Go to Representative Tony Cornish's campaign website--the one that's linked online at his committee's registration page at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board--and visits the "Awards" page. You'll see a lot of information about awards and endorsements, including the one in the screengrab at the top of the page.
What's left to the discerning voter is the fact that the awards were made years ago and the endorsements are for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. According to a text from Minnesota Farmers Union Government Affairs Director Thom Petersen, the MFU has yet to make an endorsement in the race.
Confusing? You betcha! In the middle of the page, Cornish asks voters:
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME - TONY CORNISH - FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN DISTRICT 24B
That would be the district he represented prior in re-districting in 2012. The request is followed by a screed against Mark Meyer, the Independence Party candidate in 2010 in the old 24B seat, but that rant is signed:
Still here and Still Fighting for Rural Minnesota. Please vote for me on November 2nd [link added]
Tony Cornish
State Rep 23B
That's particular, since Cornish didn't have an opponent in 2012 and 2014 so that's some funky, funky page editing.
But there a list of endorsements on the page as well:
Representative Cornish Receives Award for Legislator of the year for 2009 from the largest police organization in the State, the MPPOA (Minnesota Police and Peace Officers' Association)
The Following Organizations Have Endorsed My Re Election as State Representative for 23 B
Education Minnesota Political Action Committee
Minnesota Farm Bureau Political Action Committee
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Political Action Committee (MCCL 100 % rating)
National Rifle Association (A+ Rating)
Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association
Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis
United Transportation Union/Minnesota
Minnesota Chiropractic Political Action Committee
National Federation of Independent Business NFIB
Peace Officers Alliance of Minnesota
Minnesotans for Personal Choice and Competition in Healthcare
The Following Organizations Have Presented Me an Award
Minnesota Farmers Union (Farm and Rural Legislative Award)
League of Minnesota Cities (Legislator of Distinction)
National Federation of Independent Business NFIB (Guardian of Small Business)
Please Note, Though I'm Pleased to Receive Their Endorsement, I Do Not Take PAC Money From Any of Them.
While it's possible that some of those groups have endorsed Representative Cornish for 2016 (and it's true that he doesn't take PAC money--though he does take lobbyist contributions), as of August 14, 2016, he's not endorsed by the Minnesota Farmers Union, nor by Education Minnesota Political Action Committee, which like the MFU, has not yet made an endorsement in this race, according to its website.
Here's a screenshot of that cold mess:
Does this information--again, it's on the website listed on his campaign committee page at the CFB--constitute a false claim of support, as defined in Minnesota state statute:
A person or candidate may not knowingly make, directly or indirectly, a false claim stating or implying that a candidate or ballot question has the support or endorsement of a major political party or party unit or of an organization. A person or candidate may not state in written campaign material that the candidate or ballot question has the support or endorsement of an individual without first getting written permission from the individual to do so.
Or not? We suspect that this crusty information isn't there with the intention of misleading the public. Rather, it illustrates that Cornish is campaigning on the stage of public opinion about law enforcement, rather than for House District 23B.
For the last two cycles, he's gotten away with that, but this year, he has an opponent, Joshua Haseman, a member of the St. James City Council. On his campaign Facebook page, Haseman (above) notes some endorsements: AFSCME Council 5 and IBEW Local 343, as well as that of the DFL.
Here's the challenger's bio:
Born and raised in Watonwan County, Josh grew up on a hog and grain farm and graduated with honors from Butterfield-Odin High School. He enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard at the age of 17, and attended Minnesota West Community and Technical College. At age 20, he married his wife Melissa and started a family. He continued his military career and was deployed to Northern Italy in August of 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He returned to his family in April of 2004. Haseman was honorably discharged from the military in February of 2006. For over 13 years, Haseman has worked at Schwickert's in Mankato and is currently the Fleet Manager. Serving the citizens of St. James on the city council for the past 5 years has been something he is very proud of. He also serves as a volunteer firefighter, and as part of his Council member duties, is involved with many committees.
He is married to his wife of 18 years, Melissa. Together, they have three children; Bailey 17, Shelby 15, and Riley 7. They are active church and community members in St. James.
Perhaps Cornish should update his pages.
Photos: Cornish out standing in a field (in 2010, or so the timestamp says); Screengrab from "Awards" page (top); screengrab of Cornish's awards and endorsements; Screengrab from "Awards" page (center); Joshua Haseman at the Watonwan County Fair, via Facebook (bottom).
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