Roseville Schoolboard update

Bruce Martin, one of our endorsed candidates for Roseville Schoolboard, has supplied some updated information about his campaign and a schedule for relevant cablecasts.


We have invited all of our endorsed candidates to send us updates for posting - stay tuned!

Update 10/25/07: Star Tribune profiles, PTA/PTSA questionnaires, and more candidate statements have been added.

An explanation that does not ring true*

We learned about 4:30 PM on Friday, October 5th, that the Office of Administrative Hearings had issued its Findings of Fact, Conclusions, and Order [complete document in pdf form] in the matter of our complaint against Ms. Cave and the Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc.

From the Conclusions:

4. The Complainants have demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that Respondent Rebecca Cave violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by knowingly making a false claim implying that she was endorsed by the Maplewood Fire Department.
5. The Complainants have demonstrated that Respondent MFA violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by knowingly making a false claim implying that Rebecca Cave has the endorsement of the Maplewood Fire Department.
6. Respondent Rebecca Cave shall be fined $1,000 for the violation.
7. Respondent MFA shall be fined $1,000 for the violation.
[emphasis added]

Here is Chairperson Bob Schmidt's reaction to the ruling:

- What they did was wrong. The courts ruled it was wrong.
- The Maplewood Voters Coalition is striving for an open, honest, process oriented government. Was that HONEST? You decide.
- We fully support individuals on the Police and Fire Departments. We do not in any way find them responsible for the actions of what we believe to be a few.
- As for the name "Maplewood Fire" - this should be reserved for the Maplewood Fire Department - Not Mr. Hjelle.

Board member Christeen Stone added "I guess the injustice of it all was what bothered me most."

---

* From the memorandum:

Given that her only explanation for why she claimed to be endorsed by “Maplewood Fire” was space limitation, an explanation that does not ring true, and absent any other testimony from her, the panel concludes that the preponderance of the evidence establishes that Ms. Cave knowingly implied she was endorsed by the Maplewood Fire Department in violation of Minn. Stat. § 211B.02.

Happy Hour for Maplewood, #2

As a public service the Gladstone Moose Lodge (northeast corner of Frost and English) is opening the door for a few Thursday Happy Hours for Maplewood over the next few weeks. We are shifting the time a bit this week by request.

Stop by between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM for popcorn, public policy talk, and access to the Lodge's beverage service!

It's a busy campaign, so the candidates might not always be there. Either way, we will try to make sure your questions, concerns, and opinions get passed along.

See you this evening!

Honesty!

Today we kick off our general election campaign theme - honesty!

Board member Christeen Stone sent a letter to the Lillie Newspapers (no link yet) to introduce the theme, and our signs. Here is an excerpt:

MVC has chosen as our motto "Honesty" in government. We endorsed four candidates who we felt would uphold those principles and are now happy to give our support to the two top winners of the primary. We have decided that along with the signs of our candidates we will add a sign "Honesty!" which will identify who we are and what our principles are.
I hope you see a lot of "HONESTY" signs around our city because that is our goal - to have honesty, professionalism, real process, and public service the driving force behind our City Council: a real democracy! VOTE!

Christeen M. Stone
MVC Board
Maplewood

Thanks Christeen!

If you would like an Honesty! sign in your yard, send your request to honesty@mvc07.com .

Evidentiary Hearing Update

The evidentiary hearing of our complaint against Rebecca Cave and the Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc. for claiming endorsement by 'Maplewood Fire' lasted from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM on Monday October 1st, at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) new location in St. Paul.

Since this is an expedited hearing, the OAH judicial panel hearing the complaint will issue its decision within three days of closing the record on the hearing. So, we should have a decision by Thursday afternoon.

While we wait, we want to point out a key victory we have already won. In the design of Minnesota Statutes Chapter 211 (Campaign practices) the Legislature delegated the duty to police campaign practices to citizens. The Maplewood Voters Coalition has demonstrated that when citizens are confident that the law has been violated, they can stand up and have their complaint heard. The Office of Administrative Hearings has made the process of ordinary people pursuing a complaint as unintimidating as possible for a legal proceeding.

