Assistant DA says Anti-Teacher Union Campaign Group's Mistake Okay, "...perfoming a civic function."

We won, we won! Now pay the fine and be off with you.

That's what happened in Milwaukee when the anti-union group "Advocates for Student Achievement" skirted campaign finance law "accidentally" and paid a small $5000 fine while walking away with two school board seat wins and one loss. Not bad.

Milwaukee Journal: Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf said he chose not to file criminal charges, "They didn't do anything with criminal intent. They thought they were just performing a civic function."

In these local, smaller races, any monetary edge can make a difference. Yet, the conservative backed, anti-union business front group, got the "they didn't know what they were doing" treatment from the DA. They were even complimented for being involved, for gods sake.

… ASA leaders didn't realize that anyone could join the group, copy their notes and go public with the info. But it's what was in those e-mail exchanges that caught the eye of prosecutors.

So the end result:

ASA helped out at least three candidates - Annie Woodward, David Voeltner and ReDonna Rodgers - in a variety of ways without disclosing any of that publicly, as required by state campaign laws. Voeltner and Woodward won seats on the School Board, while Rodgers lost to Board President Peter Blewett.

And it only cost them $5000 more for the two election victories.