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The Minnesota DFL has spent a good deal of money on misleading mailers in an attempt to convince the voters of Senate District 27 that candidate Gene Dornink is beholden to “big corporations” and “St. Paul elites.” Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I know Gene well, and know him to be a man of the highest integrity. He is devoted to his family and service to his neighbors. He worked 22 years as a union carpenter, before stepping out on his own by founding a now-thriving family business. He leads a life that personifies our Greater Minnesota values.

If there are any questions to be asked about money influences, they should be asked of Gene’s opponent—incumbent senator Dan Sparks. A review of Senator Sparks’ 2017-2020 public filings with the Minnesota Campaign Finance & Public Disclosure Board is quite interesting.  They show Senator Sparks to be highly dependent upon money from outside our district to conduct his campaign.

During this election cycle, the vast majority—nearly 70 percent—of the money raised by his campaign has come from lobbyists, PAC’s, and DFL party organizations outside our district. Furthermore, 100 percent of his itemized contributions from individuals come from people living in places like Edina and Orono—not Austin and Albert Lea.

So one has to ask: If money talks, then who is Senator Sparks listening to?

Dennis Schminke

Austin, MN