A LTE on the Newman Pay to Play Scheme in the Annandale Advocate

From the Advocate

A breach of ethical conduct

From: John Deitering, Annandale


Scott Newman, our recently elected state senator, was in the news last week. In an astonishing breach of ethical conduct, his office sent an e-mail to the Minnesota Nurses Association that he would not meet with them because they supported his opponent (Hal Kimball) in last fall's election. Can you imagine if the mayor of Annandale instructed the snow plow crews to ignore your neighborhood because the residents had voted for the opposition?

Newman admits that his office sent the e-mail, but says he has no such policy. Really? What are the chances that one of his aides sent this e-mail without his consent? Senator Newman's actions are a direct attack on democratic principles; it's time for him to get out of government.

Editor's note: Newman apologized for the e-mail, which was sent by an aide. Newman noted that he was unaware that the e-mail had been sent. In a statement Newman said his policy is to meet with all groups.

McLeod County Chronicle Op Ed on the Newman Debacle

The opinion of a center-right newspaper in our district.  The same newspaper that didn't endorse Newman.

State Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, got off to a rocky start in his new job at the state Legislature when an e-mail from his office indicated he would not be meeting with individuals or groups that supported his opponents during the last election.

While the aim of Newman's e-mail may have been to minimize his availability to lobbyists, the strategy boomeranged.

Whether it was an error by a staffer, which Newman claimed, or an error of judgment on his part is still being debated. But make no mistake, it was an error.

His apology and taking responsibility was a start, but was the content of the e-mail his own philosophy? In his initial statement, Newman said, "I want to be clear, that is not my policy to reject meeting requests on a political or partisan basis. I look forward to continuing to serve all constituents of Senate District 18 as the legislative session continues."

We will give him the benefit of the doubt. His future actions will be a better indicator.

The real question is who wrote the e-mail?

Newman did not help his cause by "tossing his aide under the bus" when the initial allegation came out. If the aide took the initiative, wrote the e-mail and sent it out, then the aide should be fired.

If Newman wrote the e-mail for his staffers and not for general consumption, shame on him for even thinking that way.

Needless to say, the whole mess has been disappointing. Newman gave us high hopes that things would change at the Capitol this session. We did not expect this, however.

The Newman e-mail is a major distraction that takes the focus off what is really important - addressing the state's $6.2 billion budget shortfall.

DFLers have jumped on Newman by seeking an ethics hearing on his conduct. Republicans have countered the DFLers are being hypocritical by ignoring past indiscretions by Democrats. It seems to be politics-as-usual in St. Paul.

Let us get past this distraction and get on with the important business at the Legislature.

Let's get some "adult" leadership for once so we can all get out from under this budget mess we are mired in.

- R.G.

Indpendent Review (Litchfield) questions Senator Newman's story

Senator Newman needs to answer some serious questions.  Barricading himself in his office does nothing...

It should surprise no one that DFL senators have requested an ethics investigation of Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, on the grounds that he violated the public trust and brought dishonor to the Senate.

What isn’t so clear is whether such an investigation is worth the time, effort and potential distraction it could create for a Legislature that has enough on its plate simply trying to figure out how to dig its way out of a $6.2 billion budget hole.

That’s not to say we think Newman should receive a free pass. While some seem ready to accept the former administrative law judge’s explanation of miscommunication with his legislative assistant, we think he owes his constituents more.

After the Minnesota Nurses Association requested a meeting with the freshman senator, his office sent an e-mail saying he “will not see any organizations that donated to/supported his opponent Hal Kimball.”

This line alone could be explained away as a misunderstanding between Newman and his assistant. But the e-mail goes on to say that, “After some careful checking, I discovered that the MNA had donated to Kimball’s campaign.”

That’s the line that should trouble residents of Senate District 18 and Newman’s peers in the Senate, because it indicates something more was going on. We would prefer to believe Newman isn’t keeping an “enemies” list, but the fact that his legislative assistant did some “careful checking” and found the MNA had donated to Kimball’s campaign alludes to something more than a miscommunication. Either the assistant was told by Newman to check, or she did that investigation on her own.

