Written by Jeremy Portnoy, RealClearInvestigation
Top line: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz received $890,000 in campaign contributions from employees, including executives. ÂOf the 434 state vendors from 2019 to 2022; new report Found from OpenTheBooks.
These companies collected nearly $15 billion in payments from the state between 2019 and 2023, according to the state’s checkbook.
Important facts: All of the donations went to Walz’s re-election campaign as Minnesota’s governor, and were made before he became the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee.
CEOs, presidents and other executives of 86 state vendors were among the donors.
Employees of the law firm Blackwell Burke donated $4,750 to Walz’s gubernatorial campaign and received about $200,000 from the state in addition to that, according to campaign records. Co-founder Jerry Blackwell was one of the prosecutors who helped convict Derek Chauvin of murder for the death of George Floyd.
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Ted Mondale, director of new business development and government relations at computer consultancy Atomic Data, donated $2,250 to Walz. His company also received $169,310 from the state. Mr. Mondale is a former Democratic state senator and the son of Walter Mondale, a former senator from Minnesota who also served as vice president to Jimmy Carter.
Kinsale Communications received $160,583 in state spending, but there are few online records showing the business exists. President Steve Kinsella and his family donated $3,000 to Walz’s campaign.
Donors to the state-funded Walz campaign include Target, General Mills, Fortune 500 manufacturing company 3M, and banking chains such as Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.
background: If a transaction actually constitutes a conflict of interest, it is nearly impossible to identify them.
Minnesota’s checkbook contains only dollar amounts and a list of businesses that received state funds. The state ignored OpenTheBooks’ Freedom of Information requests for details of each transaction, even though neighboring states like Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota were more transparent.
Walz ended his re-election campaign with more than $627,000 in cash as of December 31, 2023. legally He could send the cash to the Harris-Waltz campaign, but he could theoretically also refund the donations and ask donors to send the money back to the presidential ticket.
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summary: Many Minnesota vendors likely received state business without donating to Walz’s campaign, but taxpayers deserve to know if any are receiving preferential treatment.
#WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by Forensic Auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.
Syndicated with permission From Real Clear Wire.
