A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS. The chart below shows the contributions and expenditures of independent candidates that ran opposed to “Our Minnetrista” candidates in the 2014 and 2018 city council and mayoral elections. Our Minnetrista wasn’t active in 2016 because Mayor Whalen had no opposition and the council majority was already in the hands of Our Minnetrista. The Our Minnetrista political committee has controlled elections in Minnetrista since 2014 and has discouraged independent candidates from running for public office. It is undeniable:
The 2014 mayoral race was won by less than 200 votes. Without the unfair advantage of Our Minnetrista’s illegal activity it’s reasonable to conclude that Whalen’s opposition in that race, Mark Vanderlinde, would’ve won the mayoral election by a wide margin. It’s also likely, had there been a level field, the 2018 independent candidate, Elroy Balgaard, would’ve defeated one of the Our Minnetrista candidates.
Related posts:
Minnetrista-gate Judgement
Star Tribune coverage
Center of American Experiment coverage
Minnetrista Governance Blog 