We can stand up. We can insist on the rule of law.

Bob Schmidt and Stephan Flister

Happy Hour for Maplewood

As a public service the Gladstone Moose Lodge (northeast corner of Frost and English) is opening the door for a few Thursday Happy Hours for Maplewood over the next 6 weeks, starting today, September 27th.

Stop by between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM for popcorn, public policy talk, and access to the Lodge's beverage service!

It's a busy campaign, so the candidates might not always be there. Either way, we will try to make sure your questions, concerns, and opinions get passed along.

See you this evening!

MFA/Cave complaint evidentiary hearing scheduled

As the next step after the probable cause order, which states:

Based upon the record and all of the proceedings in this matter, including the Memorandum incorporated herein, the Administrative Law Judge finds that there is probable cause to believe that the Respondents violated Minnesota Statute § 211B.02 by claiming that Ms. Cave’s candidacy for Maplewood City Council is endorsed by “Maplewood Fire.”

the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has scheduled the evidentiary hearing for our complaint for October 1st at 9:30 AM.

In the probable cause order and the hearing order, the OAH raises three issues of public interest which the MVC board has now discussed and will comment on in connection with publishing the OAH documents.

1) The complaint can be withdrawn up to the time of the hearing. Will the MVC do so in light of the sign changes offered by Mr. Hjelle?

The MVC board voted unanimously to continue the complaint process. Gestures after the primary are not relevant to and cannot undo the effects of actions taken before the primary.

2) The probable cause order discusses a semantic difference between 'Maplewood Police' and 'Maplewood Fire':

Unlike the phrase, “Maplewood Police,” which could suggest endorsement by individual police officers, the phrase “Maplewood Fire” can only refer to an organization. Given that the Maplewood Fire Department employs that phrase on its fire trucks and other gear, the facts are sufficient to support finding probable cause that, by using the phrase “Maplewood Fire,” the Respondents knowingly implied falsely that Ms. Cave was endorsed by the Maplewood Fire Department.

Given this caveat from Judge Heydinger, will the MVC pursue a similar complaint based on the use of 'Maplewood Police'?

The MVC board voted unanimously to continue defining a complaint based on the use of 'Maplewood Police'.


3) Judge Heydinger raises the issue of whether MVC is a 'legal entity'. We are to provide evidence at the evidentiary hearing or the complaint will be revised to be in the name of Robert Schmidt only, and other individuals whose names can be added.

The board will withdraw the MVC from the complaint and add Stephan Flister as a named Complainant. Here is our reasoning.

The Maplewood Voters Coalition (MVC) is a voluntary association registered (#40983) with the MN State Campaign Finance Board as a Political Committee. This is a practical and appropriate form of organization for our main activities of supporting our endorsed candidates and expressing our point of view in elections that affect Maplewood's residents and lands.

The question of whether MVC is a legal entity has arisen in our formal complaint against candidate Rebecca Cave and the Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc. Making formal complaints is an activity we did not envision when we chose our form of organization. When asking the question, Judge Heydinger defined legal entity to mean 'standing to sue and be sued'. Individual people and forms of business ownership which create new legal entities, like partnerships and corporations, have such standing. If a voluntary association cannot sue and be sued, then MVC cannot be one of the named complainants in this action. However, as many of our board and members as wish to be present at hearings can be named on the existing and future complaints.

The intent of the MVC Board in naming the MVC on the complaint was not to assert standing, but to inform the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and the public that MVC Chair Bob Schmidt is not acting alone. Rather, he is speaking for the MVC Board and for those citizens that view MVC as one representative of their views in the community.

Accordingly, the board will ask OAH to remove MVC as a complainant, and to add Stephan Flister, Assistant to the MVC Board, to the complaint.

