According to a top staffer with the Minnesota Senate DFL, State Senator David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) has requested the advisory opinion he is seeking from the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure about whether his new job conflicts with his service in the Minnesota Senate be made public.
Alyssa Siems Roberson, communication director for the Senate Majority Caucus, wrote in an e-mail earlier today that Tomassoni instructed the board to publicly release the advisory opinion he requested after news broke that he was hired as the new executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools (RAMS).
Requests for advisory opinions from the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board must be submitted in writing. I have requested a copy of the letter Tomassoni sent to the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board requesting an advisory opinion. Tomassoni's letter requesting an advisory opinion is considered "non-public" data, but I will post a copy of his letter if staff of the Minnesota Senate complies with my request.
Aaron Brown, who has a blog with the Star Tribune and also at Minnesota Brown, wrote earlier today that the controversy about Tomassoni's new job was "consuming local politics as well as the crowded halls of the Capitol in St. Paul." I'll have more information about the issues involving Tomassoni's new job and his request for an advisory opinion, so please check back over the next few days.
Picture source: Minnesota Senate
