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Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace

Politicians in Trouble or Disgrace: Minnesota


in chronological order

  Samuel Medary (1801-1864) — also known as "The Wheel Horse of Ohio Democracy" — of Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. Born in Montgomery Square, Montgomery County, Pa., February 25, 1801. Democrat. Member of Ohio state house of representatives, 1834; member of Ohio state senate, 1836; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1844, 1856, 1864; Governor of Minnesota Territory, 1857-58; Governor of Kansas Territory, 1858-59, 1859-60, 1860, 1860; candidate for Governor of Kansas, 1859. Originated the slogan "Fifty-four forty or fight," calling for aggressive action on the Oregon boundary question. Indicted by a federal grand jury in 1864 for conspiracy against the government; arrested; released on bond; never tried. Medary, S.D., is named for him. Died in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, November 7, 1864 (age 63 years, 256 days). Interment at Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio.
  See also Wikipedia article
  William Seeger — of St. Peter, Nicollet County, Minn. Republican. Minnesota state treasurer, 1872-73. After disclosure that he had accepted his predecessor's note for $112,000 of missing state funds, and had concealed this fact from investigators, he resigned; in spite of that, he was subsequently impeached and removed from office. The lost money was recovered from Seeger's bondsmen, and no criminal prosecution was made. Burial location unknown.
  Albert Alonzo Ames (1842-1911) — also known as Albert A. Ames — of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn. Born in Garden Prairie, Boone County, Ill., January 18, 1842. Served in the Union Army during the Civil War; physician; member of Minnesota state house of representatives 5th District, 1867; mayor of Minneapolis, Minn., 1876-77, 1882-84, 1886-89, 1901-02; resigned 1902; candidate for Governor of Minnesota, 1886 (Democratic), 1896 (Independent); delegate to Democratic National Convention from Minnesota, 1888; indicted in 1902 on bribery charges, over a scheme to induce county commissioners to appoint his secretary, Thomas R. Brown, Jr., as Sheriff. Died in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn., November 16, 1911 (age 69 years, 302 days). Burial location unknown.
  John Goodnow (born c.1858) — of Minnesota. Born about 1858. Republican. Minnesota's most prominent advocate of William McKinley for president in 1896; U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, 1897-1905; charges of malfeasance against him were made by Americans in China to the State Department in 1902, and to President Theodore Roosevelt in December 1904; two months later, his resignation was announced; became an advisor to the Chinese government in 1906. Burial location unknown.
  Robert Page Walter Morris (1853-1924) — also known as R. Page W. Morris — of Duluth, St. Louis County, Minn. Born in Lynchburg, Va., June 30, 1853. Republican. College professor; lawyer; candidate for U.S. Representative from Virginia, 1884; district judge in Minnesota 11th District, 1895-96; U.S. Representative from Minnesota 6th District, 1897-1903; U.S. District Judge for Minnesota, 1903-23; took senior status 1923. Arrested in Salt Lake City, 1921, following an accident in which his car struck a pedestrian, Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes. Died in Rochester, Olmsted County, Minn., December 16, 1924 (age 71 years, 169 days). Interment at Forest Hill Cemetery, Duluth, Minn.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — federal judicial profile
  Farrell Dobbs (1907-1983) — of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn.; New York. Born in Queen City, Schuyler County, Mo., July 25, 1907. Truck driver; became involved with a militant Teamsters Union local in Minneapolis in the 1930s, and helped lead a general strike; joined the Socialist Workers Party in 1939; convicted in 1941 of treason under the anti-Communist Smith Act, and served one year in prison; Socialist Workers candidate for President of the United States, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960; national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, 1953-72. Member, Teamsters Union. Died October 31, 1983 (age 76 years, 98 days). Burial location unknown.
  Carl Winter (1906-1991) — of Manhattan, New York County, N.Y.; Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn.; Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Calif.; Michigan. Born in 1906. Communist. Candidate for New York state senate 13th District, 1932; candidate for U.S. Senator from Minnesota, 1940; convicted in 1949 under the Smith Act, for conspiring to advocate the overthrow of the government; served five years in prison. Died in 1991 (age about 85 years). Interment at Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Ill.
  Relatives: Married to Helen Allison Winter (daughter of Alfred Wagenknecht and Hortense Allison Wagenknecht; niece of Elmer T. Allison). See Wagenknecht-Winter family.
