Complaint against Rep. Josh Heintzeman over allegations of pressuring police chief for support gets dismissed

An administrative law judge on Friday dismissed a complaint against Rep. Josh Heintzeman who was accused of violating the Fair Campaign Practices Act by allegedly pressuring the Pequot Lakes police chief into supporting him.

Chief Mike Davis said he felt intimidated by Heintzeman, a Republican lawmaker from neighboring Nisswa who is seeking a fifth term. Heintzeman made a series of phone calls to the chief, mayor and law enforcement agencies after the incumbent learned that Davis signed the successful petition for Troy Scheffler to enter the House District 6B race as a third-party candidate.

In mid-September, Scheffler filed the complaint against Heintzeman with the Office of Administrative Hearings, arguing that he violated laws by indirectly threatening loss of employment to compel Davis into ending his support of Scheffler.

On Tuesday, administrative law judge Megan McKenzie heard arguments and testimony to determine if there was sufficient facts to believe such violation occurred. McKenzie issued an order for dismissal three days later.

She wrote that evidence does not establish a clear nexus between Heintzeman’s phone calls and compelling Davis to cast his ballot in a particular way. She did write that the “number and nature of calls made by [Heintzeman] was perhaps more than was prudent for an elected official.”

Davis testified that none of his superiors pressured him into not supporting Scheffler or to vote for Heintzeman. Mayor Tyler Gardner testified that he did not feel Heintzeman was threatening him or the city’s funding during their phone call. Gardner said Heintzeman never demanded that he fire Davis for supporting Scheffler.

Heintzeman said his calls were mostly out of concern with the city’s civil service policy as Davis was attempting to serve civil paperwork to Heintzeman outside the jurisdiction of Pequot Lakes. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Matthew Zinda, who ran against Heintzeman in the August primary.

Scheffler has also sued Heintzeman for defamation and filed other campaign complaints against him. Heintzeman previously told the Minnesota Star Tribune that Scheffler is running a “campaign by lawsuit.”

Davis previously told the Star Tribune that he signed Scheffler’s petition while off-duty and did so in support of allowing a third option as voters are “tired of the two-party system.”

McKenzie wrote that “Davis’s feeling of uneasiness is understandable — he was a relatively new Police Chief being accused of violating the law or department policy. But in his own testimony, Chief Davis stated that he was never told by anyone to vote in a certain way or given the impression that he would be fired if he did not vote for [Heintzeman]...”

Although the record does not establish probable cause, McKenzie said Heintzeman’s actions “were out of proportion with his purported concerns.”

Scheffler said he intends on appealing.