The Badger Herald: News: Allen letter raises flags

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Allen letter raises flags

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Thursday, March 29, 2007 12:00 a.m.

6 Vote 0 Votes

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's campaign Wednesday accused mayoral opponent Ray Allen of sending an illegal campaign letter to Madison alcohol policy coordinator Joel Plant.

The letter — which solicited funds for Allen's campaign — was reportedly sent to Plant's City Hall office and could violate a Wisconsin statute prohibiting political candidates from soliciting money from any "officer or employee of a political subdivision of the state" while that officer is actively serving his official duties.

"We weren't going to bring it up because we're trying to run a positive campaign, but if they're going to be nitpicky, then we're going to bring up some of his serious violations," said Megan McGrorty, campaign manager for Cieslewicz, referencing to recent allegations that the mayor overstepped his boundaries in using Madison Fire Department equipment and firefighters in a recent campaign ad.

However, Semmi Pasha, spokesperson for Allen, said this letter was sent accidentally to Plant's office.

"That's an oversight on our part," Pasha said. "Basically, we asked folks for their Rolodex — for lack of a better term — and we just mailed out to that list. And Joel's name must have been on one of them, and we didn't see it."

Pasha added this particular accusation pales in comparison to Cieslewicz's alleged violation.

In using Fire Department equipment, including firefighting gear and a fire truck, Pasha said the mayor used his office and taxpayer resources for political gain.

"They're trying to say that their crass use of taxpayer resources for political purposes is somehow equivalent to us accidentally sending someone a piece of mail," Pasha said. "It's by no means equivalent."

McGrorty added that Allen's campaign received more than the legal maximum of $2,080 in donations from one individual — Madison developer Gary Gorman.

However, Pasha defended Gorman's donation overage, saying it was a mistake, and added the campaign has since issued Gorman a check for the amount beyond $2,080.

"Unlike the other side, we recognize our mistake; we acknowledge our mistake," Pasha said. "They had a serious violation of campaign laws, and they are not willing to admit that."

Allen has also received a number of $95 and $99 donations, which McGrorty said is interesting and "very unusual" since all donations of more than $100 have to list the donor's profession.

"I would be very interested to know the profession of those people," McGrorty said.

The two candidates will face off next Tuesday, April 3. Final campaign finance reports are due later this year.

6 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | March 29, 2007 6:29 AM | Reply
IP hash: 9eed8a43

Dude, Badger Herald. For the love of god, you guys are like junior high journalists on crack trying to break a story. You frame things with such clear brightlines in a way I seldom see. Do the quotes from the other sides ever matter, or do you just publish exactly what you want the story to come across?

Anonymous | March 29, 2007 11:21 AM | Reply
IP hash: b748280b

Oh Ray Allen, have you never heard the one about people in glass houses?

Anonymous | March 29, 2007 4:02 PM | Reply
IP hash: 151fddb3

I love how Semmi tagged Dave’s campaign yesterday for calling their snafu a mistake, and then he used the exact same word!

Anonymous | March 29, 2007 8:50 PM | Reply
IP hash: 7c365edc

Anybody who takes Mayor Dufus Dave seriously needs to check themselves into Mendota Mental Health Institute. Mayor Dave is at worst incompetent — at best a clown. To be sure, Mayor Dave has flipped his trolley — let the people of Madison flip him the bird — and vote for Ray Allen, the obvious one who cares about diversity and sane progress.