Shepard files campaign complaint against Collett

Jack Shepard

Candidate Jack Shepard has filed a complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board alleging that his opponent in the Aug. 10 Republican primary falsified information about him in her campaign materials. Shepard, a fugitive living in Europe, said he ran as a Republican in the Fourth Congressional District primary because he disagrees with Teresa Collett’s views on abortion and gay rights. An administrative law judge agreed on Tuesday to hear Shepard’s case.

Shepard charges that Collett told voters that if he were to win the GOP primary he would drop out of the race, paving the way for DFL Rep. Betty McCollum to win another term. But Shepard says that’s not true; he had every intention of staying in the race to the end.

In one email to supporters, Collett’s campaign wrote, “Teresa’s primary opponent, Dr. Jack Shepard, has publicly stated that if elected in the primary, he will drop out of the race to allow Betty McCollum to run unopposed. We must make sure that Teresa is our candidate on the November ballot and our Congresswoman in January.”

And in another: “The primary election is almost here. My opponent, Dr. Jack Shepard, is a perennial candidate who has run against Republicans in this district for the past eight years. He has stated publicly that if he is successful in the Republican primary, he will withdraw from the race to ensure that Betty McCollum returns to Congress in January.”

Administrative Judge Steve Mihalchick decided on Tuesday that Shepard had presented enough evidence for a hearing, which will be set for Friday.

Shepard said he has also filed papers to contest the results of the primary election in which Collett secured 67 percent of the vote.

“I will be doing anything and everything possible to remove Teresa Collett’s name from the General Election Ballot for the 4th Congressional District because of her violations of Minnesota Election laws,” Shepard said in a statement. “Such an aggressively anti-GLBT and same-sex marriage candidate as Teresa Collett can never, I hope, represent Minnesota in the U.S. Congress.”

Here’s a copy of the judge’s order (PDF).