Minnesota DFL launches investigation into Omar Fateh mailers

Minnesota DFL investigating mailers involving Omar Fateh

The Minnesota DFL is investigating political mailers involving State Senator Omar Fateh, a Minneapolis mayoral candidate who had his DFL endorsement pulled.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - In the latest issue stemming from its chaotic convention over the summer, the Minneapolis DFL said Monday that it was under investigation for mailers it sent featuring mayoral candidate State Sen. Omar Fateh.

Minneapolis DFL says postcards were sent before endorsement revoked 

What they're saying:

In a statement on Monday, the Minneapolis DFL said, in part: "A complaint made to the DFL’s Constitution, Rules, and Bylaws Committee (CRBC) alleges that the mailed postcard contradicted the retraction of Sen. Omar Fateh’s endorsement for Minneapolis mayor.

In fact, the postcard was delivered for mailing by its printer before the CRBC leaked its draft ruling. The bulk mail system, typically used for political mailings, offers discounted postal rates but provides slower delivery than for first-class mail. So, some of these postcards arrived after the release of the CRBC’s ruling."

Investigation follows other issues stemming from convention 

The endorsement:

The Minneapolis DFL convention endorsed Fateh in a process that was quickly criticized by Fateh’s fellow Democratic challenger, Mayor Jacob Frey, who raised questions about errors during the voting process. 

The revocation:

In August, the Minnesota DFL revoked Fateh’s endorsement after uncovering a series of issues with the endorsement process. 

The appeal:

In September, the Minneapolis DFL appealed the party’s decision to rescind the endorsement on the grounds that it overstepped its authority. It lost. In a 40-7 vote, the party’s executive committee found no errors were made when the board overturned the endorsement.

The yard signs:

Fateh’s mayoral campaign continued to distribute fliers, lawn signs and other literature bearing the DFL logo even after the party revoked its endorsement, according to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Court of Administrative Hearings. 

The decision to continue to use the DFL logo probably violated state law, an administrative judge found. According to court documents, the Fateh campaign did not deny the allegations. The party rescinded its endorsement on Aug. 21 but did not request that the campaign remove its logo until Aug. 26, according to court records. 

The fine:

On Friday, a panel of administrative law judges serving on the Court of Administrative Hearings found that Fateh’s campaign violated state law for distributing the yard signs showing the DFL endorsement logo and fined it $500.

Neither Fateh’s campaign nor the Minnesota DFL immediately responded to a request for comment.