WINONA, Minn.— An administrative law judge fined Winona County $300 for violating public record laws by ignoring a request for ballot information. Mayoral candidate Michelle Alexander had asked for records on absentee ballots after the primary election. The county personnel director, Maureen Holte, responded that she would review the request but didn’t. In St. Paul the administrative law judge, Jim Mortenson, was severely critical. The state open-records law, he said, “does not allow government entities to ignore requests and just hope they go away.” The judge ordered the county pay up to $6,000 in Alexander’s legal fees besides the $300 fine. Coincidentally the Winona Post had requested absentee ballot envelopes, which Holte denied. She claimed they were not for the public.

Earlier: Alexander calls for mayoral recount

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Reid LeBeau, Alexander’s attorney, told the Winona Post: ““This is — sadly, I think — kind of a textbook example of bureaucrats behaving badly. Because now the taxpayers of Winona County are on the hook for their bad acts. I just hope this serves as a wakeup call to county administration and elected officials about what is happening in their departments. This never should have happened.”

Alexander. Objected to county snubbing her data request.