Bob and Stephan will also ask the OAH and Maplewood citizens to be aware that, although they are named as individuals, any decisions they make in connection with this complaint are made in consultation with the MVC Board and intended to speak for like-minded individuals in our community.

Any details of public interest arising before the hearing will be posted on this site.

Signs of discontent

About an hour after Tuesday's probable cause hearing, held by telephone conference, Mr. Hjelle sent this email to the participants:

Judge Heydinger,

After the telephone conference, I spoke with 2 board members and they concurred that while the MFA does not in anyway accept the argument about voter confusion regarding the lawn signs, the MFA has decided to take them down. They should all be down by Saturday.

Perception is everything and acting within the law should not be the "benchmark". Acting within a ethical boundary is much more important. As firefighters, we solve problems for the people of Maplewood, not create them.


Thank you.

Erik Hjelle

Have a safe day!

Several of you have sent notes or called that some 'Maplewood Police and Fire endorse Rebecca Cave' signs are gone, and as of noon today (Sunday 9/16) some were still up. Being a voluntary effort on the part of the Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc. (MFA), who paid for the signs, it is up to the MFA if and when the signs come down. The Office of Administrative Hearings (AOH) has made no such order, and their removal has no bearing on our formal complaint.

Where the sign has come down, a new one has gone up in its place, this one paid for by 'Citizens for Rebecca Cave'. The new text is

Fire * Police**
endorse
Rebecca Cave
Maplewood City Council

The single asterisk is footnoted in tiny print at the bottom of the sign as 'Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc. is a nonprofit organization and is not affiliated with the City of Maplewood'. The double asterisk reads 'Maplewood Police Officers Union (LELS #153)'.

While this edges back towards text more commonly seen on lawn signs, and the footnotes are both helpful and accurate, something still seems troublesome. It becomes clear when you consider what one version of an ethical, to use Mr. Hjelle's word, sign might look like. Here is a crudely photoshopped version to make the point:

[sign altered for illustration]

The top text reads 'LELS # 153* and MFA, Inc.**' leaving in references to the same helpful footnotes.

This made up version respects voters and the endorsing organizations by simply using their good names. Wouldn't that remove every ambiguity?

The question is, why don't the new signs say this?

Stephan, member of MVC

Probable cause order has been issued

Here is the key paragraph from the order:

The Administrative Law Judge concludes that based on the record presented, the Complainants have demonstrated probable cause to believe that the Respondents violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02. Specifically, the Complainants have established probable cause to believe that Rebecca Cave violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by claiming on her candidate profile that she was endorsed by “Maplewood Fire.” The Complainants have also established probable cause to believe that Respondent MFA violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by claiming on its lawn signs that Ms. Cave was endorsed by “Maplewood Fire.”

More details forthcoming when we learn the schedule for the evidentiary hearing.

We get mail... campaign practices complaint

A letter from from a Maplewood resident and retired Maplewood Fire Department firefighter:

A letter from a Maplewood resident who is a retired firefighter from the Maplewood fire department

Thank you for taking the appropriate action. I believe the 'endorsed by Maplewood Fire' claim is a misrepresentation. Cave's husband and another city council member forming a group of 8 to 10 fire fighters from the Maplewood fire department for political activity doesn't give them the right to claim that the fire department in its entirety endorses any one candidate. That is misleading.

We need a sound proactive government that is comprised of leaders who have the best intentions for the city and its citizens. They should search out the best qualified staff and work to retain the good quality staff that has devoted their careers to the city.

It is time for the silent majority to take action. We all need to be involved in this process. Many of us (the silent majority) assume that everything is for the best and that no individual would take advantage of an elected position especially at this level of government. As a resident of Maplewood I encourage everyone to get out and vote.

Investigate the issues and vote for your choice. We just can’t sit back any longer, we can’t let the other person do it, and no it will not be all right. NOT UNLESS WE ALL GET INVOLVED!

