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In a recent campaign mailer, Patricia Mueller displayed a photo of Sheriff Sandvik and herself speaking with each other with a caption “endorsed by.’This appears to imply that she has been endorsed by Sheriff Sandvik. Sheriff Sandvik has stated on his Facebook page that the photo was used without his permission and he does not publicly endorse any political candidates. Patricia Mueller’s use of the photo is very misleading at the least.

When asked about the campaign mailer Tom Stiehm stated: “When we received this mailer, my assumption, and the assumption of any reasonable person, was that Patricia had been endorsed by Sheriff Sandvik. I was disappointed as I had worked with Steve for many years as both a police officer and mayor. Steve had previously told me he does not do political endorsements, as he is a public official and did not believe it was appropriate. I agreed with him.”

As I stated earlier, this mailing is misleading. Tom Stiehm would not use such a mailing. He believes “Too many politicians believe deception is a legitimate strategy in politics. Honesty and integrity are the pillars we use to judge a person”.

Nancy Bakke-McGonigle

Austin, MN