Gov. Pawlenty cracks down on ACORN
Gov. Tim Pawlenty in a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Commissioner Tom Hanson directed the commissioner to stop all state funding to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) unless legally obligated.
The governor cites reports of questionable and potentially illegal activities by the group — Republican 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, in a recent fund raising letter reported allegations that ACORN members were caught organizing prostitution and in a recent speech said she awoke every morning thinking about how to defeat ACORN.
Both the Pioneer Press and Star Tribune last autumn editorialized about ACORN voter registration efforts here in the state, indicating that things needed to be fixed.
The group works at getting poor people or people of modest means registered to vote.
A preliminary review of state financial records, according to an OMB press release, shows the state has funded ACORN $109,000 since 1996, the latest payment taking place in May of last year.
Nearly all the state funding to the group has come from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency.
