Commissioner Bourn Fined $1,600 for False Claims - you won't find this on Park Watch

Click on the title to link to the story you'll never find on Park Watch - he's one of theirs.

Minneapolis Park Commissioner is fined $1,600 for false claims in election.
A judicial panel found Brad Bourn falsely claimed endorsement from state legislators.

By Steve Brandt, Star Tribune
Posted on-line March 19, 2010 8:37 p.m.

Minneapolis Park Commissioner Brad Bourn has been fined $1,600 for falsely claiming that he had been endorsed by two southwest-area legislators during his successful run for his seat last fall.

The order, issued Friday by a panel of three state administrative law judges, came in response to a complaint by Meg Forney, who finished as the runner-up for the open park district seat.

The judges concluded that Bourn knowingly made a false claim that Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Frank Hornstein, both DFL-Minneapolis, had endorsed him, and didn't obtain written permission before using their names. The judges said the claim likely influenced some voters in the heavily DFL district, but they said they couldn't conclude that Forney would have won without the claim.

"It's just so terribly sad that the voters have been deceived," Forney said. "We as candidates need to be accountable, and we also need to police our own backyard. I hope he'll learn, and the voters will hold him accountable."

The panel rejected his complaint that Forney improperly claimed endorsement by a public employees union and falsely implied she'd reeived certain endorsements that were from her 2005 campaign. ###