Illegal tactics and negative smear pieces result in narrow loss

Rebecca moved into the closing days of this campaign securely ahead of her opponent. We knew this from our own polling. So did the other side.

But then area residents received a series of four dishonest and even illegal smear pieces from the House Republican Campaign Committee, with altered photographs and false claims, and three more negative attack pieces from Rebecca's opponent himself, attacking Rebecca for positions he himself held, like supporting a school levy and opposing the conceal carry law as it was written, as well as containing patently false statements about Rep. Otto.

Around the same time her opponent increased his personal smear efforts by producing and placing an inappropriate and negative video about Rebecca on his web site with demeaning music accompanying it (“The girl’s got rhythm, she’s got that back seat rhythm”), in violation of federal copyright law. He finally removed it when the Minnesota House of Representatives, whom he had illegally reproduced and altered the video from, instructed him that it was a federal copyright violation and asked him to remove it. 

He next issued several press releases, literature and web site publications in which he distorted Rebecca’s voting record and attacked Arne Carlson as having cut education and raised taxes. Like the others, this claim was false. The Carlson administration increased education funding, and Bill Marx, the non-partisan House Chief Fiscal Analyst bore this out.

This played out at the same time that the illegal HRCC attack mail was arriving in area homes.

The campaign was by far the most negative, dishonest, and dishonorable campaign in area history. Expressing concern over the dishonesty and alarming mean-spiritedness of the personal attacks, Walter Mondale and Arne Carlson issued a joint statement saying "When it reaches that level, it becomes an assault on every one of us as citizens because democracy rests on the assumption that politics must bring out the best in all of us and not cater to our lower instincts." A Republican fellow legislator called Rebecca to apologize for the unethical tactics.

By contrast, Rep Otto did not attack her opponent.

The HRCC was found to have violated MN statutes by sending out "patently untrue" literature with the intent to injure or defeat Rebecca. This was no simple mistake; it was purposely deceptive. The judges noted “the violation was deliberate and intentional...and HRCC makes no apology for it.” Nor did Rebecca’s opponent. The HRCC sentence: a $4,000 fine.  The day the sentence was announce, October 29, another HRCC piece containing the same falsehood arrived in area homes.   It became clear the ruling was not a deterrent, and the opponents had little to no regard for campaign ethics law.

In response, the Otto campaign mobilized the largest attack response and get out the vote effort in area history, staffed by a whopping 292 volunteers over the last two days of the campaign. Despite this massive effort, Rebecca lost by a narrow margin.

For the price of a $4,000 fine, House Speaker Steve Sviggum and the cynical House Republicans who authored and approved those dishonest and illegal pieces have barely hung onto control of the Minnesota House of Representatives, by claiming the seat that was held by Rebecca. The new campaign ethics law
appears to have no provision for removing a candidate who wins based on the dishonest or illegal actions of an outside organization.

Rebecca Otto served Minnesota and District 52B with balance, reason, and integrity, and she stood up for the bi-partisan values of fiscal conservatism, education, transportation, healthcare, a balanced budget, a
vision of being the best state we can, and a commitment to our seniors, children and environment.

She was endorsed by members of both major parties, by both major metro newspapers, and by Walter Mondale and Arne Carlson.  Her work on Minnesota's budget was regarded with respect by leading fiscal conservatives, finance commissioners, revenue commissioners and economists of both parties.  She is rated the area’s strongest legislative advocate for children, and also for the environment. She built a sterling reputation for those qualities and more, reaching across the aisle to work toward her vision of One Minnesota, and listening respectfully and responding to every single person that approached her, regardless of party or other leaning. Her campaign became a model for other suburban DFL candidates, and was copied in part by some Republican candidates as well.

As Arne Carlson said at a recent function in support of Rebecca, “At the end of the day, the only thing any of us have to present is our integrity.” Rebecca entered, served, and leaves the office of District 52B State
Representative with hers fully intact.

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Below is her letter of concession.

November 3, 2004

Dear Friends and Supporters:

I just wanted to thank all of you for the support, encouragement, and hard
work over the last few years. It has been an incredible experience for both
me and my family. Although last night was difficult in the end, I have some
of the most important things left intact - my integrity, my honor, and my
family. I was unwilling to win at all costs, and dirty myself as some do in
political life. I always promised myself that I had to be able to look
myself in the mirror at the end of the day, and know that I did my best, and
that I did not compromise myself. I achieved this and then some.

The greatest gift out of all of this is the wonderful people that we now
have in our life. We made a great team! We ran a fabulous campaign, and we
have nothing to regret. In my heart, we won. I have a saying that I live
by which is, "Everything happens for a reason in life." I may have said
this to some of you before. It may be hard to see now, but it will become
clear later.

Let's keep our heads high. God bless all of you, and thank you.

Warmest Regards,

Rebecca Otto
Shawn Otto
Jake Otto