Back in mid-July, we'd noticed in the now updated post that MN23: Patriot Princess supporter files residence complaint against Gene Dornink that the one-term incumbent was being challenged indeed about his residency in the new redistricted space.
On Friday, news broke that Judy Kaye Olson had filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court, challenging Dornink's residency.
At MinnPost, Walker Orenstein reported in Chalking tires, video surveillance in dispute over residency in GOP-held Senate district:
Primary opponent’s former campaign manager says he suspected Republican state Sen. Gene Dornink wasn’t living in the district and went to investigate, leading to a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Republican state Sen. Gene Dornink had to move from his home in Hayfield to a residence in Brownsdale after the borders of his southern Minnesota district were changed following the 2020 Census.
But Keith Haskell — owner of an auto detailing business with a criminal background who recently was the campaign manager for Dornink’s Republican primary challenger Lisa Hanson — suspected Dornink wasn’t really living in his new district during a crucial period for determining residency.
So he visited each home, he says many times, videotaping as he went and documenting what he saw.
“At the time, absolutely no traffic, no overnight vehicles, no lights on, shades constantly open, no lights on day or night,” Haskell told MinnPost on Friday. “Cars that occasionally parked there that had lots of just general debris indicating they’d sat there for a while. So then we started chalking tires and things like that to see if they moved.”
That work is the basis for a petition to the Minnesota Supreme Court – one Dornink has called “frivolous” – seeking to throw the Republican-endorsed incumbent off the ballot entirely. Judy Olson of Glenville on Friday filed the paperwork, which accuses Dornink of not living in Senate District 23. The filing names Haskell as the “petitioner’s investigative expert.”
“This is an absurd complaint,” Dornink said in a written statement to reporters. “I’ve been living at the home in Brownsdale since May. Maybe these investigators didn’t see me the six times they visited because I am working during the day and campaigning in the evening. I have been getting a great reception at the doors, parades, and fairs, and I will be continuing on the campaign trail.”
Chief Justice Lorie Gildea ordered Olson, the petitioner, to detail why the legal challenge could not have been filed earlier. Absentee voting for the primary began on June 24. Others have until Monday to respond to the petition.
The filing is part of a contentious race that has pitted two Republicans against each other in a district where Dornink only two years ago ousted a longtime Democratic incumbent from Austin. It’s also one of a handful of districts where incumbent GOP Senators are being challenged by candidates to their political right. . . .
Read the rest at MinnPost. We were pleased that MinnPost provided the link to the petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court. It's fascinating to see Haskell to describe himself as a detective, though he does not appear to have registered with the Minnesota Private Detective and Protective Agent Services Board. Private security officers don't need to register there, but then, they're not investigators or detectives.
Orenstein mentions Haskell's 2018 conviction for impersonating an officer but not an earlier incident we reported in Hanson follows through on challenging Dornink; her campaign manager faces his own challenge. Here's a bit more about Haskell from that:
Haskell earlier aided in the unsuccessful defense Hanson made, the Star Tribune's Randy Furst reported in Albert Lea bar owner goes on trial for resisting state COVID mandates:
Though Hanson sat alone at the defense table, she had support and encouragement during breaks from her husband, Vern, and consultant Keith Haskell, who said he was associated with an organization called the National Action Task Force in Washington, D.C.
To learn more about Haskell and the National Action Task Force, check out All in the badge: new MN NATF state coordinator convicted of 2017 impersonation of peace officer and National Action Task Force: From the mixed-up files on founder Mr. Mark Emery [Boswell].
Back in 2007, the Red Wing Republican Eagle reported in Man charged with pepper-spraying 2 police officers:
Two Rosemount police officers got faces full of pepper spray last month when they tried to arrest a man suspected of larceny and impersonating a police officer.
Police from Sioux Falls, S.D. called Rosemount March 21 and asked local police to arrest Keith Douglas Haskell, 44. The South Dakota department planned to extradite Haskell to Sioux Falls so he could face charges there.
Sioux Falls police warned Rosemount officers Haskell has a history of impersonating police officers and likely had police equipment. . . .
As far as we can tell from case listings in South Dakota's eCourt system (registration required), the only charge of impersonating an officer in his record (49C06003714A0) was dismissed by the Prosecutor, though he was convicted of petty theft and intent to defraud through use of a scaning device on a payment card. Jail time was suspended and probation only lasted six months.
At Minnesota Public Radio, Brian Bakst reported in GOP senator’s residency in reelection bid challenged:
A Republican state senator’s residency is under scrutiny as he seeks a new term in a neighboring district.
First-term lawmaker Gene Dornink said he moved this year to avoid facing a fellow Republican incumbent after new district boundaries were set. Now a court is being asked to decide whether he appropriately established residency in a new southern Minnesota district.
A petition filed Thursday in the state Supreme Court alleges that Dornink hasn’t actually moved from Hayfield to Brownsdale and cites observations by a detective and others.
By law, Minnesota legislators must live in the district they seek to represent at least six months prior to Election Day.
Dornink calls the complaint “frivolous” and said he expects it to be dismissed.
"This is an absurd complaint. I've been living at the home in Brownsdale since May,” he said in a statement issued Friday. “Maybe these investigators didn't see me the six times they visited because I am working during the day and campaigning in the evening.”
Dornink faces an Aug. 9 primary challenge from Lisa Hanson, a restaurant owner who was convicted of defying COVID-19 shutdown orders.
There is an overlap between the petition and Hanson’s campaign. Keith Haskell is listed as an “expert investigator” who tracked Dornink’s whereabouts; Haskell has been previously identified and paid as Hanson’s campaign manager. [See the 2022 Pre-Primary Report here]
In an affidavit, Haskell said he visited both properties associated with Dornink multiple times. He and a woman accompanying him said the old property was well-maintained and showed signs of activity, including a vehicle with a “Dornink for Senate” decal. Haskell said he once observed the senator there as well. But Haskell said that the other property wasn’t well maintained, and he only once witnessed lights on in the home. . . .
In an order late Friday, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea set a Monday deadline for additional arguments and responses to be filed in the case. She raised the notion that the challenge could have come too late and instructed those challenging Dornink's residency to explain why they waited so long to raise the issue.
We'll keep an eye out for, the Supreme Court decision when it's delivered.
Related posts:
- MN23: Patriot Princess supporter files residence complaint against Gene Dornink
- Hanson follows through on challenging Dornink; her campaign manager faces his own challenge
- COVID vaccine stealing guy gets booted from Lisa Hanson's Dodge County Courthouse hearing
- Freeborn County judge has a point about Interchange owner's counterclaims against state
- All in the badge: new MN NATF state coordinator convicted of 2017 impersonation of peace officer
- National Action Task Force: From the mixed-up files on founder Mr. Mark Emery [Boswell]
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