Investigation clears Duluth mayor’s campaign manager and partner

An external investigation commissioned by the city of Duluth has found Mayor Roger Reinert’s partner and campaign manager did not act improperly through her communications with city staff early in his administration.

Internal emails obtained by several media outlets last year, including MPR News, showed Amber Gurske asking city staff to conduct research for Reinert. Gurske also suggested ideas for social media posts and made other requests.

Legal experts quoted in media reports about the internal emails suggested Gurske’s conduct may have been unethical and illegal.

The investigation authorized by the city in October, 2024, and conducted by Twin Cities-based attorney and consultant Michelle Soldo, found that Gurske’s actions did not violate any city laws or policies.

Soldo concluded the allegations “are based on incomplete information and inaccurate speculation and conjecture refuted by the facts.”

Gurske, who works as the international business development and marketing manager at Amsoil in Superior, Wis., volunteered as Reinert’s “personal social media agent” and managed his personal calendar.

At Reinert’s request, the report said that Gurske communicated with city staff to coordinate mayoral and personal events, and exchange content from those events to publish on social media accounts of Reinert’s city and personal social media accounts.

Gurske’s work was conducted during the first four months of Reinert’s time in office, when the mayor was in the process of hiring two senior advisor staff members.

The investigation says that Gurske “was introduced to and communicated with City staff to coordinate the Mayor’s personal calendar and Mayoral calendar,” and that Gurske attended many of Reinert’s public appearances that a city staffer could not attend because of personal conflicts.

“That activity is not illegal and is not prohibited by City policy or City Ordinance,” Soldo concluded, nor was the sharing of photos and video from those events with city staff.

Soldo wrote that Gurske’s work on behalf of Reinert “was the level of support needed by the new Mayor who had limited staff support for a period of four months, no prior experience serving as a Mayor, and a steep and robust learning curve with no written playbook on which to rely.”

The report also found she did not have access to private city data, and was not paid for the work she performed on Reinert's behalf.

City administrator Dave Montgomery said the results are consistent with an internal investigation conducted by city attorney Terri Lehr.

“Ms. Gurske did not violate any legal or ethical standards, nor did anyone on our team violate City codes or the City charter,” Reinert said in a statement. “I am gratified the clear findings of this report can now bring this matter to a conclusion.”

David Schultz, a professor of political science at Hamline University who raised some of the initial concerns in media reports about Gurske’s involvement in city affairs, said that while the investigation exonerates her, it doesn’t address potential ethics issues.

He said the report concludes there was no evidence to support allegations of wrongdoing, “as opposed to saying that the evidence refutes claims. It was more lack of evidence means we find that [Gurske] didn’t do anything wrong.”

In an interview with MPR News, Gurske said “the report showed with facts very clearly what I knew all along, that I did nothing illegal or unethical.”

She said in the wake of the original media reports, she was the subject of online bullying and harassment on social media.

“I read a few dozen comments saying the most horrible allegations that were not true,” Gurske said, “about everything from my my personal life, my ethics, my intelligence, my employer.”

“I’m looking forward to have the opportunity to become more than just the the mayor’s ‘girlfriend,’” Gurske added. “I’m a real person, and I love Duluth. You will see me with Roger. We’re together. We’re both passionate about Duluth. And being the mayor really is 24/7. If I didn’t enjoy attending public events with him, I don’t think that we would ever see each other.”

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