Neither answer reflects well on Newman. Still, his constituents should hear something more by way of explanation than the “I should be giving clearer instructions” line Newman offered last week. He was elected to represent all of District 18, not just those who voted for him.

The senator and his Republican colleagues would like the whole matter to just go away. Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton called the DFL senators’ request for an ethics investigation frivolous and “politically motivated.”

We would agree it could be politically motivated. But frivolous? The suggestion that a senator and/or his office staff keeps a list of those who don’t support him as a way to determine who he will and will not meet with should concern everyone.

It is a misperception — we hope — that Newman should want to clear up as quickly as he possibly can, and in greater detail than simply indicating he “should be giving clearer instructions” to his staff.

Devoting time to an ethics investigation and possible hearings probably would be a waste of time, as the Republican majority seems unlikely to censure one of its own over this issue.

However, Newman needs to make a better accounting of himself and assure his constituents that something like this will not happen again.

Until he does, Newman leaves the door open to skepticism about his ability to represent all people in his district and willingness to work with those who have opposing views.

My LTE about the Newman scandal

Published in the Hutchinson Leader

From Hal Kimball
Cokato

If you believe Sen. Newman's story, then I heard about the Minnesota Nurses Association e-mail before the senator. According to the Star Tribune, Newman stated that “he had first heard of the e-mail early Tuesday morning.”

He first heard of the e-mail Tuesday morning? Really?

I knew about it around noon on Monday, when a Star Tribune reporter asked me questions about the MNA endorsement and if any donations from the MNA followed. The same Star Tribune reporter had stated that he called to seek comment from the senator on Thursday, several times on Friday, and several times on Monday. A similar story was relayed to me via a Pioneer Press reporter who called Tuesday morning after the AP filed a story.

Again, I find it very difficult to believe that Sen. Newman didn’t know about this e-mail for five days.
It’s time for Sen. Newman to come clean. His constituents in Senate District 18 are waiting.

Edtor’s note: Hal Kimball was the DFL candidate for the Senate District 18 seat in last fall’s election.

Senator Newman and the Senate Caucus

My good friend Eric Austin has a great post about the Republican Senate Caucus role in the whole Scott Newman tax on constituent work.

One point Eric made jarred my memory.

Given the dual role of “Executive Assistant to the Majority Caucus” and “Vice Chair of the Minnesota Republican Party“, has Michael Brodkorb been whispering in the ears of legislative assistants? Did those assistants take his advice a little too far?

I had a chat with a former GOP Senator last Spring before the end of the session.  While he named several reasons for leaving the Senate, he spent considerably more time discussing the efforts of Michael Brdkorb and Cullen Sheehan and the influence they had on Senators.

Legislators get a plethora of information before taking votes.  This specific retired Senator told me of a confrontation he had with Sheehan.  The confrontation centered over information the Senators were furnished with.  The data that had been provided the Senators wasn't accurate and he openly questioned the data.  He went on to state that a majority of the information he was receiving was heavily distorted, something he hadn't seen during his long service in the Senate.

It wouldn't be a surprise that Brodkorb and his crew are putting pressure on the legislative assistants.  Certainly they're working hard to blur the line between legitimate work on behalf of the state and shady partisan nonsense on the tax payers dime.

A Minnesota Data Practices Act request for correspondence between Newman and his LA and his LA and Brodkorb would probably provide the lefty blogosphere with weeks worth of fodder, and shed some much needed light into the workings of the Republican Senate Caucus.

Would Newman the Lawyer defend Newman the Senator...

...in front of Newman the Judge?

Senator Newman's story just doesn't add up.

Recall his timeline for epic fail.

After speaking to reporters from a couple of major newspapers, the timeline of the Newman email and following events interests me.  Something just doesn't seem right.

