[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIJYfvN9954[/youtube]
Oh boy, there are a few mayoral candidates who think spending the big coin will get them a mayor’s seat, silly boys;
MONEY
A look at the amount of money raised and spent by Sioux Falls mayoral candidates
Pat Costello: $124,835.57 in direct and in-kind contributions; $42,070.80 in expenditures
Bill Peterson: $52,344; $40,629.61
Mike Huether: $73,596.53; $38,838.49
Vernon Brown: $25,034; $9,238.19
Kermit Staggers: $7,854.25; $2,935.59
Janoct Ajda: $0; $0
As the past has proven, grassroots works in Sioux Falls, not money;
When Mayor Dave Munson won his first term in a run-off in 2002, his opponent, Dick Brown, spent 63 percent more money than Munson.
Former Mayor Gary Hanson, who served from 1994 to 2002, won his first term as mayor even though he was “significantly outspent,” he said.
I still believe this is true, you can’t put a value of knocking on 19,000 doors like Staggers has done. In fact Kermit was walking so fast the other day down 14th street that when I honked and waved at him, he didn’t even see me, he had campaign fever. While my liberal friends constantly hammer me about Kermit not being a ‘liberal’ it amazes me how much he reminds me of Paul Wellstone, a liberal/grassroots giant. Kermit will win in the General and he will win the Runoff because of hard work and determination, not because of money.
Staggers said the total is what he expected since he is running a grass-roots campaign.
“If money is the winning factor, why even have an election? We are out for the votes, not the money. The votes determine the election,” he said.
At the end of February, Staggers loaned his campaign $29,500 – a no-interest loan.
Staggers hasn’t spent a lot either. At just under $3,000, he’s nowhere near the expenditures of opponents Huether, Peterson and Costello, whom all have spent around $40,000.
“We are going to allow our opponents to spend, spend, spend,” Staggers said.
“When it comes to city government, I believe in being very efficient in spending. It’s also true in my life and in my campaign,” he added.
Oh, sweet poetic justice.