Count on City Councilor Kermit Staggers to be a possible mayoral candidate.
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The central district representative says he’ll most likely run in the 2010 race.
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“Over the past several summers I have gone door-to-door talking to people about the city,” Staggers said.
“There is a good chance we will” run for the office, he told me Friday.
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As for a timetable on a final decision?
“We won’t have to hurry,” Staggers said.
Exactly. You can’t even collect signatures until after January 1, 2010. Settle down Dave.
So l3wis, you seem to have a pulse for the inner workings of this city. Do you think Kermit can win?
Yes, if the Argus doesn’t continue to print bullshit about him. Their comment on the cover of the paper today about being ‘Mr. No’ was a crock. They don’t like Kermit because he has called them out on their crap several times. I think having the Argus against you is a positive. I have often called an endorsement by them the Kiss of Death.
I’m thinkin if knobe also runs, at that point it will be a three horse contest between Kermit, Brown, and Knobe, with Kermit and Knobe in the runoff.
What do you think?
He has my support…thats about all I know for sure at this point.
Hansen is probably running, if he does, I guarantee he will be in the runoff.
As far as I am concerned if all you had to go on was resumes and you didn’t know any of the candidates and were asked to choose by just reading their resumes, Kermit would win in a landslide. Tons of legislative and council experience, a PHD in political science and history and has taught all over the world. Of course, the AL never prints that stuff about Kermit.
I favor Staggers. He’s conscious of citizens. Munson plays into special interests and city employees. The city attorney’s office will tell you their client is ‘the city’ not ‘the city and the citizens’. I doubt Staggers can overcome the brainwashed city employee voters and the $10 each to the 14,000 out of state RV voters. If I hear a ‘Repeal Home Rule’ platform, I’m all out for Staggers.
OK…so Hansen and Kermit in a runoff. And the winner…by a nose is ????????????
No quinella or trifecta wagering for this race.
The thousands of RV’ers cannot vote on local issues. They can help sway the vote between Kristi and the current Miss Blue Dog, but not between Kermit and Hansen.
I think Staggers could squeak past Hansen, but only if the media brings up all the secrecy that was going on in Hansen’s admin.
The only way Staggers can win is if the other candidates get caught with a dead girl or a live boy. His reputation precedes him far more than any slant the Fargin’ Leaker has added.
Again, I respect the man and his resume’, but he is constantly negative and anti-growth, which IMHO is not a winning strategy no matter how he will try to re-package it.
Quite the opposite. He is not ANTI-GROWTH, it is a label the media has put on him. Trust me, I have learned that watching the council meetings over the past two years. Often Kermit will vote against spending, not becuase he against the project but he is against how it is being done. That is the biggest misconception about him. One thing that I guarantee Staggers will champion is making it easier for developers to build by revamping our zoning and codes. He constantly brings it up that it costs builders millions a year with all the hoops they have to jump thru in SF but not in surrounding communities. Kind of sounds like he is pro growth to me.
Another thing I like about Kermit is he is honest and follows the law, something Munson has failed to do. He is also a huge proponent of open government and transparancy. If he becomes mayor, the citizens will be let in on contract negotiations like the one with Jeff. That alone gets me to support him. Agree or disagree with Staggers really doesn’t matter, but letting you in on his decisions does.
l3wis says:
July 13th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I think Staggers could squeak past Hansen, but only if the media brings up all the secrecy that was going on in Hansen’s admin.
*****
Secrecy? What secrecy?
Sy says:
July 13th, 2009 at 8:42 am
The only way Staggers can win is if the other candidates get caught with a dead girl or a live boy. His reputation precedes him far more than any slant the Fargin’ Leaker has added.
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You see Sy, that is the mentality that comes about from attending too many downtown breakfast club gatherings. You need to get out more to where the real people gather and discuss these matters. As I recall, you and the breakfast club boys also thought the Rec Center was a slam dunk.
l3wis, moving on to another aspect of Kranz’s article. What do you make of the prospects of Bob “The Barber” Christianson as a city commissioner? Seems like more of the same ol same ol. Tax and spend. Tax and spend.
