Common Cause Minnesota had filed the complaints alleging that advertising by the National Organization for Marriage and the Minnesota Family Council on an anti-gay marriage amendment in 2010 constituted lobbying. The board ruled that the ads were too vague to trigger the registration requirement for lobbyists.
The Minnesota Faith and Freedom Coalition, part of a network of groups created by religious right icon Ralph Reed, is hosting a strategy session on the ballot measure to put a ban on marriage for same-sex couples in the Minnesota Constitution. Former gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer will emcee the October event, and Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, the lead sponsor of the amendment, will give the keynote speech.
Minneapolis-based retailer Target told investors on Wednesday that the company will not be taking sides on the anti–gay marriage amendment slated for the 2012 ballot. The shareholders meeting in Pittsburgh, the first held since a nationwide boycott targeted the stores last fall over its corporate contributions to Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, drew protesters critical of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and members of the LGBT community. Target’s announcement comes as Twin Cities LGBT Pride festivities get under way — an event for which Target is a major sponsor.
The Republican Party of Minnesota owes nearly 20 counties payment for expenses incurred by the counties during the 2010 recount between Tom Emmer and Gov. Mark Dayton. The fact that so many counties haven’t been reimbursed in seven months led one Republican senator to offer to pay some of the bills out of his own pocket.
Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, told Minnesota Public Radio on Thursday that if Gov. Mark Dayton vetoes a controversial voter ID bill, she will seek to put it on the ballot in 2012. The bill, which is currently winding its way through the Legislature, would require photo ID of all voters. Dayton hasn’t indicated whether he’ll veto such a measure, but election integrity advocates say the proposal could run into constitutional problems.
Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan) was stopped by a Scott County sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday night and blew a 0.008 on a breathalyzer test. Buesgens is on probation for a DWI conviction last summer that occurred on the same day he was representing the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. According to the Shakopee Valley News, Buesgens allegedly violated his probation by drinking and driving.
In the wake of a controversial donation to MN Forward that riled LGBT activists and sparked boycotts cross-country, Target has changed its process for making corporate independent expenditures. The retail giant will now run its political donations through a policy committee that would determine if the donations “advance issues that are important to our business.” But will the change be enough for LGBT community members still hurt by Target’s 2010 donations?
Sen. David Senjem and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer were fined by the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Monday. The board reviewed complaints stemming from the Nov. 2 election: Emmer’s campaign was fined for accepting illegal corporate contributions while Senjem was found to have violated campaign laws when he gave money to former Sen. Paul Koering.
The Republican Party of Minnesota still owes counties for a massive document request leading up to the recent election recount, according to the Mankato Free Press. For the past several weeks, more than a dozen counties have been wondering if they’ll get paid for hundred of thousands of documents that were requested by the GOP on behalf of the gubernatorial campaign of Republican Tom Emmer. Those counties were threatened with lawsuits if they didn’t comply with the GOP’s requests for election documents.
Minnesota’s Campaign Finance Board issued their finding Thursday for Common Cause’s complaint against Minnesota’s Future and the Republican Governors Association (RGA). The Board’s report — published online Friday afternoon — essentially goes with the principal of ‘no harm, no foul,’ noting that Minnesota’s Future and the RGA may not have strictly complied with Minnesota law initially but that the offense did not merit any fine.
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