I couldn’t agree more with Ellis’ column this week more. The Events Center vote will fail, because those who care about fiscal responsibility and low taxes will always show up to the polls;
Voters in the Staggers Brigade do not look kindly on big, expensive government projects that hold the promise of future government subsidies. They want their city government to provide good, basic services rather than circuses.
You also forgot to mention monkey crappers. I think we want more then good basic services. I also believe in funding social issues, such as the homeless. I also think parks should be funded and maintained.
Passing the idea will be hard enough, even if it appears on a general-election ballot.
While I agree, passing it will be tough, I also think the best chance is this Spring, special election, by itself. Pull that bandaid off already and stop throwing taxpayer money in a burn barrel on different ‘options’. Tell us how you will pay for it, and let us vote.
SF City government; so predictable.
I also think the best chance is this Spring, special election, by itself.
I don’t think so l3wis. I tend to agree with Ellis on this one. In 2007, about 13,000 voters, or 15% showed up for the Drake Springs election. Those that wanted indoor soccer in January celebrated their imaginary victory at Minerva’s or Stogeez when thet should have been voting. Last spring in the highly contested mayors race, less than 30,000 showed up, or 32%. Not the kind of numbers that will pass a McArena, regardless of where they want it. And once the funding source comes out of the closet it will be Dead In The Water.
I can assure you of at least one group that WILL be at the polls for this one. Senior citizens on fixed incomes getting by month to month on incomes we as a society should be ashamed of. That group makes up close to 25% of registered voters in Sioux Falls. Still think this mayors legacy to himself has a chance? Not me.
I’ll vote ‘NO’. I wish there were 2 of me (Huether quote). It’s time for an events center. I think there should be a location before it’s designed and built. I don’t like Huether has forcing it down our throats. Dictatorial mayor powers makes this a ripe project for corruption. An honest mayor must be elected and maybe a new city charter. Then, I’m on board.
I just don’t think the Staggers brigade has more than those 13K who showed up in force last time, but were not enough to carry him over the top.
They are enough to stop an EC with 13% turnout, if it goes over 20% they won’t be able to stop it.
We all bitched that Muson didn’t lead. Now Lewis’ man mike is leading and we all seem to hate that as well. Can we be happyy?
Where is he leading us to? LOL! He seems to have a lot of ‘Visions’ but no plans.
I still think we should just go with Private Sponsorships and a Downtown TIF (maybe a BID as well). Then we wouldn’t need a public vote.
They are enough to stop an EC with 13% turnout, if it goes over 20% they won’t be able to stop it.
20% Are you kidding me? No way. That’s only 18,000 total votes. Senior citizens will put up 13,000 votes AGAINST an EC. Now throw in another 10,000 like minded voters who won’t buy into your funding source, or subsidizing this white elephant, and you will need a 50% turnout. Keep dreaming Sy.
You can’t link an EC vote with the city’s past mayoral election. You’re comparing apples to oranges.
It definately comes down to funding, yet you have not heard a peep about that.
Sure I can Poly, it’s the latest actual guage of public sentiment. You casully dismiss the last poll results, so that’s about all that’s left minus what your gut tells you.
Like it or not, the pro-Events Center candidate won easily. The only reason it came down to those two was how Huether (with Hilde’s help) picked apart the other candidates Events Center positions and plans. Kinda ironic how Hilde may just make Huether a one-termer over this very issue.
As for Funding, this will be a problem. It should be a public/private partnership with private funds being 20% of the project costs, but these days that number will be very hard to hit, especially when the Mayor’s preferred plan has “lemon” written all over it. One significant bonus with a downtown EC and a remodeled CC is you have two seperate sets of naming rights you can sell.
It should come down to payback, not funding. The truth is we can easily borrow/bond for $150 million or so and it wouldn’t hurt the City one iota. If the place pays us back in a decade or so that money will be well spent. If we invest that kind of scratch and don’t maximize the return, the “Hell No!” crowd that Staggers’ relied so heavily on will grow to a level that will push this town backwards for a generation.
C’mon Sy – I know I spew a lot of Bullshit sometimes but your statement
‘“Hell No!†crowd that Staggers’ relied so heavily on will grow to a level that will push this town backwards for a generation.’