Bob The Barber had this to say.
“The big thing – we are the largest city in the state, and it is important that we be the leader and progressive in our thinking. We need to fulfill the needs of the PEOPLE in Sioux Falls,” Christensen said. “We also have to control our spending, making sure the money is well spent in the right way. For instance, city streets, parks, recreation, convention center, things that will make the city grow,” he said.
Now that ALL makes perfect sense….only IF you replace the word PEOPLE with the word ELITE.
Whatever WP, never been to a breakfast club meeting do I wouldn’t know what those folks are all about.
I’ll guarantee you one thing though, you open up all the City negotiations to the general public and that will drive investment dollars out of here faster than you can imagine.
Look at what a total clusterfuck we have now in EC task force version 3.d0h! There’s never a way to make everyone happy or come up with the silver bullet be-all, end-all plan..as much as John Q. seems to think there is.
It is the height of naivete’ to think otherwise. Management by consensus isn’t leadership, in fact it lets your leaders off the hook, so why elect them in the first place? Any number of people with an axe to grind would be able to torpedo any potential development for a myriad of reasons, whether real or perceived.
The Events Center debate is exactly what I’m talking about. Every other City has come along and said “Here’s the plan, here’s the site, here’s the budget, here’s the funding sources, and here’s the payback..now give us a vote up or down” and BAMO they have a new facility in 5 years from proposal to opening.
Meanwhile, we sit with our thumbs in our arses for a decade losing millions of dollars in new business and looking for more consultants we don’t listen to while chasing percieved deficiencies brought up by people who have not clue one on urban planning or demographic trends or economies of scale or event planning or even how to read a balance sheet. All the while hoping some white knight billionaire will come in and build it for us so we don’t have to worry…pathetic.
Sy says:
July 13th, 2009 at 9:57 am
I’ll guarantee you one thing though, you open up all the City negotiations to the general public and that will drive investment dollars out of here faster than you can imagine.
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So you’re against transparency in city government? The good ol boy dealings with guys like jeff shuresclicter (sp) are OK with you?
Sy-
You know what I mean, obviously not all contract negotiations can be in open, the council does have the power to have executive sessions when it comes to contracts, and that is how this could have been handled instead of Dave and Jeff drawing it up then asking the council to vote on it before they even know what is in there. I guess if the Mayor and Jeff drew up a ‘preliminary’ contract then met with the council for revisions and then had a presentation of that contract during an informational meeting, I would say everything is on the up and up, but that is not the case here. You are correct that is what we elect our councilors to do, accept they are being left out of the process and that is bologna.
If anyone thinks Staggers is anti-growth I’d say they spend too much time obtaining their knowledge of the city council directly from the quotes presented in the AL and they obviously have never watched a council meeting from start to finish.
Staggers has his faults just like anyone else, but when he votes against something he is one of the few that will explain why he feels that way, and 80% of the time it is difficult to disagree with his logic. So many of our other council members are simply concerned with keeping their associates, parners, and country club buddies satisfied that they put the common SF citizen’s interests on the back burner.
I’m of the opinion that the wolf shouldn’t keep an eye on the hen house, and unfortunately three quarters of our city council is stacked with wolves while the city coffers are apparently the hen house. At least Staggers doesn’t appear to have any ulterior motives or financial interests that could be impacted by his actions. Wish I could say the same about the others.
Kermit won’t take special interest money either.
Hey DL – what happened to your post about the AL stealing your ‘toon?
Thank you for bringing that up.
I feel like a total D-Bag, I’m sure John came up with that himself. My apologies.
Not a good day for DL.
L3wis, so they got to you too, eh?
So which is it…dead girl or live boy?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that…except for the “dead” part, of course.
