By Lori Ehde
Rep. Doug Magnus (R-Slayton), through his attorney, has indicated he will file a motion to dismiss charges of unfair campaign practice brought by citizens in the four counties he represents in District 22A.
The charges stem from a postcard Magnus mailed on or about Nov. 2, 2002, just prior to the general elections, in which he defeated DFL incumbent Ted Winter for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The postcard contained general information about Magnus and encouraged voters to support him in the upcoming election.
It failed, however, to include the standard line indicating who paid for the solicitation, as is required by state law.
Four individuals from each of the four counties in District 22A filed complaints with their respective County Attorney’s Offices.
To streamline the process, an order was issued to consolidate the charges into one formal complaint in one location, Rock County District Court.
When the misdemeanor charges were first filed on Feb. 23, Magnus admitted he’d made an honest mistake on his literature and indicated he’d plead guilty to the charges.
He was scheduled to appear for an initial hearing Monday in Luverne, but that was canceled when he indicated his intent to file a motion to dismiss.
When questioned about the move, Magnus said there was nothing to warrant the charges in the first place. "It’s minor, it’s frivolous, it’s silly," he said Tuesday.
He said the intent of the campaign law he’s accused of violating is to prevent people from making personal, anonymous attacks on on candidates.
"That’s the intent of the law, and certainly we didn’t violate the intent of the law," he said.
When asked about his initial plans to plead guilty, Magnus said he made those comments without having all the facts.
He said he was first led to believe there were several complaints in his district from the general public.
But he said he later learned the complaints were an "obvious, orchestrated" effort on the part of DFL members from each of the four counties.
Magnus said they came in simultaneously on the Monday afternoon before the Tuesday elections — a move he said was an effort to undermine his reputation at a critical time for voters.
He said that’s why he decided to fight the charges after all, despite admitting to the mistake on the postcard.
"What these folks have to understand is it doesn’t hurt just Republicans, it hurts everyone," he said.
"I was concerned about setting a precedent on a trivial matter that would affect all candidates in the future."
County Attorney Don Klosterbuer, who is prosecuting the case for District 22A, said it’s not unusual for complaints to arise during campaigns, but they’re usually dropped after elections.
But this one, he said showed sufficient evidence to indicate a violation of the law, albeit a technical violation, and that’s why he and the three other county attorneys decided to prosecute.
"Based on the evidence we had, we felt it was proper to file a complaint," Klosterbuer said.
The next court hearing has not yet been scheduled.
The maximum penalty for the charges is a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both.
