Bradley Hoyt, owner of Urban Grove, 2501 Lowry Avenue NE, has been served a notice of determination of a prima facie [which means based on first impression] violation of Minnesota election campaign financing laws. A pre-hearing conference has been set for Jan. 24.
On Oct. 22, 2019, prior to the mayoral and council election in St. Anthony, a letter signed by Citizens Against Racism IN Government (CARING) appeared in constituents’ mailboxes throughout the city. It urged voters to “say no to racism, discrimination, corruption and dishonesty” and to “say no” to candidates Randy Stille, Hal Gray and Jan Jenson. Stille was running for mayor and Gray was seeking re-election to the city council. Jenson was not on the ballot. The mailer envelope’s return address made it appear to have come from Urban Grove.
David Johnson, a campaign volunteer for Bernard Walker, decided to investigate. He filed a complaint with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings on Oct. 29.
A hearing was held via telephone with Administrative Law Judge Barbara Case on Oct. 30. She determined that Johnson’s complaint against CARING had set forth enough facts to generate a prima facie order. It was mailed to the Lowry Avenue address and returned to the Office of Administrative Hearings Nov. 6 as “not deliverable as addressed unable to forward.”
On Nov. 8, Johnson’s complaint and his evidence – the mailer and the envelope – were also returned to the state marked, “Return to Sender Attempted – Not Known Unable to Forward.”
Johnson took his investigation further on Nov. 19 and requested to subpoena Click2Mail, the direct marketing vendor that printed and mailed the letter. Click2Mail responded on Nov. 27 with a copy of the sales receipt. According to memorandum issued by Judge Case, “The receipt indicates that on October 19, 2019, Respondent Bradley Hoyt paid for the printing and mailing of the campaign material at issue. According to the receipt, the total cost of producing and mailing the material was $2,213.51.”
Minnesota Statute §211A.02 states that campaign expenses in excess of $750 in a calendar year must be reported by the candidate or campaign with 14 days after the money is spent. Case concluded, “Respondent [Hoyt] appears to have acted with members of CARING to influence the November 2019 municipal elections in St. Anthony by preparing and disseminating campaign material.”
A telephone hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 24. To listen in, call 1-888-742-5095, and enter the conference code 752-390-7175#.