As I see the facts there is something wrong with our current management team. There is not enough experience and knowledge in the group making decisions. The explanation of the deputy police chief’s case is another example of misleading the facts. Yes it may be true that the city’s actions did not cost the city any money because they are a member of the League of Minnesota Cities and they paid the claim. However the facts are the city's actions were wrong and I think there are more cases that will cost the city or the league more money. A good clue would have been when an established and very well respected city attorney quits because the council would not take any advice on their actions and potentially violating the law.

What is even worse is the management team doesn’t know what they don’t know and they do not have anyone in a leadership position to stop them from making more poor decisions. If the elected candidate only brings one quality to the council in my opinion it would be the ability to find the answers, ask the questions, find the experienced staff or people for advice, then make good sound decisions. That person has my vote

Thank you for your efforts

[name withheld]

Open letter to the James' of Maplewood

To: James Meehan, James Dykes, James Llanas

The primary is over. The votes are in and counted. If we look at the numbers we see that the voters had one thing on their minds - sending a very loud signal to the current council majority. The voters wanted to say that so badly that you didn't get much of a chance to be part of the count. Few were willing to risk that their vote would be the one that made the message fall short.

But when we talked to voters at the door and after our forum they said something else. Will and John said the same thing. You all ran classy, positive campaigns which added important ideas to the discussion. Nobody was just making it up to be nice either. It wasn't that kind of election.

So we ask you all to stay connected to the Maplewood Voters Coalition. Help us organize and inform voters. Think of us as a place to exercise and grow your leadership and visibility. Stay in the fight.

Welcome!
Bob, the Board, and the other members of MVC

Campaign practices violation complaint filed

Updated: The administrative law judge has found the Maplewood Voters Coalition complaint has made a prima facie case and ordered a probable cause hearing for Tuesday 9/11 at 1:00 PM. From the order:

The phrase “Maplewood Fire” on both the lawn signs and the candidate profile is ambiguous. The issue is whether, by claiming that “Maplewood Fire” endorses Ms. Cave, the Respondents knowingly falsely implied that Ms. Cave has the endorsement of the Maplewood Fire Department.

The Administrative Law Judge concludes that the complaint does allege sufficient facts to support finding prima facie violations of Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 as against both Respondents. If the evidence at a hearing were to establish that the Respondents knowingly made the claim that “Maplewood Fire” endorses Ms. Cave in order to imply that the Maplewood Fire Department endorses her candidacy, and the Fire Department did not do so, that would be a violation of Minn. Stat. § 211B.02. This matter will proceed to a probable cause hearing where the Administrative Law Judge will determine whether the facts available establish a reasonable belief that the Respondents have committed a violation requiring them to go to hearing on the merits.

--------------------- end update ---------------------------------

Last night when I got home, there was a call from a man in the neighborhood. He had just gotten a letter from David Bartol with a lot of derogatory comments about Will Rossbach and John Nephew. This neighbor walked over to my house and we chatted for almost two hours. One of his concerns was that all the firefighters and police had endorsed Rebecca Cave. He was very upset that Rebecca would mislead the residents by having her husband's organization endorse her and give the appearance that it is our Maplewood Fire Department that have endorsed her.

Because of many conversations like that, the Maplewood Voters Coalition has filed a formal complaint with the State of Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings regarding the signs posted by the "Maplewood Firefighters Association, Inc." which claim Rebecca Cave is endorsed by "Maplewood Police and Fire".

We do our work in support of open and honest government by supporting good candidates, and by saying "no" to practices like this. This is our first formal complaint. It probably isn't the last.

Bob Schmidt, Chair

Candidate forum audio ready for your listening pleasure

The MVC candidate forum held at the Maplewood Library on September 5th was well received by the audience of approximately forty.

Here is our web audio version.

We are also preparing a full video version for cablecast various times in October. We will alert you to set your VCRs when the time comes.

Primary doorknocking flyer

A member has created a useful flyer for her own primary doorknocking. You might find it useful too!

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Christeen Stone speaks - you listen

Christeen Stone made another of her fine presentations at the August 27th city council meeting. Here is the audio (.6 mb MP3).