Yes, I am back sooner then I wanted to be, BUT there has been a lot going on. I still plan to update the site in the near future, but as you will see, the comment section is back up and working.
There have been some rumors swirling around on other blogs and even on Craigslist that I took a break because I was trying to hide and disappointed in the election results. Couldn’t be further from the truth. I have been planning this break since October, and quite frankly I was tired. No conspiracies. In fact I just bought a brand new sports car, and have many trips/vacations planned.
I was actually elated that Snowgates had such a clear victory. As I have said all along, it is just taking a public service that already exists and makes it better. I hope to see tree-trimming in the boulevard the next petition drive.
As for the election results, I made predictions the day before the election, I only got one race wrong (Schwan/Kiley) I nailed all the other races, even with percentages (I was off by about 20 points on the Rolfing race) but I nailed the voter turnout percentage. I had to keep my election predictions on the low down since I was involved with many of the races. Like I said, no big surprises, and no crying by me.
ELECTION BULLSH!T
As for how the run up to the election and how the election was run, it was a complete disaster. Let’s start from the beginning,
- The mayor’s proposed advocational meetings and videos and pool drawings which were a clear violation of state law.
- Wrong ballots being sent out for absentee, handed out at precincts. How many people voted for the wrong district candidate? We may never know?
- The 17 inch ballot that kept jamming in the tabulation machines was unneeded (City attorney Fiddle Faddle admitted during the Spellerberg hearing that they didn’t have to have that much text on the ballot) in other words, they could have used 14 inch ballots.
- Vote centers are nothing more than a poll tax, they are complicated, and surpress the vote. We had only a 34% voter turnout, can you imagine if it would have been 50% or 75%? We would have had a line a half-mile long at the centers. They don’t work, they discourage voting and wrong ballots are being distributed to voters. Go back to regular precincts. Money should NEVER be an issue when voting. If we have $20 million in surplus for an Indoor pool, we have an extra $60K for an election.
When councilor Dean Karsky congratulated City Clerk Hogstad on the wonderful job she did on the election during this week’s informational meeting, I just about puked. She should be terminated and should even be brought up on charges. Her management of the election was a complete FAILURE!
Let’s just say, her termination may be on the horizon. There are some avenues to that road in the hopper. Stay tuned.
SPELLERBERG
Like I said above, I kind of figured the outdoor pool would lose. You can thank the mis-information campaign by the mayor’s office for that. As for the mayor’s proposal to ramrod indoor pool funding before new councilors are sworn in, I ask “Why the rush?†I don’t think it is fair to new councilor’s Kiley & Erickson to allow Sue & Jim to vote on a $20 million dollar funding package at their last council meeting. This is an attempt for the mayor to get it done at Spellerberg before new councilors can object to it. I actually like the funding proposal and naming rights idea (even though I got a chuckle out of the mayor complaining about childhood obesity during his presentation, then the finance director talking about selling a soft drink naming rights sponsorship 🙂 That all being said, Spellerberg is still the WRONG location. If we are going to sell naming rights to help subsidize the facility, here’s my idea, Slap Sanford on the side of it and build it at the Sports Complex. Hopefully the council can get the funding deferred until Erickson and Kiley are sworn in and have a real discussion about an indoor pool and it’s location. There is no doubt the funding idea is a good one and most people support an Indoor pool, but the council should take several months discussing a location. Ground can’t be broken until the Spring of 2015, there is plenty of time.
THE SCHWAN/KILEY RACE
This was a big surprise to me, and not just because I know Bonita. Some people felt that Bonita lost due to the community’s support of Walmart and Shape Places. I did take that into consideration, but as I mentioned above, there were issues with wrong ballots being handed out, and while I do not contest the results of the mayor race and measures, the district races concern me, especially when you see numbers like this (Central District);
Dunn: 1,944
Erpenbach: 2,967
Under Votes: 933
How is that almost 17% of voters in the Central District voted for neither candidate? While in the mayor’s race there was only 397 under votes? This doesn’t add up in the least bit. I’m hoping that there will be an investigation into the district races.
WALMART
Best quote I heard the night of the election when I was discussing the passing of WM with a friend, he said, “This is what happens when you let bedazzled-jeans housewives from the southside vote.†I never questioned they would win the election. They spent probably a half-million dollars (and to imagine, only 12 short years ago Munson was elected mayor by spending about $12K.) Also, people love cheap crap, and they love Walmart. This had nothing to do with property rights, as I have pointed out several times, WM doesn’t even own the property. Which brings us to an interesting issue with the proposed store. According to the city’s planning department, the only thing Walmart has left to do is purchase a building permit. Hmmm, wonder if the city will allow this since there is a pending appeal with the SD Supreme Court on the annexation. So what happens if Walmart buys the land and starts building and the SC says, “Improper annexation.†This could get even messier.
NOT MY MAN MIKE
I knew that Jamison would have an upward battle against Mike, and history shows, a mayoral incumbent is hard to beat. But will Mike take this election as a mandate and learn from the people who didn’t vote for him, like the voter that called him, “Sarcastic and immature.†In an Argus election story? Will he stop investing in development? Will he become more transparent? Will he legislate more with the council? Well if the pool funding  presentation is any insight into the next four years, it looks like he is going to go it alone, even more. I suggest the new council’s first priority is to draft legislation that requires the Mayor to share all pertinent information with them when it comes to business and land development, budgeting and city charter and ordinances. And make it a ‘REAL’ offense if he violates the rule, like a $10,000 personal fine or a month-long unpaid suspension. I think Mayor Mike has learned only one thing from the first four years, when you are a bully, there isn’t anything you can’t accomplish.