This is the first question that popped into my mind when I saw they were going to sue for the information. But I wasn’t the only one asking the question, I have received several emails asking the same thing.
Why?
It’s clear from the city’s track record on all things transparent and legal, they will spend as much money as they can fighting this (our money) which will probably never be decided until it makes it to the SD Supreme Court, which will take several years.
Cameraman Bruce and I both told the Argus there are other ways to skin a cat on this topic, and if they want to take the courts route, good for them, but other information about how the EC was built and paid for also exists in the private sector with the contracts the contractors signed.
While I will commend them for taking on the legal aspects of transparency in government, South DaCola will continue to pursue the low road. You never know who will crack that nut first?
It also seems the Argus finally figured out how to quote Bruce in an article;
Citizen activist Bruce Danielson, one of the most vocal critics of the city’s handling of the Premier Center siding dispute and closed-door nature of the manager at risk method used for the building project, agreed the public should have access to the settlement.
“The underlying issue here is this is a public building, and the public has to pay for this building for the next 19 years, and we do not know anything about the financing, the construction, the change orders or where the money went to. We know nothing,” he said. “The first step in any audit of any situation like this is breaking the seal of secrecy.”
Something we have been asking of this administration and city council now for several years. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take several more years to unveil the truth. Let’s face it, this isn’t about poorly constructed siding, this is about secrecy, what is the city trying to hide? I have a feeling once that skin is pulled back, we are going to find much more then a dead cat.
I am thrilled that the Argus has taken this on! Will they have the fortitude to take it all the way Who knows? But it is long overdue that an entity has the courage to take on the secrecy, lies, misinformation and coercion that has occured since MMM has taken office?
I applaud the Argus for taking investigative reporting to a higher level and calling them on their “following policy”!
Awesome lets see it all in full detail.Keep up the great work.
The ‘Teflon Mayor’ will likely brush this away into the end of his term. His private attorney (Pfeifle) surprises me most. Past Huether he’s just another organized crime lawyer with nowhere to go. It will not be a big surprise Huether steered the city into default. The scale and extent will be the big shock. We needed a Benedict Arnold to show us we need a new form of city government. This is ‘Strong Mayor Home Rule Charter’ at its worst. Other cities in the state and country might now be saved from this white collar terror.
Pre-Huether, an Argus public information lawsuit would have been disastrous. Now, it’s like the tiny zit on your back you can’t reach. The public at large and the media passively don’t care . Huether is the worst type of corrupt politician. We can move and we’ll have to when there’s no budget and overwhelming debt. Just another Detoit!
That siding on the Events Center is a disgrace. You do not spend $ 115 million + of the taxpayers money to have that as the result.
Trump is currently renovating the classic old DC main Post Office into a hotel. Love him or not, why is he doing this, because he can. Not just because he has the money, but because it is a government building over a 100 years old which is still standing with an enormous facade appeal of strength and quality.
Government buildings should always be built with the best of materials because they are symbolic of the continuity of government, its intended eternity to serve the public, and the maintenance of what all of us and our institutions are all about regardless of our individual beliefs, which is the perseverance that we are here to stay as a democratic people…. and shabby siding does not speak to any of these principles….
i bet stu pid stu is sad that his employers are suing his bff mmm.