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MN GOP PRESS RELEASE: “RPM UPDATES CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING RYBAK MILEAGE”

By Luke Hellier | October 14, 2009

St. Paul- Following a review of the statewide travels of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman Tony Sutton and Deputy Chairman Michael Brodkorb today wrote to the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board to provide additional information regarding Rybak’s gubernatorial campaign activities.

October 14, 2009

Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board

Attention: Gary Goldsmith, Executive Director

190 Centennial Office Building

658 Cedar Street

St. Paul, MN 55155-1603

Dear Mr. Goldsmith:

Thank you for your correspondence of October 8th noting that our complaint regarding the activities of Mayors Chris Coleman and Raymond Thomas (R.T.) Rybak has been laid over to the Board’s meeting of November 5, 2009.

We are writing to provide the Board with additional information regarding the political travels of Mayor Rybak.

State statute 10A states: “‘Candidate’ means an individual who seeks nomination or election as a state constitutional officer, legislator, or judge. An individual is deemed to seek nomination or election if the individual has taken the action necessary under the law of this state to qualify for nomination or election, has received contributions or made expenditures in excess of $100, or has given implicit or explicit consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $100, for the purpose of bringing about the individual’s nomination or election. A candidate remains a candidate until the candidate’s principal campaign committee is dissolved as provided in section 10A.24.”

Furthermore, state statute 10A.14 states: “The treasurer of a political committee, political fund, principal campaign committee, or party unit must register with the board by filing a statement of organization no later than 14 days after the committee, fund, or party unit has made a contribution, received contributions, or made expenditures in excess of $100, or by the end of the next business day after it has received a loan or contribution that must be reported under section 10A.20, subdivision 5, whichever is earlier.”

Based upon our examination of news accounts and other public information, we’ve determined that Mayor Rybak has traveled at least 1,900 miles to run for governor. Using Minneapolis City Hall as our starting point, we have traced Mayor Rybak’s political travels across the state to determine mileage. All trips are calculated on a roundtrip basis. When our information indicated the mayor had traveled to a certain county or city but we were unable to determine a specific street address, we have put forth our best conservative estimate. For example, Mayor Rybak visited Pope County but since we do not know the address or addresses, we selected Sedan, MN (the closest city in Pope County to Minneapolis) as the address to be used to determine mileage. We have designated all such visits with a “*” to reflect that such figures are estimates.

Per the Internal Revenue Service, the Board uses the figure 55 cents per mile to determine mileage costs for principal campaign committees. Even if the candidate did not wish to be reimbursed for mileage, such spending must be reported as an in kind contribution.

Our review has determined that Mayor Rybak has traveled at least 1,900 miles across Minnesota to bolster his gubernatorial prospects. This translates into at least $1,055, more than 10 times the amount required to file with the Board.

Regarding his recent travels, Mayor Rybak showed he lacked a basic grasp of state campaign finance law. “He said his travels have been perfectly legal. He’s spent his own money for gas and hasn’t stayed overnight at any of his ventures across the state, he said. The mayor said he didn’t know how much he’d spent on his travels,” the Star Tribune reported on October 9, 2009.

“When the car gets empty I pull over…so far I’m not broke,” Rybak told the newspaper.

Mayor Rybak’s mayoral opponents have also noted his frequent trips across the state in pursuit of the governor’s office. Papa John Kolstad told the Star Tribune today, “I’ve always liked R.T. Rybak, but I think I’ll have to run for governor so I’ll be able to challenge and talk to him about the city of Minneapolis and to debate him.”

Below please find our mileage review of Mayor Rybak’s travels based upon the best available public information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Tony Sutton, Republican Party of Minnesota Chairman

Michael Brodkorb, Republican Party of Minnesota Deputy Chairman

Rybak Gubernatorial Travels

Total Distance Traveled: At Least 1919 Miles

Total Amount Spent: At Least $1055

Rybak Attended Austin DFL Event For Gubernatorial Hopefuls. “Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was also going beyond the big city looking for support. He said creating jobs is the key to Minnesota’s future – something he said he’s accomplished while running the state’s largest city. ‘I know how to get big things done,’ he said.” (Mike Rose, “It’s politics at the pumpkin patch,” Austin Daily Herald, July 27, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to 90537 273rd ST, Austin, MN 200 miles, $110.00

Rybak Appeared At Farm Fest. “With potential Minnesota gubernatorial candidates milling about, DFL U.S. Reps. Collin Peterson and Tim Walz kicked off the political discussion this morning at the annual Farm Fest in southwestern Minnesota. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman both chatted casually with Farm Fest goers before Walz and Peterson spent more than an hour discussing the current agenda for agriculture in Washington D.C. Rybak and Coleman have both been mentioned as possible candidates for higher office.” (Charley Shaw, “Pols get down to business at Farm Fest,” Saint Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report, August 4, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to 28366 County Highway 13 Morgan MN; 226 miles, $124.30

