DFL Party Holds Norm Coleman’s Feet to the Fire

07/03/2008

Party chair presents new research challenging Coleman on sweetheart deal, asks Coleman to answer five simple questions


St. Paul (July 2, 2008) — Minnesota DFL Party Chair Brian Melendez held a media conference call today during which he provided new research about Norm Coleman’s Washington, D.C., sweetheart deal, addressed Senator Coleman’s evasions and inaccuracies related to his arrangement, and posed five questions for Senator Coleman to answer.

The conference came after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee yesterday based on last week’s National Journal article detailing a highly beneficial, cut-rate housing arrangement that Coleman enjoys. The DFL Party also alleged on Monday that the deal constitutes a violation of Senate ethics rules.

On the call, Melendez again asserted that the $600 a month in rent that Coleman pays political operative Jeff Larson is far below market value:

“The revelations about Norm Coleman’s sweetheart deal keep coming. Senator Coleman protests that $600 a month is fair market value for what he is receiving — but our research of publicly available records contradicts him.

“For example, on Capitol Hill, we have found an extremely similar space to Coleman’s that rents for $1,700 a month. Other nearby English basements rent for $1,100 to $1,800. Another English basement seven blocks farther away from the Capitol than Coleman’s place rents for $1,475 a month — with an overall crime rate five times higher and a violent crime rate 12 times higher.

“The only $600 rooms available were in shared houses located anywhere from 20 blocks to nearly five miles from the Capitol.”

In light of this new research, Melendez asked:

“Senator Coleman, can you prove that you are paying fair market value? What research are you using to back up your claim that you are?”

On the heels of a new National Journal article, Melendez also took issue with Coleman’s continued claim that he does not use or have access to the entire English basement:

“Coleman’s claim that he has access only to his bedroom is simply not credible. In yesterday’s National Journal article, Senator Coleman admitted again that he ‘shares’ the ‘living space’ with an office — namely the office of FLS-Connect, Jeff Larson’s company. And we know from the real-estate listing not only that Coleman’s bedroom is ‘airy,’ but that the basement includes many amenities that Coleman refuses to acknowledge.

“Are we to believe that when Coleman is in the apartment long after the FLS-Connect employee has left, he does not enjoy full use of the rest of the apartment? Why won’t Senator Coleman admit that he has full access to the entire apartment?”

DFL officials also inquired with Pepco, the local power company in Washington, D.C., about the utilities for the home, and found that utilities for the English basement are billed separately from the upper two floors of the house. About those findings, Melendez asked:

“Is Senator Coleman paying his share of the utilities and, if so, can he prove it with a bill from Pepco, or proof of payment to Pepco? If he is not paying his share, who is paying it for him — and would that subsidy constitute yet another ethics violation?”

On Monday, Melendez called on Senator Coleman to produce a lease along with any other documentation between him and Jeff Larson about the sweetheart deal. Today, Melendez renewed his call:

“Why hasn’t Senator Coleman produced a copy of his lease with Jeff Larson, along with any other related written documentation?”

Finally, Melendez asked:

“Senator Coleman, is it fair, when so many Minnesotans are worried about keeping their homes, are facing foreclosure or have been foreclosed on, that you get a cut-rate sweetheart deal from Jeff Larson, one of the most well-connected political operatives in America?”


Coleman Claims About Sweetheart Deal Contradicted by Facts, Own Statements

Coleman spokesman still claims that Coleman is paying “fair market value.” “The record is clear that Senator Coleman paid fair market value for a cramped basement bedroom,” said Luke Friedrich, the Coleman campaign’s press secretary. [Pioneer Press “Political Animal” blog, 7/1/08]

English-basement apartments and studios on Capitol Hill comparable to Coleman’s for rent at amounts far in excess of $600 per month. In addition to the research that it released last Monday, the DFL Party today released more research showing that rentals of English basements and small apartments comparable in location, safety and amenity to Coleman’s run from $1,100 to $1,800 per month. One Capitol Hill one-bedroom English basement is nearly identical to Coleman’s in location and safety, for $1,700; another at $1,475 per month sits on a block with five times the number of crimes committed in the last year, including 12 times the number of violent crimes; and another at $1,350 a month is a mere 625 square feet in size. [Craigslist.org, accessed 7/1/08, 7/1/08, 7/1/08, 7/1/08; complete research records available on request.]

Crime rates for most locations higher than for Coleman’s. The Party also compiled crime statistics for each location. Coleman’s English basement sits on a relatively safe block: The District of Columbia crime report for Coleman’s English basement at 140 North Carolina Avenue SE shows that in the last year, a total of 13 crimes were committed within 500 feet of the house, including one violent crime. In all instances but one — an apartment building literally across the street from the Capitol — the number of crimes committed within 500 feet of the other comparable Capitol HiHillHileieeiHill Hill English-basement apartments was equal to (in one instance) or greater than (in all other instances) the number of crimes committed in the vicinity of Coleman’s residence, by on average a factor of nearly three. [District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, accessed 7/1/08]

Available rentals at $600 far away from Capitol, in shared houses. The DFL Party released more research showing that rooms for rent for $600 Washington, D.C., are only available in shared houses at anywhere from two to five miles from the Capitol. [Craigslist.org, accessed 7/1/08, 7/1/08, 7/1/08; complete research records available on request.]

Coleman spokesman continues to claim that Coleman occupies “cramped basement bedroom.” “Coleman campaign spokesman Luke Friedrich replied that Coleman is paying fair market value ‘for a cramped basement bedroom.’” [WCCO (AP), 7/1/08]

Realtor’s description of English basement contradicts Coleman’s assertion. A real-estate agent’s listing of Larson’s million-dollar townhome reads: “Downstairs, a huge English basement with a media center, office space, gorgeous custom marble and oak bar — plus an airy guest bedroom and bath.” [Phyllis Jane Young.com, accessed 7/2/08]

In new article, National Journal reports that Coleman acknowledges he shares common “living space” with FLS-Connect. “In a statement issued to National Journal, Coleman said that in July last year he moved into the basement apartment of the townhouse. He said he had ‘a 10-by-10-foot bedroom, bathroom, no kitchen or cooking facilities and living space that I share with an office,’ meaning FLS Connect.” [National Journal, 7/1/08, emphasis added]

While Coleman gets sweetheart deal, 27,000 Minnesota homes in foreclosure; prime-mortgage foreclosures in Minnesota up 118.8% in one year. According to the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, at the end of FY2008 Q1, 11,965 homes in Minnesota were in prime mortgage foreclosure, up 118.8% from FY2007 Q1. 15,270 homes in Minnesota are in subprime foreclosures, up 67.8% from FY2007 Q1. [U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, State by State Breakdown of MBA Report, accessed 7/2/08]