Let the games begin!

Theresa Stehly, AT-Large leading council candidate. Theresa will be submitting over 700 nominating petition signatures today at the city clerk’s office.

Tomorrow is the filing deadline for Sioux Falls city council nominating petitions to be a candidate, and it looks like we are going to have a full house, which I expected in the end because of the lack of incumbents.

While I could go on about how we have a ‘nice mix’ of candidates, I really can’t say that. I can pretty much sum it up this way, we have people who know city government well and would have no learning curves going into council, we have people who are good at business, but really don’t understand government that well, we have people that have some self-interest in this race, we have some with conflicts of interest, some that are nice with a big heart, and those that don’t have a freaking clue.

I will give you my early run down of candidates and early support and endorsements. But I recommend to every voter to do your own research and call each candidate and ask them their specific stances on issues like;

Entertainment/recreational spending

Infrastructure spending

City Salaries

City Debt

Fiscal responsibility

Public Safety/Crime rate

Code enforcement

Now let’s review the races;

AT-Large

John Paulson is a former Sanford Executive who is retired and his donor list just in the 1st report is peppered with the who’s who of Sioux Falls. I’m no political genius, but it would be safe to assume that they will throw tons of money at John to beat the other two candidates. Remember, doesn’t always work that way. Knudson spent 6x more then Staggers 4 years ago, and she got clobbered.

Ritch Noble is well established in the local Chamber and a business man. Other then that, I hear he is a great guy. I’m just not confident he knows much about governing. As Huether has shown, a business acumen doesn’t always cut the mustard, it has proven to eliminate transparency and put the city further in dept.

Theresa Stehly is my recommendation for AT-Large. She has ran twice before but was beaten by incumbents. With her name well established with other community activism, Theresa has a clear shot at winning. She will also be a strong advocate of the little guy, she is living proof in the way she lives her own life.

Northeast

Tamera R. Enalls-Fenner is a longtime resident of Sioux Falls and has her own consulting business. Outside of that, there is not much known about her. I did listen to her on John Michael’s FORUM and she seemed willing to talk about the issues, which is refreshing.

Robert Knutson is a part-time employee at Minnehaha County’s juvenile detention center and a private security company. What worries me about Robert is the first two times he tried to run for office, he failed on the simple execution of receiving petitions. I question his sincerity.

Pat Starr is my recommendation for the NE. Pat has worked in politics for years, and has a serious grasp of the issues, like the councilor that is leaving the seat (Kenny Anderson) Pat truly is concerned about his neighbors and takes their concerns at heart.

Southwest

Marshall Selberg is an independent broker for Lloyd Companies. It says the same thing to me as the mayor being the former VP of marketing for First Premier card. Take it for what it is, face value is probably face value.

Manny Steele a self-proclaimed neo-con doesn’t hide his badge. And while I find some of his social stances not my cup of tea, he would be an advocate of fiscal conservatism. But I won’t endorse him. I will give him one up on his opponent though, his experience in the state legislature gives him the advantage of governing on day one.

Northwest

Briggs Warren is a youngster with big ambitions. Good for him. I applaud his efforts to get young people registered to vote and his love of politics at a young age. I hope he keeps at it. Bravo for your participation.

Erin Srstka is a talented and a well-liked candidate. I actually found out about her candidacy through a mutual friend that thinks the world of her. To be honest, it would be tough to say anything bad about Erin. But what sticks in my craw is her conflicts of interest. As a full-time employee of the county administration, a primary caregiver to her disabled husband and a mother (her biggest job) I struggle if Erin has the time to take on a semi-fulltime job as city councilor. I will applaud her for her efforts, and agree we need more women on the city council. But my doubts in her dedication in lue of her other commitments are to strong to endorse her for this seat. I do hope she runs again though for another elected position.

Greg Neitzert is my recommendation for NW. The best and brightest candidate in this race. And I am not just saying this because he is my friend. Greg is considered a citizen advocate expert on zoning in Sioux Falls, and has sat on two citizen zoning committees and currently sits on a zoning board for the city. All volunteer positions. What I like about Greg the most is his readiness to be a city councilor. He reminds me a lot of current councilor Erickson, who has only been in her position for two years and has put forth amazing legislature due to her knowledge of government and tenure on the state legislature. That is also why I support Theresa and Pat. Their years of experience in local and state politics gives them the edge on the council.

For almost 10 years I have watched ineffective councilors like Rolfing and Karsky who don’t accomplish much because they don’t have the knowledge or experience to do the job. This isn’t about how much you want to have a beer with someone, this is about experience and integrity. Look at the resumes and who butters the bread and your decisions will be simple.

I encourage any council candidate to contact me though, and I will post their BIO.