Campaign confusion: Concerns grow as school board elections approach – Brainerd Dispatch

UPDATE: The complaints against Kalenberg and Stromberg were dismissed on Friday afternoon, October 25. The full story will be published in the Dispatch next week.

BRAINERD — An administrative law judge has not yet ruled in the case

Fair Campaign Practices Complaints

against three candidates running for a position on the Brainerd School Board, and concerns about the campaign literature in Brainerd are far from over, even going so far as to call for a board member’s resignation.

The latest release is a mailer sent to district residents from Restore Our Schools. He urges voters to “just say no” to “liberal” School Board members Kevin Boyles, Michelle Brekken and John Ward, who currently serve on the board and are running for re-election. The mailing goes on to claim that “over 500 families have left the district due to an unsafe learning environment and lack of transparency” and accuses the three board members of disregarding parents’ concerns, allowing pornographic content in school libraries and focusing more on pushing a political agenda than on improving academic results.

Financial statements filed with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board show $12,000 in donations made to Restore Our Schools, half of which came from board member DJ Dondelinger through his company Dondelinger Automotive. The remaining $6,000 came from Glen Cook through Guest Inc.

District resident and former Brainerd teacher Sally Boos spoke about the mailer and Dondelinger’s contributions to Restore Our Schools during the public forum of the School Board meeting on Monday, October 21. She called the statements contained in the package “shameful, disgusting lies and distortions. ” Regarding the broadcaster’s claim that board members dismissed parents’ objections to inappropriate books in the libraries, Boos noted that the people who spoke about the books at board meetings and formally challenged them were not parents.

And while she said Dondelinger’s contributions to the group were perfectly legal, she questioned whether they were ethical. While the Postal Service does not endorse any candidate, Boos alluded to other candidates in the race by making statements about “school choice” and using tax dollars to support private schools. One such claim can be found in a comment by candidate Stephanie Etterman on her Facebook campaign page, which argues that tax dollars should follow children to the school of their choice, public or private. No public comments could be found about the school choice of other School Board candidates.

“Why on earth would an ISD 181 board member support these candidates?” Boos asked. “If you want to do this, Mr. Dondelinger, I suggest you resign because you have not demonstrated that you support ISD 181.”

Later in the meeting, during the board members’ comment time, Dondelinger apologized for the madness of the election. Regarding financial support for Restore Our Schools, Dondelinger stated that he does not actually approve any mailings.

“I’m also donating $10,000 a year to hockey because we’re going to get involved, and I’m giving money to Ducks Unlimited. But I don’t choose who will be on the hockey team,” he said. “I had no idea what they were going to do. I just knew which side I was on.

He added that those who donate money to the church collection plate probably do not know what exactly it will be used for.

“So I don’t know what I did, but I agree with you, it looks tacky,” Dondelinger said. “We can do better.”

Two other speakers at Monday’s public forum also addressed the campaign. Doreen Eiseland spoke about the danger of disinformation, which is the deliberate spread of false information, and how difficult it is for young people to develop critical thinking skills without accurate information. She believes that spreading disinformation is a slap in the face to the integrity of the electoral process, noting that she has been an election judge for almost 40 years.

Brainerd educator Amy Aho then addressed the negative campaign tactics she believes students are noticing.

“People should be able to share their thoughts about candidates in a positive, productive way that can be achieved without innuendo, negativity, disinformation and hidden sources, both information and financial support,” Aho said. “Please let us be role models during the election season. Our students watch it.”

School Board candidates Jody Kalenberg and Mike Stromberg appeared by telephone on Tuesday, October 22, before Administrative Law Judge Ann O’Reilly, along with Steve Elg and Cheryl Fields, who filed complaints against Kalenberg and Stromberg for allegedly violating state campaign laws . Stephanie Etterman and complainant Deborah Halsted were scheduled for a hearing on Friday morning, October 25.

The complaints stem from a pamphlet distributed in Brainerd urging voters to choose Kalenberg, Stromberg and Etterman over three candidates for school board positions. The brochure did not include the required clause stating who paid it and who prepared it, which is the basis for complaints against the candidates. The complaints also alleged violations of state statute over false information in campaign materials, but the Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings does not hear cases based on that violation after a 2014 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

Without a disclaimer in the pamphlet, Ed Shaw, a Brainerd attorney representing the complainants, said the general assumption is that they prepared it themselves. The candidates claim they had no knowledge of the brochures and had no influence on their financing, creation and distribution.

During Kalenberg and Stromberg’s probable cause hearing, Shaw asked both of them if they had made any effort to find out who prepared the materials, to which they both responded that they had not. At the end of the hearing, Stromberg asked whether the hearing was intended to establish probable cause as to whether the candidates were responsible for the pamphlet or to determine their obligation to find out who prepared it. O’Reilly stated that she had no legal obligation to find the source of the pamphlet.

After hearing from candidates and complainants, O’Reilly said she would review the matter and come back with a decision in a few days. O’Reilly said that if she finds probable cause that a violation of law occurred, the case would proceed to an evidentiary hearing. If probable cause is not found, the complaint will be dismissed.

No decision had been made before the Dispatch’s print deadline on Friday morning.

TERESA BOURKE can be contacted at

[email protected]

or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at

www.twitter.com/Dispatch Theresa

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