MEDIA RELEASE - MEDIA RELEASE Media Contact: Ken Bradley 612-728-8962 GRAND JURY FAILS TO INDICT NEIGHBORS FOR CRAIG LARSON Colvin Roy's Treasurer claims vote on public financing for a stadium was misrepresented On Thursday December 20th, a Hennepin County Grand Jury failed to indict former 12th Ward City Council Candidate Craig Larson for alleged violations of the Fair Campaign Practices Act. A claim was filed by Sandy Colvin Roy's treasurer, Ms. Carol Becker, that Neighbors for Larson violated the act by stating that Colvin Roy voted for a countywide half-cent sales tax for stadium development in a resolution that she co-authored in June of 1999. Neighbors for Larson's campaign manager, Ken Bradley and potential defendant to the compliant, testified to the truth and accuracy of the campaign literature before the 24-person grand jury. Neighbors for Larson ran an aggressive campaign for the DFL-endorsement against incumbent Sandy Colvin Roy for the Ward 12 City Council seat. Council Member Colvin Roy asserted to the DFL delegates that Neighbors for Larson had misrepresented her voting record. Mr. Larson dropped from the race after agreeing to abide by the DFL endorsement, which he failed to receive. Mr. Larson said "during the campaign my intent was to contrast our priorities such as neighborhood-scale development, affordable housing, living-wage jobs and the environment in contrast to Sandy's voting record, which supported public financing for a stadium, subsidies for large-scale downtown developments and tepid support for affordable housing. By failing to stand behind her voting record, Sandy prevented us from going forward with an honest debate about the differences in our priorities for Minneapolis." Council Members Sandy Colvin Roy and Jim Niland testified before the Grand Jury. Jim Niland, who served on Larson's advisory committee, testified to the accuracy of the statements. The Jury's decision not to indict shows that there was no probable cause that Neighbors for Larson violated the Fair Campaign Practices Act. If the jury decided to send the case to trial, Colvin Roy's Campaign would have been held to a higher legal standard for the complaint to be successful. Ken Bradley said "The grand jury decision vindicates Neighbors for Larson, unfortunately Sandy Colvin Roy's campaign decided to use the legal system to intimidate Mr. Larson. These cases create a burden for the county court system and result in unnecessary taxpayer expense to bring forth cases with little or no merit. Frivolous claims like these should have no place in our political system."
|
| ||
| Click a |
||
Do You Yahoo!?
Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your holiday gifts!
