Can ex-partners be just pals? Let's tune in for 'He said, he said'

Charles Carlson's campaign for the Minneapolis City Council hasn't even begun in earnest and already he's claiming to have received harassing phone calls unsettling enough to prompt a police report.

"Someone is texting me, claiming that they are dating my ex and also saying that they are going to get me and that they know where I live," reads the Feb. 6 police report filed in Minneapolis by Carlson, who plans to run against Council Member Cam Gordon. Carlson said he works at an architectural firm and as a tennis official. "I asked who it was, but [the caller] wouldn't tell me. [The caller] did say that [he] got my info from my ex ..."

Carlson's ex is Fox 9 and FM107's Jason Matheson, who was furious about having his name associated with this item. "This is ridiculous," Matheson told me. "We're not in the seventh grade. As far as me giving [a] dude Charles' number, that's absurd." Does Matheson know the guy who Carlson alleges sent the texts? "I know of him," he said. "I've never met him."

Said Carlson: "I really want to be friends with Jason. This idiot boyfriend of his [Matheson] is on Facebook creating 'Stop Charles Carlson' campaigns."

The Facebook postings are there, though Matheson says the author is not his boyfriend. I couldn't get a Facebook official to return my calls.

"As far as us being friends, I wish him the best, but I don't think so," Matheson said.

All of this leaves me wondering, who gets to go to Chambers? My money's on Matheson, although Carlson said he wants to work out a "joint custody" agreement so they can both go there. "Maybe I should give Jason's phone number away and then he can see what seventh grade feels like," Carlson said. Somebody alert the MPD, which has not yet assigned an officer to this case.

"Charles Carlson Campaign Violations," screamed an e-mail regarding cupcakes given away at a January event that Carlson held at Cupcake on University Avenue.

"[Cupcake] donated 100 cupcakes to my event," Carlson said. "There's no scandal. It's an in-kind donation at the maximum level."

According to e-mailer Kendal Killian, political coordinator of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE), "You can't give away" stuff.

David Schultz, an elections prof at Hamline U, indicated that Killian's on to something. "Assume Cupcake is a corporation," Schultz said. "If the corporation made the donation, that's illegal. Corporations can't make a donation. That would violate the state ban on corporate contributions. Now if they made the contribution as individuals ... it's still a campaign contribution and would have to be treated as a campaign contribution. If it's a corporate contribution, it could get you in big trouble and it could get the corporation in big trouble; as individuals making the contribution, minor trouble."

Kevin VanDeraa, the owner of Cupcake, said, "Is it really" a campaign violation? "There are so many campaign laws out there. I think they are designed for bigger fish than me," he said.

Killian, a Cam Gordon supporter, noted that MAPE has not endorsed anyone in the race yet. As for the melodramatic e-mail, Killian said, "I was misleading you, but it was in good humor."

WCCO-TV anchor Frank Vascellaro has been certified to deliver the news even faster.

"Wow, I never thought about that," said Vascellaro, a February 2009 graduate of Mankato's Continental Auctioneers School. He is now a certified real estate and charity fundraising auctioneer.

And while he's not sure whether this new skill will help him at the anchor desk, which he shares with his wife, Amelia Santaniello, he's sure it will come in handy around the house. "I know I'll be able to argue with my wife a lot quicker," he said. "When she starts rattling things off at me, I'll be to look and rattle things right back."

Vascellaro, who was in class six days in a row from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., said the school "was the real deal. The guy who runs it is Rich Haas. I love this guy; he was just, Go, go, go. You don't just learn how to sit up there and chant and talk fast. You have to learn the ins and outs of the auction business."

The personable Vascellaro made an impression on his classmates. "My classmates voted me 'Most Professional Auctioneer.' I am most proud of this," he said. "I've got certificates. They're going to be all over the walls at home."

Vascellaro's auctioneering debut is March 7. Months ago Karen Barber, development director for Restart Inc., asked Vascellaro to emcee a benefit for the organization, which assists people who have had brain injuries. "Then she asked, Can you do the auction?"

That's when Vascellaro told the mother of Marion Barber III, who now plays with the Dallas Cowboys, that "just by coincidence" he expected to be a certified auctioneer by that time.

As for winning arguments around the house? There's nothing wrong with a guy having a dream.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com.