Charles Carlson apologizes, says he will return campaign money

Charles Carlson, whose campaign for Minneapolis City Council disintegrated after an exposé by the Minnesota Daily, apologized last weekend for lying to supporters and the media about his life and educational background. In an interview with KSTP on Thursday evening, Carlson said the campaign will return the $1,700 he took from supporters.

The previous night, a group of supporters said they were asking for a criminal investigation against the former candidate and had yet to hear from Carlson.

“I’m very sorry for what I’ve said,” said Carlson.

“We do hope to refund the money to people who asked for it back. I never meant for this to happen like this, and I’m very sorry for everything that’s happened. My goal was to make life better for the city of Minneapolis, and I’m very sorry it turned out like this.”

Meanwhile, City Council member Cam Gordon, whom Carlson was attempting to unseat, told Star Tribune gossip columnist C.J. that he is hoping the whole ordeal is over.

“I’m ready to move on,” Gordon told C.J. “I don’t think we’re going to hear from him for a while. I think he probably had some good intentions and thought he was going to make a difference and get involved. It [the Daily story] made me feel a little bit sorry for the guy.”