County fined for violating transparency law after election (3/3/2021)
Winona County must pay a $300 fine and up to $6,000 in legal fees after an administrative law judge ruled on Monday that the county violated state transparency laws by ignoring a freedom of information request from Winona City Council member and former mayoral candidate Michelle Alexander. In a strongly worded ruling, Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) Administrative Law Judge Jim Mortenson wrote, “The MGDPA [Minnesota Government Data Practices Act] does not allow government entities to ignore requests and just hope they go away.” Alexander ran for mayor last year and was narrowly defeated in the primary. In a race for second place — and the opportunity to advance to the November general election — Alexander led fellow candidate Scott Sherman by two votes on election night. Because of valid but delayed results from mail-in ballots, Sherman beat Alexander by three votes in the final tally. Alexander exercised her right to a recount, which confirmed Sherman’s victory. Sherman went on to win the general election.