off her food’ Brod grab the chance to get in the newspapers.
But anyway, I think someone should go measure Brodkerb’s nose – as usual, it must be getting pretty long…
October 30th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
D- Brod a Toad? You are either blind or stupid. Your fixation on Laura Brod is unhealthy! Rather than bash her for one issue you don’t agree with her on, why don’t you look at the big picture. She is a solid vote for the GOP and is a great face/spokesperson for the GOP as well. Furthermore, Brod has guts. She jumped into the fray in the last week of the Governor’s race by taking on Hatch and is willing to take on Mark Ritchie as well. Thats not grandstanding, thats guts. We ought to thank her for it, not beat a dead horse like you continue to do. By the way, using juvenile names like you do buys you ZERO credibility and makes you more like a Democrat who is frothing at the mouth attacking the person rather than dealing with the issue at hand. This is about Ritchie abusing the trust of the citizens of MN, not about the Twins stadium (by the way, how did you do at un-electing your county commissioners who brought that forward?)
October 30th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Ulysses,
You are just jealous, because your leader in the House is most certainly not “just off her foods” and giving your Democrat leaders meds might just be a government program the Republicans might support!
October 30th, 2007 at 6:15 pm
“Buzz” burped: “So what? It’s not illegal”
Pfft. Typical Democrat response…the party of “St. Wellstone the Magnanimous” turns out, once again, to know every ally detour that exists in the political sewer.
Have another toke buzz boy.
Speaking of Wellstone…didn’t Ritchie “graduate” from camp moonbat, er Wellstone?
I guess we can all see what the curriculum consists of…too bad Ritchie slept through “Abusing your office to aid the party 101″.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Ritchie didn’t sleep through ‘Abusing your office to aid the party 101′, he taught it! The culture of corruption in the DFL lives strong and seems to go as deep as it does wide.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
So Swiftee, if it’s legal for any citizen to obtain data that is public under the statute, and yes even you could walk in and obtain it for free, including any and all campaigns of any stripe, it is somehow “unethical” for someone to obtain what is legal and accessible to anyone.
Er, why exactly?? Your ethical compass is so finely honed, I’m sure you can explain why it is wrong to use public information to campaign for office (and, hence, why every campaign in the history of the world is EVIL).
Go for it!
October 30th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Buzz:
The question is if Ritchie’s campaign specifically made a request for the data.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Ritchie has apparently already decided to deploy the standard DFL defense. First, when faced with pleading guilty to criminality or incompetence, choose incompetence every time. Step two: Say that you never did it and promise to never do it again. Third, attack the person who points it out. Finally, claim there was nothing illegal, depending on the meaning of certain often-misunderstood words such as “is.”
October 30th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Thanks Michael for the clarification. It’s about whether he “made a request for the data.” Apparently there is no allegation that he broke the law which by the way doesn’t seem to require an official request to obtain public data.
Again, exactly what statute was violated and, if none, what is unethical about compliance with Minnesota law?
A little clarification please…
October 30th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Buzz: That’s not what I wrote, although I’m curious if Ritchie’s campaign filed a request for the data.
I think this statue may apply to the situation:
MN Statue 43A, Subd. 4. Use of state property. (a) An employee shall not use or allow the use of state time, supplies or state-owned or leased property and equipment for the employee’s private interests or any other use not in the interest of the state, except as provided.
October 30th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
You are misapplying the statute Michael. 43A would prohibit a campaign from using a state owned vehicle, computer, postage meter, etc for campaigning. It does not prohibit a campaign from obtaining at no cost what is available to every other citizen on request at no cost.
Now, if you could establish that this was done on paid state time or equipment, you might have something. Do you have anything like that?
October 30th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
Buzz, I’m sure nothing would convince you… but you’re wrong…
As you noted, state property includes state owned computers. It also includes those lists, and the state paid staff time required to compile, maintain, send, etc.
It is impossible for the SOS office to have shared the list with any campaign without the use of state owned property and the use of state paid staff time.
If, and only if a formal request was filed, do you have a point. However, Ritchie has not come forward and simply said: “my office full filled a request from my campaign, in accordance with state law”… so, we we can surmise that this didn’t happen…
If there was no request, then there was no reason why the list would have been shared. If the list was shared absent a formal request, then it represents a clear breech of trust, and mis-use of the SOS office and state property to have shared it.
Because the SOS shared the information with his own campaign, then he further violated the law by using state property to advance his own interest, over the interest of the people of Minnesota.
Well, unless the SOS office automatically sent an identical list to every campaign in the state… which they didn’t…
It’s not really that hard.
Ritchie fucked up.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Boy, I bet you guys now wish that Mary Kiffmeyer didn’t oppose a proposed Code of Integrity that would bar formal partisan activity by the office back in August of 2005.
So, keep your whining and harping going. It will be good practice when President Hillary Clinton is sworn in with all of the powers granted to the presidency over the years by the Republicans.
