It may be legal for the newly appointed Minnehaha county commissioner Jean Bender to serve as commissioner, but I was disappointed that the public didn’t have an opportunity to question her on how she will handle votes when it relates to her husband Michael’s business, Bender Realty.
While I think as an attorney, Bender will bring a lot to the commission, she has incredible credentials, but I worry that big development in this county has just squeezed their way into the commission.
And as I have stated before I found the process to be extremely non-transparent;
• The 29 applicants were kept secret besides the 5 finalists.
• In the above meeting they admitted that ‘commission staff’ chose the 5 finalists and not the commission.
• The commission interviewed the finalists in private and when they finally decided to appoint someone they called a special Friday meeting and didn’t allow the public to voice their opinion on the finalists or ask questions.
A gigantic thumbs down to the Minnehaha County Commission today for a very ‘secretive’ process in picking our new commissioner.
Either way, I wish Jean Bender luck.