The Minnesota DFL Party is apologizing to an Anoka County Board candidate for mistakenly endorsing her in next month's nonpartisan election.
Cindy Hansen, who is running for the Sixth District seat against incumbent Jeff Reinert, said she did not solicit the endorsement of the DFL, which likely would not be a big help in the traditionally conservative district.
Her name and photo were included on a sample ballot listing local DFL candidates.
"While I welcome support from all political sides in this nonpartisan race, I need to state, unequivocally, that I have never sought nor received the support or endorsement from the local Democrat party committees in District 6," Hansen wrote in a Facebook post.
"That means the State DFL Party is WRONG to list me as a local DFL candidate."
Brian Evans, communications director for the Minnesota DFL, issued this statement: "A clerical error resulted in the DFL Party listing Cindy Hansen as an endorsed candidate when that was not the case. We have offered Hansen our apologies and will ensure she is not listed as endorsed in the future."
Joel Juen, DFL Senate District 38 chairman, said it was a miscommunication between the party's central committee and the state DFL. He said Hansen's photo was lifted from her campaign website, though she had neither requested support nor approved any expenditure made by the DFL on her behalf.
Wes Volkenant, chair of the Anoka County DFL, said in a post that some voters in District 38A received the sample ballot that endorsed Hansen. "This is an error on the part of the State DFL," Volkenant said.
"We apologize to her and her campaign, for the printing error that cast her nonpartisanship into question."
Volkenant said the party has not sent money to the Hansen campaign during this election. He disclosed that he had personally contributed earlier to her campaign.
The Sixth District race is a repeat of the February special election between Reinert, a former Lino Lakes mayor, and Hansen, a former mayor of Spring Lake Park. Reinert won 48% to Hansen's 44%, a difference of only 251 votes.
The seat opened when Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah stepped down to serve as county administrator.
Reinert and Hansen squared off again in the August primary, with the two beating out opponent Kevin Ryan.
This time the vote margin between the two was 216 votes, with Reinert again winning 48% of the vote and Hansen 44%.
The Sixth District includes Centerville, Circle Pines, Columbus, Lexington, Lino Lakes, Linwood Township and portions of Blaine.
Reinert is president and co-founder of MNPHARM, a molecular farming manufacturer based in White Bear Lake. Hansen has worked 20 years in nutrition services at Mounds View Public Schools.
Three other incumbents are up for re-election on the County Board: Matt Look, facing John LeTourneau in the First District; Julie Braastad, facing Noel Lutsey in the Second District; and Robyn West, facing Nyle Zikmund in the Third District.
Kim Hyatt • 612-673-4751
