UPDATE: Judge Sabers decision on the Spellerberg ballot language was actually a win for citizens

Update: city admits they screwed up in hearing;

“You heard witness after witness today explain to you that they simply missed it. They missed December 15^th versus December 31^st, 2015. And we apologize as a city. We missed it too,” said Pfeifle.

An error was made. But, the Sioux Falls election will go on without new ballots.

According to the city’s attorney it would have cost Sioux Falls tax payers $60,000 to move the date of the election.

From Bruce Danielson, Citizens for Integrity Chair;

When asked by everyone I answer the question “How do you feel about the decision?” My answer is “Fantastic!” Imagine the people’s possibilities as a result this ruling. Just from asking simple point of law, we learned a great deal about how our current city administration is governing through loopholes. We had to learn in court how little they respect the citizens and learned how it actually operates.

Wow, what a day! It was really a victory. Now you wonder how we find a victory in a judge’s decision you did not want. We got our day in court to solve a problem. We all should find pride in the courage of Liz and Charlie. They were willing to stand up to a system designed to harm them and they still stood there. Thank them when you see them, they deserve a great deal of gratitude. Charlie and Liz lived their civics lessons.

No matter what side wins Tuesday, the city cannot come back and claim an error on the ballot will “null and void” the results. Think about it, if Wednesday the city did not like the results it could have asked for a ruling to kill the results; all because of a ‘typo’. One thing we have learned about this mayor and city government is the use of loopholes. We have begun a challenge process to ballot errors in South Dakota.

Our experience this week has found several steps to watch for and then to consider when citizens place an issue on the ballot.

Who would have thought we the people, would have experienced the following lessons?  We thought we hired civil servants to do accurate, unbiased election work for us. Now more than ever, a watcher must watch the watcher.

Major changes to both the leaders we elect and to the process we use are necessary. Our goals will not be to tighten the citizen’s process but to clean-up the government’s participation.

What the citizens wanted was simple, a clean proper ballot. In lieu of postponement, simple legal remedies were asked for including a simple writ from the court ordering a proper certification of the results. How did we get to a courtroom today?

Consider this set of circumstances; these could happen to a citizen effort close to you:

1. You and your neighbors band together to solve a problem
2. Your group tries to work with a government body, let’s say a city council and mayor
3. This government body pans at your group’s problem and continues forward without your concerns
4. Their civics lessons said the people have a right to petition their government
5. One of the petition avenues is circulating a demand for a public vote
6. The petition language is written in precise, clear language, no wiggle room
7. The clerk in charge of elections stamps the petition form and gives out a bunch of rules
8. The rules explain a lot of details and requirements petitioners must follow
9. A petition is circulated by average citizens explaining the need for it
10. These citizens have done everything correctly during 19 days or six months of hard work to collect thousands of signatures
11. The petition is accepted for the ballot by a government hostile to the plans of the citizens

Remember up to this point the petitioners have spent a lifetime believing in the idea of responsive government taught in their civics lessons. They accept these roadblocks and continue on with their lives.

1. The responsible government these citizens are taught to believe are now entrusted with their hard work
2. This government arranges to postpone the public vote in order to arrange a marketing campaign  against citizen’s efforts
3. The citizens have learned through civics, their measure will be on the ballot as presented. Who would dare mess up the language

Now imagine you are one of these groups who collected the signatures. You find out everything you worked for is changed because a hostile city government has decided as long as the title in not changed, they can gut the meaning and language of the measure before their neighbors can vote on it. How would you feel?

1. The petitioners try working within the system, asking to review the ballots before printing
2. The marketing department of government changes the language on one ballot explanation so it’s purpose may no longer be the intention of petitioners
3. The unhappy government has their attorney staff write biased language like it is a subprime credit card brochure
4. Then when the ballots are printed, in the fast and loose department, also known as city government, changes a date on another measure
5. It is discovered all four citizen efforts have been modified in one way or the other

When have you heard of changes to ballot language once submitted? Wasn’t this considered sacred? What kind of people have we allowed to run our government? Why have we put them in charge? Who can help? Is there a lawyer available? Who guards the guardian?

1. The petitioners work the only way they know, attempt to talk to the government
2. The people approach the makers and keeper of mistakes on to be told to go away, “Don’t bother us, you have caused us too much work already”
3. What’s left for us? Look for a lawyer who can talk to the government
4. Do you know how hard it is to find a lawyer without ties or fear of those in charge of the government?
5. A brave lawyer is finally found and the options are weighed
6. The petitioners realize the only remedy is a trip to the courtroom
7. Now the volunteer group must become very public, something they are uncomfortable with
8. Papers are filed to ask the court for help
9. The story is told in court, warts, mistakes and all
10. The citizens face a good judge and a not happy government
11. The government pulls out the special rule book citizens are supposed to somehow know
12. The government prevails with the judge because the average citizens don’t know the special rules
13. The city decides to rest the blame for their ‘mistake’ on the people who finally caught the mistake
14. When the people have no access to the proof reading area of the marketing department, they are to blame for the ‘typo’?
15. When the people find a problem and the doors of government are slammed shut to our efforts, we are at fault?
16. When the legal establishment is afraid to challenge the system, the people are at fault?
17.  Citizens accept the ruling wiser and thankful for a place to bring the problem to the public

Loopholes, loopholes and more loopholes, this is just like writing a subprime credit card program. How do we screw the system so we can bilk more out of the users of our program?

1. In this whole post-court period we learned why the city kept said it would cost $60,000 to fix the election issue
2. Where did this dollar amount come from?

The government had to come up with a backup plan to hold the election. The SOS office in Pierre had a plan ready to make the election succeed on schedule. In the future, we now know this option is available. This is a major victory for petitioners and candidates. There will be less fear in the consequences. Thank you.

1. There were printing presses in North Carolina ready to reprint the ballots
2. Chartered planes were on standby to carry the new ballots to Sioux Falls
3. The polling places would have opened one hour late in morning for a 12 hour voting period
4. Election would have gone on as planned

In being disappointed by a ruling, we citizens actually may have won. We shook up the system. We let the powers in charge know we were tired of being abused. We are tired of the system being gamed for the specials. We are learning how to take on this government. The city had to bring in the South Dakota Secretary of State to add legitimacy to their case as their only witness.

We are just average Americans. We want to believe in our systems. We are also tired of the power circles running everything. May the city election of 2014 be successful to challengers. Sioux Falls city government needs to have a major flushing to test the new sewer lines to the Sioux.

We plan to be very active in our new efforts going forward. Thank you Joel Arends for helping us find out how bad the system really is and for helping find a way through the mess. It was a great victory for us!

Also we hope Lewis well on his break, we will miss this spot to vent, laugh and poke sticks into the big underbelly of government. Lewis you have made me a better citizen by being here. Thank you…