River-Crossing Campaign Cash

Political campaigns, even for small State Senate races, don't come cheap. Whole industries are kept afloat with political dollars and surely the billions spent in America campaigning each cycle support countless jobs.

During 2010, now-Sen. Brown raised $40,052, spent $39,844, and began this calendar year with just $208 on hand. His receipts included a public subsidy of $11,104, complements of Minnesota taxpayers. You can download a .pdf of Senator Brown's 2010 year end campaign finance report through the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board here.

What's striking about his report isn't how much he spent, but where he spent it. Of his expenditures, $18,090 (45%) went outside of the district, of which $1,806 (5%) was shipped out of state.

While some vendors will doubtlessly be spread far and wide, the amount spent across the Mississippi River from SD 16 in Monticello is incredible -- $3,717. The vast majority of this went to buy office supplies, snacks for volunteers, and other basics that are readily available at retailers inside our own district. Instead, Wright County and Office Max, Walmart, Target, and other national retailers benefited from this largess.

With the economic troubles wracking our communities, Dave Brown tellingly decided to spend his campaign cash in Wright County and elsewhere rather than support local businesses and workers.