Chisago County Dist. 3 Commissioner Bob Gustafson has been fined for preparing and disseminating campaign materials that have been deemed to contain false statements.

On Jan. 25, Gustafson was before a panel of three Administrative Law judges for a closed hearing on complaints filed by Curt Flug, Gustafsonís opponent in last fallís third district commissioner election.

Some claims Gustafson put forth in campaign material that were disputed by Flug included that Gustafson was a former law enforcement officer, that he was appointed to the state Fraud Investigators Association, that Flug had been paid $45 for attending meetings of a county steering committee, that Flug had begged him (Gustafson) to be appointed to the county planning commission and that Gustafson had received a Presidential invitation to participate in a round table discussion with White House staff.
With the onus on Flug to prove the statements wrong and after the hearing on Jan. 25, the judges concluded Gustafson violated Minn. Stat. 211B.06 by preparing campaign material that contained false statements.

The judges have ordered Gustafson to pay a civil penalty of $2,000 by April 5 for the violations as follows:
$1,200 for false claims of being a police officer;
$300 for claim of false Presidential invitation and;
$250 for each of two claims that the complainant begged for the position on the planning commission and that Flug had been paid for the county committee meetings.

Please check www.ecmpostreview.com for a complete story later this week.

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