Because we don’t have a new Events Center? That’s fucking laughable at best. First off, what makes our community rich in recreation is our wonderful free parks system. Most people can’t afford to see a cover band at the corner bar let alone some big name act at an Events Center.
The plausible thing to do is remodel the Arena FIRST. As I understand it they are planning to do that anyway after the EC is built, why not put it on the front end, and just see how nice of a facility it can be. Heck, get the School District involved and remodel Howard Wood at the same time, heck, attach an indoor pool while we are at it and a parking ramp.
Our city is already behind the rest of the country on good paying jobs and progressive ideas. I doubt not building an EC will hurt us one Iota.
Staggers got beat because Huether spent 3x more money, had more hair and people like you beat the Dr. No drum over and over again.
Wait, the EC was the only issue that drove people to vote for Mayor? That’s the most laughable thing I’ve read in years.
Yeah, nobody was thinking about; Jobs, education, infrastructure, code enforcement, sewage problems, flooding problems, crime, parks, fiscal responsibility, taxes, fee increases, the homeless, immigrants . . .
Sorry, Sy, you may be a strong advocate for the EC, and I will give you credit for that, but that is not everyone’s obsession in this city. The media would like us to think that, and I am glad someone from the media finally put it to sleep, where it belongs.
Like it or not, the pro-Events Center candidate won easily. The only reason it came down to those two was how Huether (with Hilde’s help) picked apart the other candidates Events Center positions and plans.
That’s way over the top Sy. You are so blinded by this McArena thing it is overclouding your already clouded judgement.
What resonated with voters was painting Staggers as Dr. No and at the same time promising to cut the budget and fire COS Jodi Schwan. Like it or not Jodi was the sacrificial lamb in all this. Jodi gets fired, the mayor “creates” a few new positions, and finds room for his golden boy.
Jesus…I didn’t say it was the only issue that drove people to vote for the Mayor, I said it was the issue that Huether used to seperate himself from the pack, as most of them outside of Staggers all sounded basically the same way. His most effective campaign tool was when he picked apart the last Task Force plan and pledged to “simply replace the Arena”. He also in the same breath pledged “no new frills for the Convention Center” yet now seems to be all for adding the “frills” the CVB has been begging for for years.
My point is the EC is a project we can and should do, yet it has been paralyzed by a lack of leadership, as well as the lingering hangover from the Rec Center vote, where you had all of 8k voters come out to shoot down the project. Pathetic indeed, but moreso was the 6K that came out to support it.
Many of the places I use as comparisons have had to go to the the polls several times in order to get their projects done. They didn’t wait another decade. None of them have any examples of the doom and gloom that the nayayers are predicting on Sioux Falls, with the exception of Grand Forks..which has two new facilities (Alerus & Englestad) that are canabalizing each other while trying to compete with Fargodome.
I don’t think everyone should be obsessed, but at the same time the “let’s just build it” and/or the “I don’t care” mindset(s) will fuck us all over big time. Like I said, this City should be progressive as it has much more going for it, than against it.
As I said about Staggers, he was his own worst enemy when it came to campaigns. Blame Huether or his money, but Kermit being Kermit doesn’t resonate with voters to any large extent. Just ask Gordon Howie.
Huether was in last place when he hired Hilde, today he’s in charge. Brown/Peterson/Costello all split the 15K voters who wanted someone other than Staggers or the newcomer. Any one of those three don’t run and it’s one of them vs. Staggers with Mike in 3rd.
Staggers picked up maybe 2K Republicans who only voted to block a Democrat. So those folks wouldn’t have voted Staggers if the opponent was a Republican.
I’ll throw my $.02 in to this and say that most voters I know voted for Huether because he seemed progressive and wanted the Events Center. But then again the people I’m referring to are probably much different to who L3wis is referring to or Poly.
Progressive? That always makes me laugh. Kermit is way more progressive then anyone that was running for office. He is very enviromentally conscious and believes in living a prudent life. For God’s sake, his son is in the middle of Africa serving in the Peace Corp. What kind of parents install those kind of values in their children? And on top of that, his son was adopted from a foreign country. Say what you will about Kermit, but he was the most progressive candidate in the race.