At 2pm on Thursday January 20th, Senator Newman's LA sent the email that created the firestorm we witnessed yesterday.  According to one reporter, they had placed a call to Senator Newman's office around 4:30 on Thursday asking for a response.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Friday January 21st, according to reporters at the Pioneer Press and the Startribune, both called Senator Newman's office and requested verification of the email and for the Senator to explain the response.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Monday January 24th, the same Startribune reporter called Senator Newman's office again asking for verification and asking for the Senator to comment.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.  Later that afternoon the story broke at Bluestem Prairie.  While Senator Newman failed to respond to repeated requests for comment, per Sally Jo at Bluestem, the Minnesota Republican Party had already been trolling her blog looking at the post.  I find it hard to believe that former GOP hate blogger, State Senate employee, and Vice Chair of the Minnesota GOP Michael Brodkorb failed to see this coming.

Finally on Tuesday January 25th, after the AP ran a story picked up by the Pioneer Press, Startribune, and news feeds across the State of Minnesota, Senator Newman's office first responded by saying that Senator Newman would not comment and Kelley was unable to comment about her email.  Later Newman responded that this was all a "innocent mistake" placing the blame with his Legislative Assistant.

I find it highly unlikely that I would know about the MNA email scandal nearly 24 hours before the Senator.

Senator Newman needs to come clean...

I knew about the MNA email before Senator Newman?

If you believe Senator Newman's story, then I heard about the MNA email before the Senator.

Newman, who is from Hutchinson and sits on the influential Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said he had first heard of the email early Tuesday morning. “It’s just an error, that’s all,” he said.

He first heard of the email Tuesday morning?  Really?

I knew about it around noon on Monday, when a Startribune reporter asked me questions about the MNA endorsement and if any donations from the MNA followed.  The same Startribune reporter had stated that he called to seek comment from the Senator on Thursday, several times on Friday, and several times on Monday.

Again, I find it very difficult to believe that Senator Newman didn't know about this email for 5 days.

It's time for Senator Newman to come clean...his constituents in SD 18 are waiting.

Senator Newman hit with ethics charges

Simply put, it had to be done.

So many questions remain unanswered, including the very questionable timeline, why Senator Newman failed to return a call to ANY media member from Thursday afternoon until Tuesday morning, questions about the use of state resources for campaign finance research and all the questions about the Legislative Assistant / Senator Newman and the actual content of the email.
 
Bluestem Prairie cites a West Central Tribune story on the matter.  While I don't share the WCT's assertion that Newman answered questions in a timely manner, I do agree wholeheartedly that Newman still has a lot of serious questions to answer.

This quip in the Startribune story caught my eye.

"After some careful checking, I discovered the MNA had donated to Kimball's campaign," the e-mail said. "Your association will be unable to schedule an appointment with Senator Newman."

Careful checking?  Did she check the Campaign Finance Board site?  If she did, she would have found that the MNA didn't send any money to our campaign.  Which is why I think Senator Newman simply gave LA Kelley a list of organizations that endorsed or donated to our campaign.

I think a Minnesota Data Practices Act is in order.  In order to determine who's telling the truth, Senator Newman should divulge all email between himself and his Legislative Assistant and any correspondence between either the Senator and/or his LA and any lobbyist or advocacy group.  I also believe that Newman needs to disclose his full meeting calendar as well.

Access to Senator Newman seems to be a big issue. 

Newman did not immediately return a phone message, and no one answered a knock on his Capitol office door late Thursday afternoon.

This is consistent with previous attempts by both the Startribune and the Pioneer Press to contact the Senator after they learned about the email, a week ago.  Newman either didn't get ANY of the press inquiries Thursday, Friday, and Monday or simply ignored them.  It's also consistent with what I've heard from numerous local media outlets who cannot get the Senator to return a phone call to them either, including the KLFD AM 1410 Radio show, Aaron in the Afternoon.

But who came to Newman's defense?  Yep, former GOP hate blogger Michael Brodkorb.

"Senator Newman didn't personally send the e-mail, nor was he aware of it," said Michael Brodkorb, spokesman for Senate Republicans. "He accepted complete responsibility and apologized for the confusion and frustration it caused."

