signs092808
On the homepage
Schools
Out There
Petters
Burning
Third District dust-up is a sign of the electoral times
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on DiggMore from Politically Connected
A representative of Erik Paulsen's Third District congressional campaign was calling for a personal apology Saturday after a volunteer for his opponent was caught, on video, removing signs from a roadside in Maple Grove.
"Bottom line is, it's outrageous," said Stacey Johnson, Paulsen's communications director, who noted that Ashwin Madia's campaign issued an apology by press release. "This isn't Minnesota Nice; this is Minnesota mean."
In reply to a media query, Madia campaign manager Stuart Rosenberg issued a statement that apologizes for the incident and says that staffers have been reminded not to touch Paulsen signs.
Madia and Paulsen are vying for the Third District seat long held by Republican Jim Ramstad, who is retiring.
Michael Brodkorb, a part-time consultant for the Paulsen campaign, wrote on his blog that he was meeting a Paulsen staffer at a Maple Grove Perkins restaurant Thursday evening. By chance, they saw a woman removing the signs. As she walked toward them carrying the signs, Brodkorb retrieved a video camera from his car. The resulting video of the woman, who turns out to be the wife of Madia communications director Dan Pollock, was posted Friday on Brodkorb's blog, Minnesota Democrats Exposed.
The woman in the video, which was subsequently picked up by local television stations, responds to Brodkorb's confrontation by noting that the signs were illegally placed on the public right of way. No charges were filed because the signs were returned to the Paulsen campaign.
Johnson said she didn't know who placed the signs.
MARIA ELENA BACA
Recent Politically Connected stories
House votes to block Medicare cuts to doctors, Republicans see a payoff to the AMA - September 28, 2008
House votes to block Medicare cuts to doctors, Republicans see a payoff to the AMA - The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff. More
- List of White House state dinner guests
- Palin stops in Fla. town that feted her in 2008
- Obama to unveil plan to add troops in Afghanistan
- Fed says recovery will be gradual with jobless rate dropping 'slowly' over next few years
- Obamas welcome guests with curry at state dinner
- Weaver opts against run for Minn. governor
- No guarantees on Senate health bill's public plan
- Health care issues: US costs vs. other countries
The Whistleblower blog has moved
The Star Tribune is still blowing the whistle, but our look and location have changed. Click here to get to the new blog. If you want the actual URL, it’s www.startribune.com/blogs/whistleblower.html. Our blog posts will now be easier to search on the web site, but you’ll need to register to post a comment. In the [...]
Recent posts
  Open positions!A new career awaits. Look through thousands of listings to find your new job. Start now! No resume? No problem!Create a skills profile in minutes, let a recruiter match you to an open position. Click here to get started. |
Comment on this story | Read all 24 comments | Hide reader comments