Brodkorb-Koch scandal becomes campaign lit fodder
So far, the "inappropriate relationship" between former GOP Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch and former Senate GOP Caucus spokesman Michael Brodkorb has largely stayed out of this year's election chatter.
Until now.
A mailer paid for by the Minnesota DFL party circulating in Senate District 22 near Luverne where Republican Bill Weber is running against Alan Oberloh reminds voters that taxpayers are footing the bill for the legal imbroglio that ensued after Brodkorb was fired late last year.
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The mailer links Weber, who did not serve this past legislative session, to the Brodkorb-Koch affair.
"The same GOP Senators who are making you pay for their scandal want Bill Weber in the Senate," the mailer reads. "Don't let them get away with it."
Koch announced she was stepping down as Senate Majority Leader last December. A day later, it was revealed that she had been having an affair with an unnamed male staffer, and that she had been confronted by top Senate leadership about the relationship. Brodkorb was fired a day after Koch announced she was leaving her post, though the two were not linked romantically until much later.
Soon after, Brodkorb filed a wrongful termination suit against the Minnesota Senate, and settlement talks have foundered. Meanwhile, the Senate has paid at least $100,000 for legal representation in the matter.
Brodkorb is now speaking out about the affair and the lawsuit, saying that pressure for Koch to step down and that his termination were a "power play" by other members of the Senate.
The flier bears the Minnesota DFLs name, but the Senate and House Democratic caucuses typically funnel money intended for this type of campaign literature through the party, as it allows them to save money on postage.