The most honest and hard working candidate

I’m writing this letter after months of false information and accusations made against my wife, Andrea Zupancich, and finally standing up for her and my family. As a husband, I’ve had the privilege of knowing Andrea for the past 27+ years, not just as a candidate, but as a person.
Andrea has served as a council member/mayor of Babbitt for 10 years. She has worked day in and day out to serve the community and help obtain necessary funding and resources our small town desperately needs. She does this because she truly cares about the city of Babbitt and its citizens; she wants to see our community thrive and grow because it’s the place she and her family call home. Between her real estate business, representing the city of Babbitt, and running for state senate, Andrea is frequently out of the house at 4 a.m. and not home until 10 p.m. She’s one of the hardest workers I know.
Despite many (false) accusations about her real estate business in relation to her time served on the city council, Andrea has abstained from voting and discussions and relayed information solely as an independent contractor. Contrary to the things being said about her, any time Andrea has faced a potential conflict of interest as a council member, she abstained from discussions and voting or removed herself from the meeting entirely. Andrea isn’t and has never been the sole vote on behalf of the city— the council runs on a five-vote majority, and the mayor does not have any authority outside of that.
Over the past few months I’m sure many households, like mine, in our district have received distasteful and inaccurate mailers about my wife, Andrea. These false claims have been very hurtful to our family and are simply not accurate. I believe Grant Hauschild is running a smear campaign against my wife because his time in office has shown that he isn’t truly interested in what’s best for our area. He was the deciding vote on a radical bill to ban the sale of assault-style rifles among other restrictions. It’s been seen on the Senate floor that Hauschild frequently bullies and talks down to people who do not agree with him, particularly women.
I know that my wife is and always has been running with pure intentions to improve the state that we all call home— to be a voice for the smaller communities in northeastern Minnesota that so frequently are forgotten about. In my opinion, she’s the most honest and hard-working candidate in this race by far. Her opponent has already shown his beliefs through his votes on the Senate floor— a few of which can be viewed at http://www.notgrant.com. Northern Minnesota would be lucky to have Andrea in office, and I hope the Northland knows our family’s true values.
Jim Zupancich
Babbitt