Not aware of it?  Why didn't Brodkorb approach Newman on Monday as the GOP surfed Internet blogs at the breaking Newman scandal?  You'd also have to believe that Newman's LA didn't mention a single time that the media was looking for him, from Thursday-Tuesday morning.

If Senator Newman's story is true, he'd damn near have to be the most understanding boss ever.  And from what I've personally witnessed, I find it hard to believe.

Senator Newman: The Truth Shall Set You Free

It's been interesting following some of the local media outlets and the reaction to Senator Newman's naughty email to the Minnesota Nurses Association.

A blog post has appeared on both the Hutchinson Leader and Independent Review (Litchfield) websites.  It's a post actually calling for Senator Newman to resign.

Instead of simply admitting his arrogant and asinine thoughts on representing only part of his constituency he took the low road. He lied, plain and simply lied. He blamed the entire statement in the email on his aide. Anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of politics knows that an aide would NEVER draft such a statement unless directly and expressly directed to do so by the Senator himself. What a cop out of responsibility and cowardly shift of blame to a subordinate employee.

And remember, Senator Newman wanted to be Judge Newman back in 2006 and was appointed by Governor Pawlenty to an Administrative Law Judge position. After this email was exposed, you have to question the ethos that would foster a workplace environment of pettiness and animosity that could create such a statement.  He truly doesn't care.  It's a paycheck.  A government paycheck.

Furthermore, Senator Newman has avoided some media outlets in the Senate District.  I know via facebook posts that the Aaron in the Afternoon Show from AM 1410 KLFD, has yet to receive a return call from Senator Newman

Jorge Sosa from the Hutchinson Leader was the lucky winner of Senator Newman's only local media outreach.

I've personally spoken to reporters in the Twin Cities who began calling the Senators office on Thursday afternoon, seeking a response.  The same reporters called again on Friday and left multiple messages on Monday.

For Newman's story to be true, his rookie Legislative Assistant would have had to have concocted the email, looked at my Kimball for Senate Campaign Finance Report or at a list of people/groups who endorsed our candidacy and then blindly sent that message to the Minnesota Nurses Association.

And then kept it a secret from Thursday until Tuesday morning, secret from Senator Newman only, since DFLers, reporters and GOP staffers/party officials all knew about the Newman email well before the AP story broke.

It's clear that as the Hutchinson Leader blog post stated, Scott Newman flat out lied to us.  He continues to lie to us.

Why doesn't anyone in the dead tree media ask Newman the tough questions?  Especially after the same dead tree media scribes called me for background info on Senator Newman and told me they were trying to contact his since Thursday.  How can anyone believe that he went from Thursday afternoon to Tuesday morning without any knowledge of the email to the MNA and the literally dozens of media requests?

Senator Newman is biding his time until this story dies.  I for one, will make sure that the voters of SD 18 or whatever district we become for the 2012 election, never forgets what Senator Newman has done.

BTW, when will the DFL or the Senate Caucus actually do something?  Other than send a fundraising letter that is...

Senator Newman's timeline of #Epicfail

So what do you think of the Senator Newman "reverse pay to play" scheme and the professional nature in which it was handled?


A.  Senator Newman is lying.
B.  Senator Newman and his staff are incompetent.
C.  All of the above.
D.  He's telling the truth.

If you answered D, stop drinking the Kool Aid.

Senator Newman helped usher in a new era of accountability in St Paul today.  Its the Legislative Assistant's (LA) fault.

After speaking to reporters from a couple of major newspapers, the timeline of the Newman email and following events interests me.  Something just doesn't seem right.