Rybak Participated In Gubernatorial Forum In South Minneapolis. “No direct punches were thrown at each other, but several DFLers who assembled Friday at a gubernatorial candidate forum in south Minneapolis lobbed scorn at their adversaries on the other side of the aisle, notably Gov. Tim Pawlenty. … While Pawlenty was often the target in the rhetoric, however, the main chore for the candidates was to distinguish themselves from each other. In addition to Dayton, the attendees were House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher of Minneapolis, former state Rep. Matt Entenza of St. Paul, and state Sens. Tom Bakk of Cook and John Marty of Roseville. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who haven’t officially announced their gubernatorial campaigns, were also part of the forum.” (Charley Shaw, “DFL candidates seek the competitive edge for 2010 Minn. gov race,” Saint Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report, August 31, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to 1515 E. Lake St. #5, Minneapolis; 6 miles, $3.30

Rybak Participated In Take Action Minnesota “Progressive” Event In St. Paul Featuring “Eleven Of The Gubernatorial Candidates.” (Take Action Minnesota Press Release, September 24, 2009; Event was held on September 29, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Arlington High School 1495 Rice St, St Paul MN; 23 miles, $12.65

Rybak Spoke At DFL Gubernatorial Forum After DFL Party Issues Released Entitled, “DFL Candidates to Join Governor Schweitzer at Annual Founders Day Dinner and Candidate Fair.” (DFL Media Advisory, September 23, 2009; Event held on September 24, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Minnesota Fairgrounds 1265 Snelling Ave. St. Paul, MN; 12 miles, $6.60

Rybak Attended AFL-CIO Gubernatorial Debate In Bloomington. “This morning, RT Rybak casually announced he’s running for governor to City Pages at the AFL-CIO forum held at the Ramada Inn. While waiting to take the stage alongside the other DFL gubernatorial candidates, and Mayor Chris Coleman, he took the time to come up and shake City Pages’s hand. It was in this brief moment he allowed his mouth to slip out the words many wanted to hear. What follows is the brief interaction: CP: ‘Hey, RT.’ RT: ‘Hi. I’m RT Rybak. How’s it going?’ CP: ‘Good man. How’s it going today?’ RT: ‘Oh you know, running for mayor, running for governor… busy.’” (Bradley Campbell, “Rybak casually announces he’s running for Governor,” City Pages, October 1, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Ramada Hotel 2300 East American Boulevard, Bloomington, MN; 21 miles, $11.55

Rybak Campaigned In Montgomery & Coon Rapids. “Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman have been popping up all over the state lately, in places Twin Cities mayors don’t usually frequent. Both stopped by Kolacky Days in Montgomery to fete the prune-filled pastry. They were spotted at a recent Coon Rapids pig roast.” (Rachel Stassen Berger, “R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman are strongly hinting at rival bids for governor,” Star Tribune, October 3, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Memorial Park, Park Lane Montgomery, MN; 108 miles, $59.40

Minneapolis City Hall to Coon Rapids, MN; 23 miles, $12.65*

Rybak Visited Pequot Lakes & Hutchinson. “DFL political activists from Pequot Lakes to Hutchinson report visits from each of them.” (Rachel Stassen Berger, “R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman are strongly hinting at rival bids for governor,” Star Tribune, October 3, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Pequot Lakes, MN; 296 miles, $162.80*

Minneapolis City Hall to Hutchinson, MN; 124 miles, $68.20*

Rybak Stopped In Pope County. “Rybak has posted photos of himself standing next to a farmer in a Pope County cattle pasture and addressing a crowd in Austin on his Facebook page.” (Rachel Stassen Berger, “R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman are strongly hinting at rival bids for governor,” Star Tribune, October 3, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to Sedan, MN (Closest town in Pope County); 260 miles, $143.00*

Rybak Appeared At Houston County’s Apple Fest 2009. (Facebook, Photos of R.T. Rybak, Added September 20, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to 1406 Willow St., La Cresent, MN; 312 miles, $171.60

Rybak Ventures North To Duluth. “Ten Minnesota gubernatorial hopefuls squared off at the DECC in Duluth on Friday. The election isn’t until next year, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early for the candidates to debate the issues affecting the state…’Right now we have a tax system in this state that is balance very narrowly on a few funding sources, we’re going to have to broaden that,’ said R.T. Rybak.” (Staff Reports, “Minnesota Gubernatorial candidates debate issues,” Northland’s Newscenter, October 9, 2009)

Minneapolis City Hall to 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth MN; 308 miles, $169.40

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