Mike Bourke, who ran for the Anoka County Board last year, has retracted campaign statements he made about opponent Robyn West, who won the Nov. 2 election for the District 3 seat.
In a settlement reached last week, Bourke signed a three-part statement acknowledging that West did not vote to extend the runway at the Anoka County Airport, a project that Bourke said would cost county residents $20 million and increase air traffic. The vote on extending the runway occurred in 2006, before West was elected to her first term that fall.
Bourke could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
West said she learned about the statements from a constituent who had a campaign flier dropped at her door. A week before the election, they appeared again in a campaign mailing. West filed a complaint with the state Office of Administrative Hearings the day before the election.
She won election to a second term by a margin of more than 19 percentage points.
"It didn't really matter," she said on Thursday. "It didn't do what he meant it to do, but I'm tired of people doing this kind of stuff so I decided to pursue it."
Over the intervening months, her attorney and Bourke's negotiated a retraction agreement. Bourke also agreed to pay West $500.
West said the money wasn't the issue. "I was after trying to get him to retract what he said and hopefully prevent anybody from trying it again," she said.
MARIA ELENA BACA
