City council member Zach Braid, local business fined for campaign violations

Prior Lake American

A judge has ordered a city council member, a local business and an informal organization to pay up for campaign violations.

Prior Lake City Council member Zach Braid, D. Copperfield Jeweler and the Prior Lake Downtown Business Association were ordered to pay fines after a judge with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings found them in violation in February of campaign finance rules during the 2016 city council election.

The judge ordered the downtown business association and D. Copperfield Jeweler to pay $750 each for violating campaign finance reporting requirements, D. Copperfield Jeweler to pay $1,200 for making prohibited corporate contributions and $600 each from Braid and the association for accepting prohibited corporate contributions. It's illegal for corporations to make direct contributions to city council candidates.

"I find this outcome a bit disappointing, as I believe it is impractical for a candidate to uncover the source of all funds from every supporter and endorsing organization," Braid said. "However, I do accept it, as this matter is not worth the continued expense and hardship to myself or to my family to appeal it."

If companies make donations, they are required to fill out a campaign finance reporting form and must be listed on the candidate’s form as well.

This means D. Copperfield Jeweler was fined a total of $1,950, while the association was fined $1,350 and Braid $600 in total. They were all ordered to pay by the end of March.

"I would like Prior Lakers to know that this experience will not dissuade me from standing up for the residents, neighborhoods and businesses of our great city, even though others may disagree with it or even single me out," Braid said. "In fact, it only inspires me more to do the job I was elected to do."

The judge dismissed a claim that Braid or D. Copperfield Jeweler Owner Michael Reichow violated a Minnesota statute to not knowingly make a false claim implying a candidate has the support of a major political party, party unit or organization.

According to court documents:

• Reichow was the president of the Prior Lake Downtown Business Association, an informal association of business owners and had formed the group to oppose the idea of a median in downtown Prior Lake.

• In October 2016, Reichow purchased Facebook advertisements — totaling between $990 and $1,210 — encouraging voters to vote for Braid, Kirt Briggs for mayor and Dave Thompson for another open council seat. The ads linked to the association's website.

• Reichow also purchased and distributed yard signs for more than $823 encouraging voters to vote for Braid and Briggs. The signs said they were paid for by the business association, but the signs were paid for with checks from the D. Copperfield Jeweler bank account.

• Advertisements were also purchased by Reichow to run in the Prior Lake American newspaper and website for more than $1,410 encouraging voters to vote for Braid, Thompson and Briggs. These ads also said they were paid for by the business association, but funds from the D. Copperfield Jeweler bank account were used.

• The Prior Lake Downtown Business Association hosted a "meet the candidate" event for Braid at Fong's Restaurant and Bar.

• In October, Reichow sent an advertisement for the event to the downtown business association email list from the D. Copperfield Jeweler email account. The advertisement said it was from the association.

• In total, Reichow received $2,400 on behalf of the association that was put into the company's bank account.

• In October 2016, Braid put out campaign material stating that he was endorsed by the Prior Lake Downtown Business Association. In late October, Reichow emailed Braid from the D. Copperfield Jeweler email account to let him know of engagement on the paid Facebook ads. Braid responded the same day and said "Thanks Mike for all that you are doing ... Please let me know if you need anything from me."

• Braid filed a campaign financial report in November 2016 that listed a little more than $2,275 in contributions and nearly $5,600 in disbursements. The Prior Lake Downtown Business Association and D. Copperfield Jeweler did not file financial reports for the election.

Former city council member Richard Keeney, who lost his seat in the November 2016 election, said he waited to nearly the maximum amount of time to file the complaint to make sure he had "cooled off." Complaints can be filed up to a year after-the-fact and Keeney filed the complaint in September 2017.

"This is one of those things where I'm put in a tough position for their acts," Keeney said. "I didn't do this out of any vendetta ... They broke the law. I'm just doing it because hey, we have laws — they should be enforced."

Braid said three candidates received "endorsement and benefit" from the Prior Lake Downtown Business Association, but that he was the only candidate who was named in the complaint.

Campaign finance reports help voters know who supports certain candidates, Keeney said.

"I don't know if it would impact the election but it would certainly inform people of who funded campaigns and give them a better feel of who their current officials are representing and backed by," Keeney said. "That's why we have those rules."

Keeney, who represented himself before the Office of Administrative Hearings, said Braid should have known the rules as candidates are given packets when they file outlining rules and regulations regarding campaigning.

"It's difficult to prove the amount of cooperation so personally, I think that our candidate Braid got off pretty light compared to what I believe is the true amount of involvement with the corporate money coming," Keeney said. "But, I presented the evidence I had."

Keeney said Braid should have been responsible for making sure D. Copperfield Jeweler, Reichow and the association donated and reported contributions responsibly.

"The people who run for office clearly have the information and the instructions and the laws given to them when they file, they have a responsibility to get it right," he said. "These are our elected leaders and I'm just a little disappointed in them in this whole thing for not doing their job to help people follow the rules during the election."

Braid said he did not know he was receiving corporate contributions.

"However, the Office of Administrative Hearings determined that even unknowingly receiving corporate support was a violation," Braid said. "Even though neither myself, nor anyone with my campaign had any knowledge as to the source of funds received by the (association) or had knowledge that any corporate contributions were ever made to the organization."

The contributions might not have affected the election, but the process wasn't "100 percent fair," Keeney said.

"I don't want to be painted like a sore loser," he said. "It's behind me. I'm not going to sit here and say that's the only reason the election was decided."

The complaint also mentioned that candidates and the association used the official city of Prior Lake logo on election and campaign materials. During the campaign, Briggs complained to the city's attorney, Sarah Schwarzhoff, that the then-mayor was using the logo on campaign material.

Schwarzhoff responded to Briggs that the city knew of the logo use but that the city could not limit unauthorized use of the logo due to limited public funds and resources. Keeney said he was disappointed in this decision.

"I think it's a shame," he said. "It's difficult enough for the average person to understand the relationships between official city organizations and civic organizations and other industry advocacy groups. That precedent makes it tough — people will jump all over that and you'll see logos and stuff all over election materials."