Intensifying a dispute with Wellstone Action, the nonprofit created to honor the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, his sons David and Mark Wellstone this week asked the organization's top donors to press it to remove their family name and answer financial questions.
"We plead with you, as a core funder of Wellstone, to help us make that happen, by using your own influence … in any and every way possible," said the letter, which was mailed Tuesday to the Ford Foundation, George Soros' Open Society Foundations, Proteus Fund and others.
The siblings' letter noted "swirling dark clouds of controversy, unanswered questions, and doubts about the very survival of the organization," which trains candidates and campaign workers.
In a statement, Wellstone Action board member Jeff Blodgett called the letter's assertions "specious."
Claims of financial mismanagement, he said, "are red herrings, perhaps to create a smoke screen around some other motives on their part."
Former board members have said the dispute began when they raised questions last year about $200,000 in spending and a sharp drop in the cash balance. Blodgett said the group hired an outside auditor who "found absolutely nothing wrong."
The audit was not shared with the Wellstones or former board members, Blodgett said, because they had refused to sign a confidentiality agreement. The Wellstones' letter said they had offered to sign such an agreement, but it was never sent to them.
Blodgett said the organization will be rebranded "in a way that is true to the work and values that Wellstone Action is well-known for" and said he is "saddened that this fight continues in the public eye."