  Daniel W. West — of Detroit, Wayne County, Mich. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1960, 1964 (alternate); member of Michigan state house of representatives, 1963-65 (Wayne County 6th District 1963-64, 24th District 1965); defeated in primary, 1954 (Wayne County 6th District), 1956 (Wayne County 6th District), 1958 (Wayne County 6th District), 1960 (Wayne County 6th District), 1965 (24th District). Convicted of various crimes, including burglary, larceny, and forgery, in Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington, D.C., and was sentenced to prison in those places; came to Michigan and assumed the identity of a deceased New York attorney of the same name; indicted in late 1964 on state charges of voter registration fraud and federal charges of income tax fraud and forgery; in January 1965, his seat in the Michigan House was declared vacant. Still living as of 1965.
  Brian J. Coyle (1944-1991) — of Moorhead, Clay County, Minn.; Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn. Born in Great Falls, Cascade County, Mont., June 25, 1944. College instructor; in 1968, he was indicted and tried for his refusal to comply with the military draft, but was acquitted as a conscientious objector; Independent candidate for U.S. Senator from Minnesota, 1978; candidate for mayor of Minneapolis, Minn., 1979; president, Minneapolis city council. Gay. One of Minnesota's first openly-gay politicians. Died, from AIDS-related complications, August 23, 1991 (age 47 years, 59 days). Burial location unknown.
  Paul David Wellstone (1944-2002) — also known as Paul Wellstone; "Senator Welfare" — of Minnesota. Born in Washington, D.C., July 21, 1944. Son of Leon Wexelstein and Minnie (Danishevsky) Wexelstein. College professor; arrested during a Vietnam War protest at the federal building in Minneapolis, 1970; arrested again during a protest of farm foreclosures at a bank in Paynesville, Minn., 1984; candidate for Minnesota state auditor, 1982; member of Democratic National Committee from Minnesota, 1984-91; U.S. Senator from Minnesota, 1991-2002; died in office 2002; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Minnesota, 1996, 2000. Jewish. Member, Phi Beta Kappa. Killed in a plane crash, along with his wife and daughter, near Eveleth, St. Louis County, Minn., October 25, 2002 (age 58 years, 96 days). Interment at Lakewood Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minn.
  Relatives: Married 1963 to Sheila Ison (1944-2002).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — votes in Congress from the Washington Post — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Books by Paul Wellstone: The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda (2001) — How the Rural Poor Got Power: Narrative of a Grass-Roots Organizer (1978) — Powerline: The First Battle of America's Energy War, with Barry M. Casper (1981)
  Books about Paul Wellstone: Terry Gydesen, Twelve Years and Thirteen Days: Remembering Paul and Sheila Wellstone — Dennis J. McGrath & Dane Smith, Professor Wellstone Goes to Washington: The Inside Story of a Grassroots U.S. Senate Campaign — Don Jacobs & James Fetzer, American Assassination: The Strange Death Of Senator Paul Wellstone
  David Ferdinand Durenberger (b. 1934) — also known as David F. Durenberger — of South St. Paul, Dakota County, Minn.; Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minn. Born in St. Cloud, Stearns County, Minn., August 19, 1934. Lawyer; executive secretary to Gov. Harold LeVander, 1967; U.S. Senator from Minnesota, 1978-95. Catholic. Member, Jaycees; Knights of Columbus; Elks; Lions. Investigated in 1990 by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics over allegations that he had broken rules restricting Senators' outside income, in particular by laundering about $100,000 in speaking fees into book royalties. Denounced by unanimous vote of the Senate in July 1990 for bringing "dishonor and disrepute" to the body. Subsequently he was disbarred; in 1995 he pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of misusing his congressional expense account. Still living as of 2009.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — votes in Congress from the Washington Post — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  Sam Solon (1931-2001) — also known as "Senator Sam" — of Duluth, St. Louis County, Minn. Born in Duluth, St. Louis County, Minn., June 25, 1931. School teacher; member of Minnesota state house of representatives, 1971-72; member of Minnesota state senate, 1973-2001; died in office 2001. Eastern Orthodox. Greek ancestry. Pleaded guilty in 1995 to telecommunications fraud for letting his ex-wife make $2,430 in calls on his State Senate telephone line; reprimanded by the Senate in 1996. Died, of liver cancer, in St. Mary's Medical Center, Duluth, St. Louis County, Minn., December 28, 2001 (age 70 years, 186 days). Burial location unknown.
  Larry Edwin Craig (b. 1945) — also known as Larry Craig — of Midvale, Washington County, Idaho; Payette, Payette County, Idaho. Born in Council, Adams County, Idaho, July 20, 1945. Republican. Member of Idaho state senate, 1975-81; U.S. Representative from Idaho 1st District, 1981-91; U.S. Senator from Idaho, 1991-2009. Methodist. Member, National Rifle Association. Arrested for soliciting sex in a men's bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, June 11, 2007; charged with disorderly conduct; pleaded guilty, and was fined. Still living as of 2009.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — votes in Congress from the Washington Post — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Internet Movie Database profile

 

 


 
   
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