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Gary Goldsmith

Jun 20, 2012

Lobbying expense report obscures more than it reveals

Lobbyist spending reports from this year’s legislative session have been unveiled by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFPD). But a word of caution is warranted in assessing the numbers: They don’t include lobbyists’ salaries.

May 25, 2012

CFPD weighing two Common Cause complaints

This summer Minnesota’s campaign finance agency will make its way through a couple of pending challenges brought by a watchdog group that’s taking a number of Republican-centered causes to task.

Jan 31, 2012

Campaign finance complaint against Sen. Thompson dismissed

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has dismissed a complaint alleging reporting violations by Sen. Dave Thompson. Earlier this month the Minnesota DFL Party filed a complaint against the GOP legislator arguing that $70,000 in payments from the state Republican Party should have been disclosed in a public filing.

Jan 9, 2012

Common Cause: Campaign finance board will investigate MN GOP

Campaign Finance Board Chairman Gary Goldsmith said, per state law, he could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

Dec 9, 2011

CFPD opinion: Limited disclosure for ballot initiative donors

In a meeting on Thursday the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFPD) continued to refashion its advisory opinions concerning the fundraising and campaigning practices of ballot campaigns that will try to influence the outcome of next year’s ballot initiative concerning gay marriage.

Oct 4, 2011

Anti-gay marriage group balks at proposed disclosure guidelines

Not only calling the disclosure guideline unnecessary and unfair, the group's chairman also questioned whether it is a change the Campaign Finance Board has the authority to make.

Sep 30, 2011

Marriage amendment brings campaign disclosure battle to Minnesota

The news that state campaign finance officials had released a long-awaited statement on donor disclosure rules barely made a ripple in the political news cycle, but the opinion figures to make Minnesota a critical battleground in the national, post-Citizens United legal war over transparency, privacy and campaign money.

Sep 28, 2011

The Paper Trail: Campaign finance panel guidance on ballot initiative contributions

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has released a much anticipated set of rules that tells ballot initiative campaigns if they need to disclose the original sources of their financial donors.

Jul 8, 2011

Donor disclosure rule likely to end up in court

Since May, when state lawmakers passed a ballot question that will ask Minnesota voters next year whether marriage should be defined solely as a union between one man and one woman, Minnesota has found itself a key battleground in a campaign finance legal battle that is playing out across the United States.

Jun 30, 2011

Campaign finance board votes for greater disclosure in ballot initiatives

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure (CFPD) Board has decided that corporations must disclose their donors when giving money to ballot initiatives. The 2012 gay marriage amendment question has given the matter urgency.

Jun 29, 2011

Gay marriage combatants await CFPD decision

As organizers start to contemplate the fundraising push for next year’s gay marriage constitutional amendment proposal, insiders will be tuned in on Thursday to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure (CFPD) Board’s meeting as the board weighs a potentially critical rules clarification on political contributions to ballot questions.

Jun 29, 2011

The Paper Trail: Campaign Finance memo on ballot question contributions

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board will meet tomorrow to consider dumping an advisory opinion from 1997 that excludes corporations from disclosing the sources of their donations when giving to ballot initiatives. The board's decision, on the eve of a possible government shutdown, is being watched by groups involved in the 2012 gay marriage ballot initiative.

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