At 2pm on Thursday January 20th, Senator Newman's LA sent the email that created the firestorm we witnessed yesterday.  According to one reporter, they had placed a call to Senator Newman's office around 4:30 on Thursday asking for a response.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Friday January 21st, according to reporters at the Pioneer Press and the Startribune, both called Senator Newman's office and requested verification of the email and for the Senator to explain the response.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Monday January 24th, the same Startribune reporter called Senator Newman's office again asking for verification and asking for the Senator to comment.  Senator Newman didn't respond to a request for comment.  Later that afternoon the story broke at Bluestem Prairie.  While Senator Newman failed to respond to repeated requests for comment, per Sally Jo at Bluestem, the Minnesota Republican Party had already been trolling her blog looking at the post.  I find it hard to believe that former GOP hate blogger, State Senate employee, and Vice Chair of the Minnesota GOP Michael Brodkorb failed to see this coming.

Finally on Tuesday January 25th, after the AP ran a story picked up by the Pioneer Press, Startribune, and news feeds across the State of Minnesota, Senator Newman's office first responded by saying that Senator Newman would not comment and Kelley was unable to comment about her email.  Later Newman responded that this was all a "innocent mistake" placing the blame with his Legislative Assistant.

Innocent mistake...for any group that hasn't paid the toll to speak with Senator Newman that is.  I can see that Newman's 2012 re-election campaign has kicked off in full earnest.  He's got a wonderful set of campaign slogans waiting for use.

Scott Newman:  Because Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay style politics are what Minnesota needs.

Scott Newman:  "I don't have time to talk to constituents."

Let's think about this for a moment.

Do you really believe that Senator Newman's Legislative Assistant fired off that disrespectful response on a Thursday afternoon and didn't tell her boss about this until Tuesday morning?  AFTER reporters from at least 3 media outlets were requesting the Senator to comment, since Thursday afternoon?  Do you really think Senator Newman's LA came up with the reverse "pay to play" scheme on her own?  Out of 75 comments at the Startribune on this story, only 2 seem to believe Newman's hastily concocted story.

I find it all hard to believe.

Senator Newman is a lawyer by trade, a trial lawyer at that.  Would he actually try to sell this story to a Judge and jury?  Are we going to buy this hard to believe fantasy version?

A full investigation into this is called for.  As a bare minimum, I'd like to see correspondence between the Senator and the LA since last Thursday.  Seems like a good start to me.  Perhaps it's time to go for a Freedom of Information Act/Minnesota Data Practices Act request.

By the way, the answer to the first question is C, all of the above.

Senator Newman: Politics at its worst

Yesterday Sally Jo Sorensen at Bluestem Prairie broke a story about Senator Scott Newman and his refusal to meet with organizations and people that endorsed my candidacy for the State Senate.

When I first heard about Senator Newman's refusal to meet with "any organizations that donated to/supported his opponent Hal Kimball."

-----Original Message-----
From: Kim Kelley [email address redacted by Bluestem]
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 2:00 PM
To: Eileen Gavin
Subject: [Eileen Gavin] Meeting

 Kim Kelley sent a message using the contact form at [redacted]

Hi Eileen-

Unfortunately, Senator Newman will not see any organizations that donated to/supported his opponent Hal Kimball. After some careful checking, I discovered that the MNA had donated to Kimball's campaign. Your association will be unable to schedule an appointment with Senator Newman.

Kim Kelley

Legislative Assistant

My first reaction was surprise.  Really?  Senator Newman won't meet with local Vietnam Veterans, college students, local farmers, school teachers, Racino supporters, local laborers, local nurses, etc?

Absurd!

My initial shock wore off quickly.  During my time with the Minnesota State University Student Association, I worked with higher education groups across the state.  We worked to set up meetings with legislators in a strong effort to "Freeze Tuition".  We met with virtually every State Representative and Senator, except then Representative Newman.  I literally chased him from the House chambers to his office in the State Office Building trying to talk to him about higher education issues.  It didn't matter...Representative Newman didn't want to talk to us.

Now, he wants to know who you voted for and who you gave money to before he talks to you.  Per an email to the Minnesota Nurses Association, Senator Newman refuses to meet with them because they endorsed my candidacy for the State Senate.  They incorrectly assert that the MNA provided my campaign with much needed funding.  Per our campaign finance board reports, they did not, despite what Senator Newman's Legislative Assistant Kim Kelley thinks she found.

