REGIONAL- Could a simple piece of tape flip the balance of power in the Minnesota House to the Republican Party in the upcoming legislative session?
A piece of tape placed on an apartment door was one of the surveillance techniques used by supporters of House District 40B Republican candidate Paul Wikstrom in an attempt to prove that DFL candidate Curtis Johnson did not reside in that Roseville apartment when he won the Nov. 4 election for the seat. Wikstrom filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County District Court on Nov. 20 alleging that Johnson’s victory should be nullified because, Wikstrom alleges, Johnson instead continued to live at his residence in Little Canada, outside of the district. Minnesota law requires that House candidates be a resident in the district they seek to represent for at least six months before an election.
Last week Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro denied Johnson’s petition to dismiss the lawsuit, leaving the outcome and control of the now deadlocked House in limbo. With the DFL and Republicans both winning 67 seats in the Nov. 4 election, political power is split for the first time since 1979, upending the governing trifecta of Senate, House, and governorship control enjoyed by the DFL last session as they pushed through a largely partisan agenda. Should Wikstrom be successful in his lawsuit, Republicans would take temporary control of the House pending the outcome of a special election to fill the seat, an election that could tip the scales in their favor for the remainder of the session.
Wikstrom’s lawsuit indicates that a surveillance team of campaign team members was assembled after he had been told by former Roseville City Council member Robert Willmus that he believed Johnson had leased the apartment to make it appear he lived in the district while continuing to maintain his primary residence in Little Canada. The team made over 60 observations at both the apartment and Johnson’s Little Canada home between Aug. 31 and Nov. 11, taking phots and videos to document his whereabouts. Calls were also made to utility companies to determine if the apartment had electric or internet service. It did not. Two team members even got down on the floor to peer through a one-inch gap at the bottom of the door looking for any evidence of furnishings, which they reportedly did not see.
On Oct. 1, team member Chris Sears observed that the apartment door appeared dusty and lacked any evidence of recent activity and placed a piece of invisible tape on the door that would be disturbed if someone entered. When Sears returned on Oct. 9, the tape was still present and undisturbed, the lawsuit alleges.
Summarizing affidavits from six individuals involved in the surveillance activities, the lawsuit claims that there was little to no evidence that Johnson regularly used the apartment.
However, in rebuttal, Johnson claims that Wikstrom’s team was watching the wrong apartment. He told the court that he had been living in a different apartment in the same complex since Oct. 15 because of maintenance issues with the original apartment. Johnson’s claim was supported by a letter from the property manager, who indicated that construction was taking place in the apartment. However, those supporting Wikstrom’s effort to overturn the election results note that there was little evidence that Johnson had been living in the apartment prior to Oct. 15.
Lost ballots
A second lawsuit, this one over lost ballots in Scott County, also threatens to upset the election results.
Incumbent Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, defeated Republican challenger Aaron Paul by a scant 14 votes out of almost 22,000 votes cast for the District 54A race, but Paul is challenging the result in court over 20 lost ballots that he believes could have tipped the race in his favor.
A review by the Scott County Attorney’s office determined that the ballots were likely thrown in the trash due to human error during the collection of early absentee ballots.
“With 20 ballots missing and confirmation from Scott County that they will likely not be recovered, it’s impossible to declare a winner with a 14-vote margin. We appreciate the efforts by Scott County to investigate this matter and be transparent about their findings,” said Republican House Speaker-designate Lisa Demuth.
Tabke countered in a court filing that the results were certified by the county canvassing board and again by a hand recount, and that Paul is attempting to nullify all of the votes cast. He points out that the precinct that the missing ballots were from was one he won by 14 percent, and that there was only “a .0005 percent chance” that Paul would get the votes necessary to change the result. Moreover, Tabke’s filing asserts that the House of Representatives, and not the courts, has the exclusive authority to judge the election returns and eligibility of members.
The resolution sought by Paul is for the court to deny issuance of a certificate of election to Tabke, which would then mean that a special election would have to be held to fill the seat.
Moving forward
With the new session fast approaching, party leaders have had to contend with preparing to do business as things currently stand with the 67-67 split.
Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, and Demuth, R-Cold Spring, were chosen by their respective party caucuses as speaker-designates to lead the development of shared governance plans. Hortman served last session as speaker, while Demuth was minority leader.
Under an arrangement announced on Nov. 25, the pair agreed to have co-chairs for the 23 House committees, one from each party. Committee membership will also be equally divided, but appointments have yet to be announced. There were no North Country House legislators named to committee leadership spots.
However, no decision has been made as to how Hortman and Demuth propose to split the speaker role. Under the Minnesota Constitution only one person can hold the position at a time.
The arrangements were quite different in 1979 when a Republican held the position of speaker and Democrats chaired key committees. That’s a solution Hortman and Demuth rejected, as evidenced by the committee co-chair announcement.
Even if the chamber split survives the court challenges, that balance could be upset if a member decided to change parties, or if one becomes seriously ill or dies. Both leaders have emphasized that success will depend on bipartisan cooperation, but an unexpected change could significantly alter that dynamic.