politics

Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey accused DFL Attorney General Mike Hatch on Wednesday of using his office for political purposes, continuing a crossfire in the gubernatorial race over the boundaries between official duties and campaigning.

Through a spokesperson, Hatch denied any wrongdoing and again criticized Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's use of a state airplane for what DFLers have called political barnstorming. Hatch is seeking to unseat Pawlenty in the election.

Carey said Hatch wrongly used his office in three ways and was running a "shadow campaign" out of his State Capitol office.

First, Carey said, Hatch has posted on his campaign website, almost verbatim, numerous and lengthy research and position papers, which had been prepared by Hatch and other personnel in his office over the past few years.

Hatch also should not have made references to the governor's race and his running mate in a statement prepared on official letterhead recently, Carey said. That statement was made in response to Pawlenty's recent call for a registry of methamphetamine traffickers.

Carey's third charge was that Hatch should not have used official stationery to file a complaint to the Minnesota News Council. That issue was raised last week by the Independence Party.

The GOP filed an official request for investigation with Legislative Auditor James Nobles, who has oversight of the management of the state's constitutional officers.

The latest shots come close on the heels of DFL Party complaints that Pawlenty crossed the line when he made a fly-around on a state plane Monday to publicize a health-care savings initiative that some critics dismissed as trivial.

Two years ago, Pawlenty came under fire from DFLers for posting his childhood pictures and other favorable personal information on his official governor's office website. He removed the pictures.

"Unlike Governor Pawlenty, we do not use state money inappropriately for travel," said attorney general's office spokesperson Leslie Sandberg. Hatch's posting of the material on his campaign website was "totally appropriate," Sandberg added. "He should be able to put any publication on his campaign website, including information produced by Governor Tim Pawlenty."

Nobles, who has been critical in recent years of the increasing use of government websites for political and personal self-promotion, said he will look into the GOP complaint. He said he already had requested information from Hatch before Carey filed his complaint.

Independence Party Chairman Jim Moore, who last week raised questions about Hatch, took aim on Pawlenty.

Moore said that as long as the legislative auditor is investigating, "he ought to take a look at all of Pawlenty's excessive travel and whether state resources are benefiting his campaign. ... Pawlenty may be just more skillful at walking along the edge of the line than Mike Hatch."

Dane Smith • 651-292-0164