Funds and Committees in this years election posted.... "Save Our # 1 Parks",
the PAC sending mailers and inserts benefiting candidates Meg Forney, Abdi
"Gurhan" Mohamed, Mike Tate, Tom Nordyke, Stephanie Musich, Latrisha Vetaw and
Billy Menz received $15,000 from the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, a Republican PAC
who's sole purpose to is to unseat Democrats throughout the state. "Save Our #1
Parks" was started by previous and current DFL Commissioners John Erwin, Anita
Tabb, and Liz Wielinski. The only person who made a public statement disavowing
this activity was Latrisha Vetaw, candidate for At Large Park Board
Commissioner. Reporting below:
http://www16.co.hennepin.mn.us/cfrs/getReport.pdf?seq=1&ids=977
This is a commentary in the Star Tribune from a few days ago penned by a
coalition of DFL state reps and senators describing the Minnesota Jobs
Coalition, the PAC that is trying to influence our Park Board races through the
smaller PAC "Save Our #1 Parks", excerpt below:
"The Minnesota Jobs Coalition is an ultraconservative political advocacy
organization that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect conservative
Republican majorities to the Minnesota House in 2014 and Senate in 2016. It
receives significant funding from the national Republican State Leadership
Committee, which donated $325,000 to the coalition in 2014. The group’s
business donors include big tobacco, oil companies, the Koch brothers, Walmart,
insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and conservative media organizations
such as Hubbard Broadcasting."
http://www.startribune.com/beware-the-crush-of-far-right-money-in-municipal-elections/453717923/
Its disgusting that the current and past Park Board members Erwin, Tabb and
Weilinkski would accept, as a PAC, this much dark money to slander members of
their own political party running for office (the DFL endorsed candidates no
less!) The Minnesota Jobs Coalition, corporate entities like them and
Republican PACs don't care one iota about our parks or residents here in
Minneapolis. I'm just flabbergasted..
This is absolutely the definition of dirty politics, plain and simple. In this
context, I will be supporting DFL endorsed candidates Russ Henry, Londell
French, and Devin Hogan at large (Latrisha is still a good choice) as well as
AK Hassan for District 3, the grassroots progressives running for municipal
office this year.
Sincerely, and from a concerned Minneapolitan,
John Gustafson