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Keith Ellison

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Template:Future election candidate

Keith Ellison speaks at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, September 2006

Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963), a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from Minneapolis and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for the 5th Congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives held by the retiring Martin Olav Sabo, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota.

In the November election, Ellison will face Republican Alan Fine, Tammy Lee of the Independence Party, and the Green Party's Jay Pond. Ellison is considered the favorite to win in November. The Minneapolis-based 5th has long been considered very safe for the DFL, which has held it since 1963. If he wins, Ellison will become the first person of color elected to federal office from Minnesota and the first Muslim to serve in Congress. He would also be only the fourth person to represent the district since 1943.

Ellison was the choice of the district party convention, among a crowd of candidates. He faced a primary contest against three other prominent Democrats: former state senator Ember Reichgott Junge, Minneapolis city council member Paul Ostrow, and Sabo's chief of staff Mike Erlandson, whom Sabo had endorsed. He won the primary on September 12, 2006 with 41% of the vote.

Life

Keith Ellison, one of five boys, was raised in a Roman Catholic household in Detroit, Michigan. Ellison’s father was a psychiatrist and his mother was a social worker. Growing up Ellison was influenced by the involvement of his family in the civil rights movement, including the work of his grandfather as a member of the NAACP in Louisiana. He converted to Islam at 19 while attending Wayne State University. In 1987, he married Kim Ellison and moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota Law School from which he graduated in 1990. As of 2006, Kim and he have four children.

After graduating from law school, Ellison joined the firm of Lindquist & Vennum where he was a litigator for three years. He then served as Executive Director of the Legal Rights Center, a nonprofit organization that specialized in the defense of indigent clients. In 2002, Ellison was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives for House District 58B, a blue collar Minneapolis neighborhood, made up of 76 percent minorities.

Controversies

Nation of Islam

While a law student, he wrote several columns as Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, the Minnesota Daily, which have since become an issue. According to the Washington Post and the Associated Press,in 1989, one column defended Louis Farrakhan against charges of antisemitism; a 1990 article suggested the creation of a state for black residents. Rep. Ellison has since denounced the Nation of Islam and Farrakhan, and has written to the Jewish Community Relations Committee of Minnesota and the Dakotas:

"I wrongly dismissed concerns that they were anti-Semitic. They were and are anti-Semitic and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did."

He also stated "… any kind of discrimination and hate are wrong. This has always been my position…" In the same letter he stated that after Joanne Jackson allegedly said that "Jews are among the most racist white people", he "spoke out in favor of increased dialogue between the Jewish and African-American communities." A 1997 Star Tribune article said "Ellison, an attorney who used his religious name of Mohammed in speaking to the board, read a statement supporting Jackson." The statement includes "The Minneapolis-St. Paul Study Group of the Nations of Islam stands by Ms. Jackson. We stand by the truth contained in the remarks attributed to her, and by her right to express her view without sanction. Here is why we support Ms. Jackson: She is correct about Minister Farrakhan. He is not a racist. He is also not an anti-Semite." He earlier stated that Farrakhan is not an anti-Semite in a 1995 editorial signed Keith X. Ellison.

Keith Ellison has said he was never a member of the Nation of Islam, but that he worked with it to organize the Minnesota contingent to the Million Man March. In 1995 he was identified as a member of the Nation of Islam in the Star Tribune. In 1998 during his Minnesota State Legislature House campaign, as Keith Ellison-Muhhammad he said he had an affiliation with the Nation of Islam, and "rejected anti-Jewish attitudes". In 2006 he wrote that over a decade earlier he worked with local members of the Nation of Islam and "did not adequately scrutinize the positions and statements of the Nation of Islam, Lous Farrakhan, and Khalid Muhammed".

Ellison says that his association with the Nation of Islam was limited to 18 months in the mid-1990s. Ellison's support for Farrakhan dates from at least 1989 through 1998.

Despite his work with the Nation of Islam, however, Ellison has been backed by The American Jewish World, a local Twin Cites newspaper. Ellison was also involved in an ethics campaign against Minnesota Senator Arlon Lindner, who had denied that gays and lesbians had died in the Holocaust.

