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OpinionWriter sees interesting legislative sessions shaping up in the countyTO THE EDITOR: We have some interesting legislative races shaping up in Chisago County. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have endorsed candidates with long histories of service to our community, as well as, distinguished political careers. The Republican candidate has won four elections in his city and the Democratic candidate five elections in her township, all without a defeat. Both may face a primary. The Democratic candidate, Abress, may face opposition from a political unknown in our county who has and continues to have a political base in the city of St. Paul. The real concern for me, however, will be the tone of the campaigns. We have already heard the first blast of Republican attack ads. They went after what they have labeled as the ìdeathî tax, suggesting that it is hurting small farming and business. It is a lie; there is no inheritance tax on a small farm or business unless the inheritance amounts to $2 million or more. Further, democrats have proposed raising that amount to $4 million and exempting farms altogether. In any case, it is not a death tax, but a tax on the large estates being passed on to others. Eliminating this tax only shifts the more of the tax burden to working families, making up for this proposed tax break for the rich. Another example of a misleading political ad is a recent one for the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. It claims that the candidate, while mayor of St. Paul, was responsible for improvements in the St. Paul school system. The chair of the St. Paul School Board begged to differ with that claim. Nowhere does it mention he left the new mayor with a major deficit or that he used funds intended to help the poor with housing to air condition park facilities, build a new library and pay for his staff. One should ask how that helped to address the affordable housing crisis in St. Paul. I think we in Chisago County expect more from those that run for office. We expect clean campaigns and our candidates to not only to be familiar with the issues in our county, but also to have demonstrated through past actions efforts to work on them. A starting point for the two major candidates, Nelson and Abress, would be to commit to a fair and clean campaign and for Nelson to distance himself from the attack ads sponsored by the Republican Party and the other organizations that share their zeal for distortion.Ý Robert G. Walz ©ECM Post Review |