Robert Deschampe
Robert (Bobby) Deschampe won the special election for the District One Cook County commissioner seat over James (Jim) Vannet, 254 votes to 148.
The polls closed at 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6.
Deschampe received more votes than Vannet in all three precincts. In precinct one, Grand Portage, Bobby tallied 107 votes to Vannet’s 20. In precinct two, Hovland, Deschampe garnered 88 votes while Vannet got 75. Precinct three, Colvill, was the closet race, with Deschampe collecting 59 votes and Vannet 53.
These results will be canvassed at the Canvass Board on Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m., in the Commissioner’s Room at the courthouse. If the Canvass Board confirms these results, Robert Deschampe will be sworn in at the next county board meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
Vannet was the winner of the special primary election in a four-man field. He narrowly defeated Deschampe 116 votes to 109, but Deschampe campaigned hard the last month, meeting with citizens in town halls, and he encouraged young people to sign up and vote.
Bobby Deschampe held several town hall meetings and knocked on quite a few doors this spring in an effort to win the race for the open District One Cook County commissioner seat. Deschampe tallied 254 votes to win the special general election over Jim Vannet, who received 148 votes.
All told, 402 votes were cast in the special general election while voters in the special primary election filled out 347 ballots.
Deschampe will fill the remaining District One term of Cook County Commissioner Frank Moe, who retired in December 2016, due to concerns about his health. Moe’s term would have been up in 2018.
Robert Deschampe is the first member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to serve on the Cook County Board of Commissioners since William S. Corcoran in the mid 1980s.
Vannet files violation of Campaign Fair Practices Act
Jim Vannet filed a complaint with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearing alleging actions taken by Robert Deschampe constituted a violation of the Campaign Fair Practices Act.
Vannet said Deschampe sent out a political mailer to everyone who had a post office box in Hovland.
“There were no addresses, just a stamp that wasn’t post marked stuffed into all the boxes,” said Vannet. “The mistake he made was there was no reference to the name and address of the person or committee that printed, paid for or circulated the material. MN Statute 211B.04 requires that the name and address causing the material to be prepared or disseminated appear on the material. The closest thing the material had was a website that didn’t indicate any name, address or committee. I filed a complaint with the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings stating his actions would constitute a violation of the Campaign Fair Practices Act. The administrative judge decided to proceed to the next level.”
In his decision to move the case forward, the administrative judge stated: (1) “Campaign Materials” is defined as “any literature, publication, or material that is disseminated for the purpose of influencing voting at a primary or other election.” The purpose of the disclaimer requirement is to “identify who or what committee prepared, disseminated and paid for the campaign.” (No name, address, or indication of who paid for the piece was written on the mailer.) (2) Mr. Vannet has set forth a prima facie violation of MN Statute 211B.04. The cited materials urging Mr. Deschampe’s election do not include language from section 211B.04(b) or words that are substantially similar. Moreover, even the referenced websites do not include the required disclaimer language. The claim will proceed to a probable cause hearing as scheduled (Thursday at 11 a.m.) by this order.
The probable cause hearing was set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 8. Vannet said that if the complaint was not dismissed, he planned to go ahead and take the case to trial.
Cook County Auditor/Treasurer Braidy Powers said his office hasn’t been notified about the hearing and once the Canvass Board has certified the election, Deschampe will be sworn in at the next Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting. What happens after that, said Powers, will be up to the courts to decide.
Leave a Reply