I am breaking my silence to stand against the lies and distortions from Jennifer Carnahan about

the toxic environment she created, and to provide a few examples of how close Carnahan really
was to Anton ‘Tony’ Lazzaro.

First, in 2020 when I was Political Director for the Party, Carnahan and I were discussing
feedback on sample ballots that the party had sent out for the Primary. Lazzarro’s name came
up in the conversation somehow, and during the brief discussion I was told by her, that “I would
not approve of his lifestyle.”

Second, while working under a contract for the Party in April of 2021, I was on a site visit with
Carnahan and others. We were looking at a potential venue to have the Party’s official Delegate
support volunteer call center and staff location at a hotel during the remote State Central
Meeting during which State Party Officer elections were being held. Carnahan was also
considering using a hotel for her reelection campaign war room operation. During the visit, I
witnessed Carnahan reaching out to someone named “Tony”, and asking if he would pay for her
campaign war room and the answer appeared to be yes. There are no regulations or public
financial reporting requirements for party officer elections so we may never truly know how
much funding Lazzarro provided to Carnahan for her campaigns.

Third, I have a copy of an email documenting that a Daily Beast reporter, Jose Pagliery made an
inquiry to the Party on July 19, 2021. After a call with a staffer, I was told that Pagliery asked
about Anton Lazzaro and his status as a Delegate to the National Convention. The inquiry
seemed odd and Carnahan was not working in the office, so I directed communications staff to
send an email to her about the inquiry. During a follow up phone call from Carnahan a few hours
later, she asked me to swear not to tell ANYONE not even my spouse about this. Carnahan
went on to tell me basically the same version of details that Lazarro told the Daily Beast, that the
matter was almost resolved, totally unrelated to the party, nothing to worry about, etc. The red
flag is, that the public revelation and questions about Lazzarro’s ‘lifestyle’ were not publicly
reported on until August 12, 2021 by Pagliery on the Daily Beast. So her claim that she was
finding out information about his lifestyle along with everyone else in August is questionable at
best.

Fourth, As Executive Director I was informed that the Party received a donation of $5,000 on
July 21st from Lazzarro. This donation will not appear on public disclosures until early next year
on the Minnesota Campaign Finance year end report since he has already, apparently, reached
the Federal contribution limit of $10,000. Were there more 2021 donations to the Party from
Lazzarro, and if so, when and how much?
Lastly I’d like to turn to my own personal torment due to the abusive leadership of Carnahan.
Since the NDA’s are currently lifted, I was finally able to talk with my predecessors. Only then
did I learn that I wasn’t the only Executive Director under Carnahan to face a weaponized HR
department run by Ron Huettl.

Carnahan uses separation payments as a way of silencing staff as she shows them his or her
way out the door. My version of a politically weaponized severance agreement can be boiled
down to the following: it included the following non-disparagement clause in exchange for
$10,000. We now know that there have been multiple severance agreements with large payouts
but we don’t know how many or for how much. This is donor money that could be used to help
elect Republicans, but instead Carnahan used donor money to silence former Republican
staffers.

5. Non-Disparagement. Employee shall not disparage or defame Employer in any

respect. Employer management employees shall not disparage or defame Employee in
any respect. You agree that you will not make any comments relating to RPM or
employed by or affiliated with RPM, including elected party leaders (Chairwoman,
Deputy Chair, Treasurer) that are critical, derogatory, or that may tend to injure the
current and future reputation of the RPM or the current of future reputation of anyone
employed by or affiliates with the RPM as indicated.

It is sickening to learn of this pattern where Carnahan uses party staff, donor money, and her
political friends to bully and silence political staff, volunteers, and victims. Huettl and many
members of the Personnel Committee are known to be fiercely loyal to Carnahan so even
seasoned political operatives in the role of Executive Director have no safe space or outlet to
report concerns without fear of retaliation within the organization like what happened to myself
and others before me. These gag orders previously prevented us from telling our stories of the
horror and agony of working for Jennifer Carnahan.

In closing, I have to say that I am ashamed that my party, the party of family values and
personal responsibility, played a role in the torment and apparent harassment of so many. The
only way we can make this right and prevent it from happening again, is without Jennifer
Carnahan as Chair of our party. She will never let the truth see the light of day, because in her
narcissistic mind, it would ruin her brand.
Thank you to all the survivors who have shared their tragic stories and my fellow former EDs
Christine Snell, Becky Alery, and Kevin Poindexter for also coming forward.

God bless,
Andy Aplikowski

Executive Director: May 2021 – August 2021

Political Director: May 2020 – November 2020
Convention Specialist: March 2020 – April 2020
Endorsed State Senate Candidate 2020 (Special Election)
State Executive Member 2014 – 2016
CD6 Treasurer and Finance Director 2014 – 2016
BPOU Chair and Treasurer
State, Congressional District, Senate District Delegate Since 2004
State Central Delegate Since 2005
BPOU, CD, and State Rules, Constitution, Bylaws, and Platform Committee member
RNC Delegate 2016
RNC Platform Committee 2016