Minneapolis election door-knocking dispute: Council member, park candidate feud with developer

A Minneapolis City Council member and a Park Board candidate claim a veteran Minneapolis developer violated state law by refusing to allow their campaign workers into his buildings to knock on doors of potential voters.

Council Member Robin Wonsley and Minneapolis Park Board candidate Michael Wilson filed a complaint Monday with the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings alleging John Wall refused to allow them to campaign in his apartment buildings “in an effort to put a thumb on the scale for his preferred candidates.“

Wall, who disputes the allegation, is president of the Wall Cos., which is part owner of apartment buildings The Flats at Malcolm Yards and The Station at Malcolm Yards near the University of Minnesota.

Administrative judges typically settle such campaign disputes.

A Minnesota law enacted last year allows candidates and campaign workers to campaign door-to-door in apartments, condo buildings, townhouses, college dorms, nursing homes and mobile home parks. Building owners or managers who violate the law can face a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation and a petty misdemeanor charge. Wonsley and Wilson claim Wall violated the law 12 times.

Wonsley and Wilson filed an unfair campaign practices complaint against Wall, claiming that since July he has prevented their campaigns from door-knocking in his apartment buildings, which have 353 units. They say Wall was hostile to their repeated attempts to schedule a time to visit the apartments.

Wall said in an email to the Star Tribune that “We follow the law. We will refer Wonsley’s and Wilson’s false representations on this matter to the proper authorities.”

Wonsley is a democratic socialist who is more progressive than Mayor Jacob Frey, and the two often publicly clash over city issues. The complaint alleges Wall and his wife, Patricia, participated in a planning meeting with political groups that oppose Wonsley and align with Frey, and talked about whether they could ban Wonsley from their buildings.

The call involved moderate political group All of Mpls, a new moderate political action committee called We Love Minneapolis, and a new political group called Thrive MPLS that will focus on engaging voters for the November election, according to the complaint. All of Mpls and We Love Minneapolis have endorsed Wonsley’s opponent for Ward 2, Shelley Madore.

During the call, Patricia Wall asked if it was feasible to stop Wonsley from door-knocking on their property while allowing Madore to do so. The complaint alleges Joe Radinovich, Frey’s former campaign manager who helped run We Love Minneapolis and now Thrive Mpls, told the Walls they would have to allow Wonsley access at some point, but that there may be ways to delay her access. Radinovich declined to comment for this story.

The Walls as a couple donated the maximum $1,200 to Wonsley’s opponent, Madore, and Michael Wall donated $600 to a third candidate, Michael Baskins, according to city campaign finance records.

Wall provided the Star Tribune with emails between him and Wonsley’s campaign manager, Katie Smithberg. Smithberg wrote that Wonsley’s campaign reached out to front desk staff, property managers and the property management company several times to schedule a visit before being told July 30 by a property manager that The Station apartment building doesn’t allow political door-knocking.

Wall wrote that they “do respect the state statute” and would make a staff person available to escort candidates and volunteers through the buildings during regular office hours. But, he added, “May I suggest that you have your candidates revisit the merits of rent control and think through what these policies will do to the innocent renters in Minneapolis. We need more housing. More housing will keep the rents from rising as fast as our payroll, taxes, insurance, and other operating costs. Perhaps a field trip to St. Paul will inform the candidates how bad an idea rent control is.”

Wonsley is one of the council’s most vocal critics of police and supports rent control policies that Frey has threatened to veto.

Smithberg replied by saying the law requires access between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on any day, so she informed Wall the candidates would campaign there Sept. 3. Wall responded that he’d be out of state and would have no staff on duty on that day.

“You do not have permission to wander unescorted in my buildings,” he wrote.

Then attorneys got involved, and Wonsley and Wilson allege Wall’s attorney threatened them with police action if they showed up without permission, the complaint alleges.