Posted: 8/12/03

Rep. Otto, husband indicted on election issue charges

by Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Campaign allegations tied to a special election in House District 52B have resulted in a grand jury indictment of Rep. Rebecca Otto, DFL-May Township.

A Washington County Grand Jury last week indicted Otto and her husband, Shawn Lawrence Otto with one count each of false political campaign material. The offense is a gross misdemeanor, County Attorney Doug Johnson said in announcing the indictment.

The indictment charged that in February, 2003, the Ottos intentionally participated in the preparation, dissemination, or broadcast of paid political advertising or campaign material with respect to the personal or political character of acts of a candidate that is designed or tends to elect, injure, promote or defeat a candidate or nomination or election to a public office that is false, and that the person knows is false or communicates to others with reckless disregard of whether it is false, Johnson said in a release.

Johnson said the charges are a result of a piece of campaign literature sent on behalf of Rebecca Otto while running against Republican Matt Dean for House seat 52B. The literature claimed Dean had put his children in a private school when at the time one child was attending public school and a second was enrolled to start kindergarten in 2003, Johnson said.

A first court appearance for the Ottos was set for Sept. 16 in Stillwater.

The Ottos referred questions this week to their legal representatives. Shawn Otto called the charges ìbaselessî during a brief conversation on Monday. He said the couple would fight the charges in court.

ìWe welcome any fact-based investigation into these pointless, politically motivated charges, and look forward to the opportunity to set the record straight once and for all,î the couple said in a statement released by their attorneys.

Shawn Otto served as campaign manager for his wifeís special election victory over Dean to replace Rep. Mark Holsten who had been appointed assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

The complaint was formally filed by Rep. Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In the statement released by attorneys, the Ottos said the case boils down to a simple misunderstanding about where Deanís children attended school.

In their statement, the Ottos said Johnson was moving forward under the pressure of a campaign law that can result in misdemeanor charges against a county attorney and possible removal from office if the county attorney does not prosecute a complaint made against a candidate.

This opened the door to complaints being submitted by political opponents in an attempt to use the taxpayer-funded court system to gain political ends, the Ottos said in the statement.

A conviction in the case carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and or a $3000 fine.

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