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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

Senate GOP wants Hayden to face ethics panel

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hannonhayden

Republicans in the Minnesota Senate are calling for an ethics investigation of Sen. Jeff Hayden, DFL-Minneapolis, whom they accuse of using his elected office for personal gain.

Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie. said today that he wants Hayden to answer questions about his role with the non-profit group Community Action of Minneapolis and its alleged misuse of taxpayer money. Hann said the complaint also covers recent allegations that Hayden pressured Minneapolis school officials to work with a separate organization that he also had ties to.

“Most of us as senators, we have groups that we work with or that we prefer or that we favor. Many of us think that those groups deserve funding in various ways,” Hann said. “But we cross the line if we use our influence in an undue manner to try to elevate these groups that we might like into a favored position in an unfair way.”

Once the complaint is filed, the Senate ethics panel has 30 days to hold a meeting and determine its next steps. Senators are not on the ballot this year, and Hann denied that the complaint was timed as a pre-election embarrassment for other DFL candidates.

“That’s not normal behavior for senators, Republican or Democrat,” he said. “This is an exception, one we think is egregious, one that needs to be addressed, and frankly the sooner we do it the better.”

A Senate DFL spokesman said Hayden had not yet seen the GOP complaint and was not ready to respond.

Hayden, who serves as deputy majority leader, announced yesterday that he was stepping down from the Community Action of Minneapolis board, and he denied knowledge of the financial irregularities that surfaced in a Department of Human Services audit of the organization.

UPDATE

In response to the GOP complaint, Hayden released this written statement:

“I look forward to resolving this matter before the Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct as soon as possible. A thorough review of the facts will demonstrate clearly that my conduct was lawful and ethical and in no way violated the rules or norms of the Senate.

I have already publicly responded to the conjecture outlined in the complaint, and will have no further comment until I have had an opportunity to respond before the Subcommittee.”