I wonder if I could run for Mayor :-). Im sure my adorable young looks could pull some people to my side.
Warren, why are you so “Anti-Growth?”. You are an extreme Conservative and it bothers me that someone like you continues to be so “Anti-Everything” that involves creating a better quality of life and better economics in Sioux Falls. Honestly you should move because we do not need someone of your ideas here (because in the best way possible, you are Anti-Sioux Falls). 🙂
CarterFlyer says:
July 13th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Warren, why are you so “Anti-Growth?â€. You are an extreme Conservative and it bothers me that someone like you continues to be so “Anti-Everything†that involves creating a better quality of life and better economics in Sioux Falls. Honestly you should move because we do not need someone of your ideas here (because in the best way possible, you are Anti-Sioux Falls).
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Extreme conservative Carter? Really? You’ve been around awhile on forums. You know from my views on the Argus forum, (at least those few views that have not been memory holed) that I voted for Obama….for much the same reasons you would have, had you been old enough to vote. Am I still an extreme conservative? I am against predatory credit card companies taking advantage of young and old Americans. Does that make me an extreme conservative? I have been against the war in Iraq since the day it was hatched by cheney. Does that make me an extreme conservative? I am against rapid fire high caliber weapons, not because they are scary, but because they are so easily accessable at gun shops and gun shows. Does that make me an extreme conservative? I am against the slaughter of wild animals, like canned hunting and aerial wolf hunts because some find that “sporting”. Does that make me an extreme conservative? I am against the red light camera, not because it issues tickets for red light running, but because in the process of justifying that camera our controlled intersections throughout the city have been made much LESS safe. Does that make me an extreme conservative? I am for health care that treats ALL Americans with dignity and respect. Does that make me an extreme conservative?
No, I am not a conservative, and no I am not anti-growth. But I am pro Kermit Staggers. For much the same resons as DL and Costner, and others here have pointed out. Should they also move away? Should Kermit run, you will find out how many citizens are fed up with the wolves guarding the hen house.
From DL…
…Quite the opposite. He is not ANTI-GROWTH, it is a label the media has put on him. Trust me, I have learned that watching the council meetings over the past two years. Often Kermit will vote against spending, not becuase he against the project but HE IS AGAINST HOW IT IS BEING DONE. That is the biggest misconception about him. One thing that I guarantee Staggers will champion is making it easier for developers to build by revamping our zoning and codes. He constantly brings it up that it costs builders millions a year with all the hoops they have to jump thru in SF but not in surrounding communities. Kind of sounds like he is PRO GROWTH to me.
Another thing I like about Kermit is he is honest and FOLLOWS THE LAW, something Munson has failed to do. He is also a huge proponent of open government and transparancy. If he becomes mayor, the citizens will be let in on contract negotiations like the one with Jeff. That alone gets me to support him. Agree or disagree with Staggers really doesn’t matter, but letting you in on his decisions does…
From Costner…
…If anyone thinks Staggers is anti-growth I’d say they spend too much time obtaining their knowledge of the city council directly from the quotes presented in the AL and they obviously have never watched a council meeting from start to finish.
Staggers has his faults just like anyone else, but when he votes against something he is one of the few that will explain why he feels that way, and 80% of the time it is difficult to disagree with his logic. So many of our other council members are simply concerned with keeping their associates, parners, and country club buddies satisfied that they put the common SF citizen’s interests on the back burner.
I’m of the opinion that the wolf shouldn’t keep an eye on the hen house, and unfortunately three quarters of our city council is stacked with wolves while the city coffers are apparently the hen house. At least Staggers doesn’t appear to have any ulterior motives or financial interests that could be impacted by his actions. Wish I could say the same about the others.
Warren- I think Carter was being sarcastic.
Thank you for pointing that out l3wis 🙂
I am against predatory credit card companies taking advantage of young and old Americans. Does that make me an extreme conservative?
In a way, yes it does. It’s just that the term “conservative” has been twisted around by the republican party.