"Non Partisan," "highly ethical" Mark Ritchie?

Mark Ritchie on nonpartisanship:

"Elections must be run in a nonpartisan manner, with all political parties and candidates, including candidates not affiliated with any party, receiving equal treatment. Previous Secretaries of State Arlen Erdahl (R) and Joan Growe (DFL) operated the Office of the Secretary of State in this non-partisan manner, placing the interests of Minnesota voters above their own party’s interests. They were willing to make decisions that were right for the people of Minnesota, even if it hurt their own political party.

Under the current Secretary of State this approach has been abandoned. Decisions are made to benefit one party over others.

I intend to return the Secretary of State’s Office to this nonpartisan tradition by taking the following steps:

• Hiring elections professionals to run and staff the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office. Employees will be hired for their experience, not their political connections. They will have the training and support necessary to accurately and efficiently administer the state’s elections.

• Supporting legislation to prohibit a Secretary of State from serving on the campaign committee of another candidate. This step will help garner the public’s trust that the Secretary is truly able to serve as a fair arbitrator of elections.

• Urging the legislature to address the complications that would be caused by a close election in which an incumbent Secretary of State is a candidate. Clearly, Secretaries of State should not be allowed oversee their own recounts. Instead, the Governor should appoint a disinterested third party to manage the proceedings.

• Eliminating practices that discriminate against smaller political parties and independent candidates.

I will take these and other steps to restore Minnesota’s tradition of nonpartisan election administration. I will get the politics out of the Office of the Secretary of State."

Apparently, Mr. Ritchie's "nonpartisan" agenda didn't include refraining from utilizing State mailing lists for partisan electioneering:(All emphases mine)

ST. PAUL — An investigation into allegations that Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie used a state mailing list for political purposes grew more intense Monday when the state’s legislative auditor said he will seek testimony under oath.

Auditor Jim Nobles said he was taking the rare step in response to a published report last week in which Ritchie acknowledged he was personally involved in giving the list to his campaign, which used it to solicit contributions. Initially, Ritchie said he did not know how his campaign obtained the list.

“If (Ritchie) was not forthcoming, that is a serious matter in and of itself,” Nobles said. “If we cannot confirm the veracity of the statements from him and others in his office we’ll have to take other measures to determine what went on.”

Nobles began looking into the data sharing last month after two Republicans who participated in a civic engagement program sponsored by Ritchie’s office questioned why they were getting electronic mailings from the DFL officeholder’s campaign committee.

On Nov. 9, Ritchie’s legal adviser, Bert Black, told Nobles in a letter that the mailing list was public information and widely distributed, including at the State Fair. Black said that was his understanding of how the directory was obtained by the Ritchie campaign.

Last week, Ritchie told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he personally transferred the contact information from the Secretary of State’s office to his campaign organization. Ritchie made the same acknowledgment in an e-mail to Nobles later the same day.

In what is either a lame excuse, or a case of gross incompetence (after all, Ritchie is the State of Minnesota's Chief Elections Officer), Ritchie's office attempted to plead ignorance on the matter:

“The office of secretary of state takes the matter very seriously and we welcome the additional attention being given to this matter by the legislative auditor,” said John Aiken, Ritchie’s director of communications. “We’re looking forward to receiving their conclusions and implementing any recommendations.”

I wonder if Ritchie's offer to "implement any recommendations" extends to any recommendation that he should step down from his elected office.