Is anyone else as tired of dirty campaigning as I am?  I can’t wait for yet another election to be over so we can stop being bombarded by mailings and TV ads.

One race that I’ve noticed is different from others is the race for Freeborn County sheriff. There have been many comments and accusations thrown around about the job that our current sheriff, Mark Harig, has been doing. I would like to know if these people have any proof to back up the things that they are saying verbally and in print. People should understand that if they are spreading untruths or twisting facts that they are damaging a good man’s reputation and influencing an election.

When I walked in the Emmons parade to show my support for Sheriff Harig, I asked him why he does not respond to the accusations made against him. He said that he has worked hard for best interests of all Freeborn County residents these past two terms as sheriff and he wants to let his record of service stand on it’s own. He does not believe in saying negative things about others running for office and will not resort to dirty campaign tactics.

Mark wishes he could have found the time to get out and visit with more people before the election but, besides fulfilling the day-to-day duties of his job as sheriff, he has had the added challenges of tornadoes and flooding to tend to this year. There are many people who were affected by the tornadoes and flooding who have attested to the fact that Sheriff Harig was there right away, working alongside them, doing what needed to be done to help them and to clean things up. He sets his duty to Freeborn County ahead of his political ambitions. Mark has worked tirelessly to clean up the drug problems we’ve had in our communities. He has worked very hard to obtain grant funding for training and equipment. I believe that he is always looking for ways to build Freeborn County without asking commissioners to fund everything at taxpayers’ expense.

Thank you for your dedication, Sheriff Harig. On Nov. 2, let’s re-elect Mark Harig our sheriff.

Cindy Halvorsen

Albert Lea