You guys are victims of your own short-sightedness.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
DJZ… the Constitution grants powers to the President… not Republicans… If they’re good enough for President Bush, and President Clinton before him, then they’re good enough for a prospective President Clinton following him… As big a nightmare as that would be…
Not that anyone expects a deranged liberal like you to know or even care what the Constitution says about much of anything….
October 30th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Hey: Where is that Code of Integrity that Ritchie supposedly signed? Let’s get that posted up here! What a laugh.
October 30th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
The bottom line, as I think others have mentioned, is why hasn’t the SOS responded to any of this? If it was legit he would have nothing to hide and could of stepped forward immediately. From what I’m seeing they are probably trying come up with a cover story that they can use to blame some low level staffer working for his campaign. In the end this is just another nail in the DFL coffin for 2008. Ordinary people will get fed up with their corruption and vote them out.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Laura Brod stuck it to the Hennepin County Taxpayer big time – and deserves to be reminded of that.
Jason Lewis mentioned the Ritchie story – and the blog name – MDE – on his show yesterday – but didn’t go on with it, said it wasn’t that important. What was really important to Jason? Ranting about Governor Pawlenty and his trip with Will Steger – Jason wasn’t too happy with “Governor Gore”, and said at one point that he should get booted from the Republican party.
October 30th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Laura Brod is the strongest voice for cutting taxes in the House. As for the fixation with Brod, get over it.
She and Emmer have the guts to take it to the Ds and demand sunshine as well. Whether it is the AG, Auditor or this fellow, I hope they keep it up.
October 31st, 2007 at 6:57 am
Still nothing from Mark Ritchie?
This is getting ridiculous.
October 31st, 2007 at 8:54 am
Laura Brod is nothing but a political opportunist. For once, I agree with Eva (first time, I think).
Brod stuck it to the GOP in Hennepin County and it will take YEARS to get over this. It is a FACT that the continued losses can be traced to votes like the Twins Stadium/Pohlad Welfare plan. People realize that if you stand for nothing, ya might as well vote DFL.
And if Brod was this great tax-cutting crusader, why did she vote to jack the sales tax in Hennepin county for Uncle Carl (current net worth: $2 billion)? Easy answer. She can look good to the home-folk in Scott County…and NOT STICK THEM WITH THE TAX. Screw principles…screw the GOP in Hennepin County, who CLEARLY told her not to do this….SCREW the PARTY PLATFORM (read it, the anti-Twins stadium is in there!)!
That’s your hero, Laura.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:12 am
“Guts”?!? You think Brod has GUTS?
What would have been gutsy is if she had stood up, defended the residents of Hennepin county, defended the People’s right to VOTE on this issue in the face of the leadership who caved in. She could have sent a message to Hennepin county, that if this stadium was so damned great, that the 4 SOBs on the Board will have to show the People why its so great.
Instead, she took the easy way out, like the lap-poodle she really is.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:32 am
That’s it, let’s all pile on to Laura Brod because, as we all know, she blew the whistle on Ritchie and that’s what Democrats do when their misdeeds come to light. Are you guys shills for the DFL attack machine now, or do you want to see truth and justice prevail?
October 31st, 2007 at 10:34 am
J:
If you’ve read my comment, you know I’m not a waterboy for the DFL. Richie Rich needs to be flogged.
But when it comes to holding Laura Brod out there as some vitruous crusader…she’s not. She’s not riding in on a white horse…the horse is a bit charcoal grey.
October 31st, 2007 at 10:42 am
Keep trying to shift the subject D.
Liberals are all so sad when they get caught.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:45 am
Whether D’s fixation is personal or political doesnt change the fact that his problem with Brod is shared by Otto, Ritchie and probably Gaertner as well. Somebody must have done a poll with Brod, otherwise you guys would have settled down and moved on. Get over it D, 2010 is a long way off.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Who gives a rat’s arse about Brod. The topic is Mark Ritchie’s mis-use/theft of state property to drive his election campaign.
The idea that a Democrat would run as a non-Partisan anything is pretty hilarious. But with this round, he’s proven himself ethically/legally challenged, as well as a hypocrite.
He cannot be trusted to continue to hold the office of Secretary of State. It’s time to begin procedures for a recall election.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Ppppfttt. Who cares about 2010.
Brod is a convenience-conservative. That’s all.
October 31st, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Thank God we have Emmer working on this. Richie Rich needs to be pounded into a fine paste and flushed down a toilet for his slimey activity.
October 31st, 2007 at 5:41 pm
D- I think you are smitten with the both of them. Are you in high school yet?
This Ritchie thing should have blown over by now unless Ritchie has something to hide?
November 10th, 2007 at 11:11 am
[...] Representative Gene Pelowski, Chairman of the House Government Operations Committee, has declined Representative Brod and Emmer's request to investigate allegations that Secretary of State Ritchie may have used his official office to fund his political machine. [...]