Long-time DFL financial donors Sam and Sylvia Kaplan, along with current City Council member Linea Palmisano, filed an administrative lawsuit against Minneapolis mayoral candidate Emily Koski, who also is a current member of the city council.
The Kaplans and Palmisano contributed money to Koski’s 2023 city council race.
In their suit, the Kaplans and Palmisano claim Koski violated state campaign finance laws by using some of her city council campaign money to pay current campaign expenses tied to her mayoral race.
Late last week, in a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled there was enough probable cause to allow the lawsuit to move forward with a hearing before a three-judge administrative panel.
In a statement, the Kaplans and Palmisano said, “We would have never supported council member Koski’s council campaign had we known she would use those resources for mayor. Using a city council committee to run for mayor is a clear violation of the law.”
None of this has been proven in court, but that is the basis of the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Koski’s campaign issued the following statement: “The campaign has reviewed the statutes that apply to local candidate campaign finance and is following the law. An administrative law judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings, after dismissing several of the claims outright, has concluded that a campaign finance complaint can proceed to the next stage, where the campaign will be able to show that it is following the law. Thursday’s prehearing conference is an opportunity for the parties to address scheduling and other preliminary matters.”
A three-judge panel will hear arguments on March 6, but a final decision is not expected for several weeks.
The lawsuit can be viewed in full below.
