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Reality Check: Freedom Club TV Ad Has More Whoppers Than A Burger King

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Work continues in St. Paul on an $89 million dollar State Senate Office Building that's become politically charged.

But a Freedom Club television ad blasting the project may be digging itself into a bigger hole than the building's basement.

The ad starts with one kernel of truth:

"Governor Dayton and the Democrats completely control state government," says a woman with a child in a playground. "And look at what they're doing."

But the ad then packs more whoppers in 30 seconds than a Burger King franchise, making false and misleading claims like these:

FALSE: "They're building a new luxury office building--for themselves."

TRUE: "A building that will cost taxpayers $77 million."

FALSE: "And to pay for their new luxury office building, they passed a record-setting tax increase."

MISLEADING: "And our property taxes went up."

Democrats and the governor are not building a luxury space for themselves: It's for senators only, Republicans included, not for the governor.

Republicans helped: serving on a special panel that voted unanimously for the architect and builder.

That record tax increase on highest earning 2 percent of Minnesotans?

It wasn't for the office building: It's for education and local government aid.

The financing for the Senate Office Building has no connection to 2014 property tax hikes.

Or to transportation funding, as the ad claims.

"Instead of wasting our tax dollars on their new luxury office building, why aren't Gov. Dayton and the Democrats fixing the roads and potholes?" the ad concludes.

REALITY CHECK:

There's plenty to criticize about the office building project now under construction without resorting to falsehoods.

It was passed in the middle of the night on the last day of a legislative session with no hearings, and given special funding to avoid public scrutiny.

But this ad is not just misleading--it's insulting to voters' intelligence.

That's Reality Check.

Here are some of the sources we used for this Reality Check:

Freedom Club
http://www.freedomclub.mn

Cost of Building
http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_25515016/minnesot-senate-panel-considers-77m-senate-building

2013 Income Tax Hike
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/208250991.html

Projected Property Taxes
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/csim14A2Z.pdf

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/csim14C2.pdf

Official Documents Related to Senate Office Building
http://www.mn.gov/admin/government/construction-projects/high-profile-projects/lob.jsp

Everything You Want To Know About Potholes
http://mntransportationresearch.org/tag/potholes/

How Minnesota Pays for Road Construction and Repair
http://www.dot.state.mn.us/planning/program/stipfunding.html

How the Senate Office Building Was
Passed Without Much Attention
http://www.twincities.com/ci_23430275/new-senate-office-building-be-constructed-north-state

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