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(AP) - Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said
it was a mistake for him to give his campaign a list of
participants in a state-sponsored "civic engagement" program so
they could be sent a newsletter asking for a political
contribution.

      The first-term Democrat admitted to the Star Tribune on Tuesday
to turning over the list. His disclosure comes about a month after
a pair of Republican operatives asked the state's Office of the
Legislative Auditor to investigate whether Ritchie violated any
rules. 

Ritchie had previously told the newspaper that the list was
public information, but that he did not authorize his campaign to
use it.

      The men questioned how their e-mail addresses wound up on a
mailing list for a Ritchie electronic campaign newsletter that
asked for donations. They suspected the campaign got their names
from their participation in a nonpartisan civic engagement program
run by the secretary of state's office.


      Ritchie said he had personally provided a copy of the directory
to his campaign and requested that those on the list get a copy of
his campaign's civic engagement newsletter. It has been distributed
to about 12,000 individuals and groups whom he described as active
in civic life in the state.

      He said his campaign maintains a donor and potential contributor
list that is separate from the newsletter list.


      The newsletter "is distributed as an information source on
civic engagement in Minnesota, not a vehicle for solicitation,"
Ritchie said.

      But the Oct. 22 newsletter invites recipients to an upcoming
fundraiser and links to Ritchie's campaign Web site for anyone
wishing to donate to "help me cover my campaign related expenses
for this year."

      Ritchie, who ran on a platform of keeping state election policy
and politics separate, said he is taking steps to ensure that
people can easily remove their names from the newsletter mailing
list and that future editions will contain only news, not
solicitations.

      "The campaign should have checked with the groups and
individuals who listed themselves in this public directory to make
sure they wanted to receive my civic engagement newsletter,"
Ritchie said.

      Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said Tuesday that his office has
accumulated a significant amount of information regarding the
complaint against Ritchie and analyzing the case. He didn't say
when his probe would be completed.


      House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marshall, said he
believes the House Government Operatons Committee on reform,
technology and elections should investigate the matter.

      "It's unethical," Seifert told the Independent of Marshall on
Wednesday, adding, "this guy got caught in a lie. The culture of
corruption looks pretty bad.

      "Now that Ritchie basically admitted lying, I don't know how we
can't have an investigation," Seifert said.

      The ease of transfer of information between government offices
and campaigns has become a vexing issue for politicians.

      "There must be a wall between constituent information compiled
at public expense while representing the public and the transfer of
that information for use in campaigns," said Steven Clift, a
digital democracy expert based in Minneapolis. "Ideally, secondary
use would be prohibited. Or, if an incumbent can use it, then
everyone should be able to access it, including challengers."

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Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said
it was a mistake for him to give his campaign a list of participants in a state-sponsored "civic engagement" program so they could be sent a newsletter asking for a political contribution.

Secretary of State admits sharing state roster with campaign

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