CAIR support

Republican opponent Alan Fine criticized Ellison for accepting campaign contributions from leaders of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Ellison accepted thousands of dollars from Nihad Awad and other leaders of CAIR, which Fine calls "a group that Democrats say has deep ties to terrorism". The Fine campaign quotes Sens. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. alleging CAIR's "ties to terrorism" and "its association with groups that are suspect." Many conservatives and Jewish groups say CAIR is rooted in the Hamas movement and that its leaders also secretly support Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ellison in the past has called Awad an acquaintance. Republicans began this line of attack shortly after the primary.

CAIR leaders Parvez Ahmed and Nihad Awad wrote "We are proud of our personal donations to Ellison's campaign" and derided any 'guilt by association' arguments. For the first time as a paid advertisement, CAIR began showing their "Not in the Name of Islam" video in Minnesota. Communications Director of CAIR-Florida Ahmed Bedier is coordinating the ad campaign. Independence Party candidate Tammy Lee has also accused CAIR of having secret ties to Hamas.

Ellison traveled to Florida in October on a fundraising tour that "included a party hosted by Altaf Ali, CAIR's state director there". The party had a suggested donation of $100.

Driver's license suspension

Early in Ellison's campaign, his driver's license was suspended for failure to pay multiple tickets and fines. When asked how many times his license has been suspended, he said, "I don't know how many prior suspensions I've had; I don't keep count."

Late payment of taxes

Ellison also failed to pay all or part of his income taxes five separate years, forcing the state and IRS to put liens on his home. He later paid back-taxes in excess of $18,000.

Campaign finance violations

Campaign finance has also been an issue for Ellison. In early 2006, the Minnesota State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board reprimanded Ellison for unreported contributions, discrepancies in cash balances, and misclassified disbursements. These transgressions occurred in the years 2002-2004. In 2005 when the board tried to get more information about the problems in Ellison's reports, they got no response from Ellison or his treasurer (his wife Kim). When the board heard nothing, they opened the investigation. Ellison was subpoenaed and fined. The board has also fined Ellison numerous times for late filings. According to Katherine Kersten writing in the Star Tribune, he has been sued twice by the attorney general and has been warned numerous times for absent or incomplete disclosure.

Domestic issues

Recently, a Minnesota woman who claims she had an on-and-off sexual relationship with Ellison for the past 12 years has filed for a restraining order against him. Ellison, who obtained a restraining order against the woman in 2005, denies the affair and says the woman sought money to stay silent. Her complaints against Ellison go back several years and allegedly started after she was not selected for a job she felt Ellison promised her. According to others involved, the decision to hire someone else was not made wholly by Ellison, but a board of six to eight members.

Electoral history

  • 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - Minnesota 5th District (Democratic Primary)
  • 2004 Race for Minnesota House of Representatives - District 58B
    • Keith Ellison (DFL) (inc.), 84%
    • Jay Cyril Mastrud (R), 15%
  • 2002 Race for Minnesota House of Representatives - District 58B
    • Keith Ellison (DFL), 67%
    • Larissa Presho (R), 14%
    • Duane K. Reed (I), 8%
    • Bonnie Jean Smith (G), 6%

