With all the money that is being thrown at this year's election, I have come to recognize the importance of checking who is preparing and paying for an advertisement. Is it the candidate's campaign committee or party? Or is it an outside political action committee (PAC), a group that is not local. These PACS may be from the Twin Cities, or from across the country. The Brainerd Dispatch had candidate endorsements this year, which were determined by the Forum Communications management, as in the Fargo, N.D. Forum. Why should people from North Dakota tell us who is right for Minnesota? Recent mailings have suggested that John Ward and Joe Radinovich are aligned with the Twin Cities, not rural Minnesota. Yet last Sunday in the Brainerd Dispatch there was a full-page color ad supporting John's opponent, prepared and paid for by the Freedom Club State PAC, and a negative ad against Joe, paid for by the Coalition of Minnesota Businesses PAC. Both of these PACs are based in the Twin Cities. Online you will find that the Freedom Club has a board of directors made up of presidents, vice presidents, and CEOs of metropolitan companies. Membership costs between $3,000 and $7,000 a year. The Coalition of Minnesota Businesses is made up of Twin Cities companies as well. Who are they to tell us what we need in central Minnesota? I have found both John Ward and Joe Radinovich work hard for what is best for all the "little people" in their districts. If you contact them with concerns, they will always help. As residents of greater Minnesota, we don't need "outsiders" to tell us how to vote. Look at the record, talk to the candidates, and vote for John Ward and Joe Radinovich.
Barb McColgan
Brainerd