The Senator Newman excuse generator will talk about how negative the campaigns got as the election neared.  Truth be told, Candidate Newman worked to manipulate local debates and forums.  Besides, anything we brought to the voters was something Candidate Newman said.  Was he upset that we were calling him out on it or upset that he actually said some of the things he said?

On second glance it sure looks like a reverse "pay to play scheme".  Simply put, this is politics at its worst.  It's why people have a complete distrust in government.

What will happen to towns like Annandale, Litchfield, Grove City, Watkins and Eden Valley, towns that didn't strongly support Senator Newman?  Will they receive bigger LGA cuts?

What about mayors, council members, county commissioners, etc that supported our campaign?

Four years ago I lost a race to Senator Steve Dille.  Within weeks of the session opening I met with the Senator to discuss some higher education and Veterans issues.  Senator Dille provided a personal tour of the State Capitol and Senate chambers and we kept in close contact talking about these very important issues.  He had an open door for everyone.


Senator Newman...his door has a toll, if you gave to our campaign in 2010, you better give to him in 2012 or else.  Politics at its worst, right before our eyes.

I hope a ethics investigation ensues...

The stakes are high

Elections have consequences.

We fought a spirited campaign here in SD 18, as did my friends in other districts across Minnesota.  While I'm disappointed in the outcome, we don't have time to wallow in self pity.

With the Republicans in firm control of both the House and the Senate, a very conservative agenda is going to take hold and the impact in Greater Minnesota could be severe.

We all know we're facing a $6 billion budget hole.  During the campaign Republicans across the state and here in SD 18 questioned whether or not we really have a deficit.

Last year the State of Minnesota spent over $30 billion but got about $35 billion worth of government.  We offset that by "kicking the can down the road" for about $2 billion and by taking Federal Stimulus money for public safety, education, transportation and health care, saving many great programs and creating jobs across the state.

It's clear to me that a GOP majority will work to get closer to that $30 billion figure than the $35 billion figure.

Now, in 9 debates and forums across my Senate District, Senator-elect Newman (first time I've typed that) couldn't name a single budget area in which he would cut.  Not one.

He'll combine the Boxing Commission with the Combative Arts Commission and save the state $50,000 at most, but has not named a single area in which he would cut.

And he won't raise any revenue either.

After Tuesday, the party with no answers or solutions cannot be the "party of no" any longer.

They must lead, and based on what I've witnessed firsthand the past 11 months, we have reason to be concerned.

Last February during Precinct Caucuses, the Tea Party pushed groups out here in Wright County and they've named themselves "Camp America Grassroots" and the "Meeker County Revolution".  They're pushing a great amount of rhetoric and sheer craziness.

One of the talking points that emerged out of the craziness dealt with the size of government.  Now I don't dispute that the growth of government is sustainable, but we don't need to overstate claims to try and prove a point.

Case in point, Senator-elect Newman has stated on countless occasions that "in 1960, the State of Minnesota had a budget of $500 million and 3.5 million people.  In 2010, it has a budget of more than $30 billion and 5.5 million people."

Check out a simple inflation calculator, you'll find that $500 million indexed for inflation in 2009 is actually $35.81 billion.

Look at the demagoguery of Health and Human Services.  Senator-elect Newman and other tea party "elite".  Anyone who claims that we spend more on welfare than we do educating our kids is out of touch with reality.

In fact, out of the $10 billion spent in Human Services, more than $4.4 billion is spent on long term care and nursing homes.  Is that "welfare"?

In the coming weeks, we'll continue to cite the extreme examples of what the tea party movement in Greater Minnesota really stands for.

This much is clear.  We have to organize our communities to fight what's on the horizon.  We have to have Governor-elect Dayton's back.  He's going to play the role of goaltender, deflecting the strong conservative power play.

I'm ready to fight for places like Cokato, Annandale, and Silver Lake.

I'm ready to fight to make sure our kids have the same opportunities I did when I was a kid.

I'm ready to fight, are you?