Sources

  1. http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20060912/ElecRslts.asp?M=CG&CD=05
  2. http://citypages.com/databank/27/1343/article14661.asp
  3. http://citypages.com/databank/27/1343/article14661.asp
  4. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=58B
  5. ^ Condon, Patrick (2006-07-06). "Muslim seeks both House seat and a place in history". Associated Press. The Bay State Banner. Retrieved 2006-11-04. - "One column defended Farrakhan against charges of anti-Semitism; a second suggested the creation of a state for black residents. In 1995, Ellison helped organize a delegation to Farrakhan's Million Man March in Washington."
  6. http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?district=58B
  7. Chicago Tribune article
  8. Cooperman, Alan (2006-09-11). "Muslim Candidate Plays Defense". Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. p. A03. Retrieved 2006-17-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help) - "The first article defended Farrakhan against accusations of Antisemitism. The second called affirmative action a "sneaky" form of compensation for slavery, suggesting instead that white Americans pay reparations to blacks."
  9. http://www.mndaily.com/archive/download.php?archives/1989/11271989.tif
  10. http://www.mndaily.com/archive/download.php?archives/1990/02021990.tif
  11. Jones, Tim (2006). "Candidate finds past ties a real bind". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2006-07-20.
  12. ^ "EllisonLetterp.1.php" (JPEG). Keith Ellison for dummies. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  13. "StribArticle292.php" (JPEG). Keith Ellison for Dummies. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
  14. "EllisonStatement34.php" (JPEG). Keith Ellison for dummies. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
  15. "EllisonArticle3.php" (JPEG). Keith Ellison for dummies. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
  16. Cooperman, Alan (2006-09-11). "Muslim Candidate Plays Defense". Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. p. A03. Retrieved 2006-09-11.
  17. "`Flamethrower' Muhammad's fiery speech stirs `U' crowd". Star Tribune. 1995-09-14.
  18. "Insight339.php" (JPEG). Keith Ellison for dummies. Retrieved 2006-10-27.
  19. ^ Kersten, Katherine (2006-9-17). "The excuses keep on coming for Ellison's behavior". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2006-11-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. "Ellison letter addresses his past ties. The DFL-endorsed congressional candidate said he failed to study Louis Farrakhan's positions when he was involved with the Nation of Islam". Star Tribune. 2006-06-03. State Rep. Keith Ellison, the DFL endorsee in the Fifth Congressional District race, has sent a letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council in an attempt to quell concerns about his connections to a group viewed by many as anti-Semitic. Ellison said that when he had ties to the Nation of Islam for about 18 months in the mid-1990s he failed to scrutinize the positions of the group and its leader, Louis Farrakhan, and "wrongly dismissed concerns that they were anti-Semitic.
  21. http://citypages.com/databank/27/1343/article14661.asp
  22. http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=189
  23. Rochelle, Olson (2006-10-11). "Lee posts photo with Sabo; Fine ad attacks Ellison". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2006-11-04. At the same time, Republican Alan Fine on Thursday pressed on with attacks against Ellison, sending a mailing to 100,000 voters criticizing Ellison for accepting campaign contributions from leaders of the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
  24. "Parvez Ahmed and Nihad Awad: Reject the political Muslim-bashing smears". Star Tribune. 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2006-11-04. There has been much sound and fury in certain circles about the American Muslim community's support for Keith Ellison and his campaign to represent Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District.
  25. ^ Diaz, Kevin (2006-10-24). "Islamic TV ad decries terrorism". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2006-11-04. Alarmed by the furor surrounding Muslim Fifth Congressional District candidate Keith Ellison, a national Islamic group is targeting Minnesota with an "anti-terror TV ad" blitz disavowing ties between Islam and terrorism.
  26. "Islamic organization to host Florida fundraiser for Ellison". Star Tribune. 2006-10-12. Altaf Ali, CAIR's executive director in Florida, and Saif Ishoof are listed as the hosts for an event with a suggested donation of $100. It is scheduled for Saturday and will be at the Southwest Focal Point Senior Center in Pembroke Pines, Fla. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  27. http://kstp.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=168557 KSTP Report August 16th, 2006
  28. http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/bdinfo/investigation/Ellison_Keith_022406.pdf Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board Findings of Fact
  29. http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/bdinfo/Con_Agr/Ellison_Keith_022406.pdf Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board Conciliation Agreement
  30. http://www.cfbreport.state.mn.us/WebSearch_Servlet/processDirect.do?start=1&nr=25&i=global&q=Ellison%20AND%20board%20AND%20minutes Compilation of Board Minutes in which Ellison was fined
  31. Cooperman, Alan (2006-09-11). "Muslim Candidate Plays Defense". Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. p. A03. Retrieved 2006-09-11. - "Ellison acknowledged last week that his driver's license had been suspended earlier in the year for failure to pay fines. He said he defended a leader of the Vice Lords gang, Sharif Willis, because Willis was working with local police to broker a gang peace. And he said he was now up-to-date on tickets, taxes and financial filings."
  32. Lopez, Patricia (2006-07-15). "Late campaign reports were her doing, Ellison's wife says". Star Tribune. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  33. Smith, Dane (2006-07-08). "Late filings a pattern for Ellison". Star Tribune. p. 18. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  34. Benac, Nancy (2006-10-21). "U.S. elections: Referendum on men behaving badly?". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-10-24.
  35. Olson, Rochelle (2006-10-19). "Ellison says woman has blackmail in mind". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2006-10-25.
  36. Olson, Rochelle (2006-10-19). "Woman in Ellison case is an enigma". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2006-10-25.

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