It took 7 years, but the mayor finally admits to his Hubris

Before we get to the mayor flapping his trap and not really filling us in on what he is running for, I still predict he will be running for Congress. Once you read the article you get the hint that he doesn’t like losing, and Congress would be his best bet. Remember, it is only two year terms, and in 4 years he could run for governor or mayor again. I think the mayor is weighing this heavily, but I also think he realizes what is going on around him. I may be wrong about the congressional run, but remember, I predicted Staggers and Huether in the run-off for mayor 6 months before the election.

What I found interesting about Whitney’s article is that Huether finally admits to something we have known about him and his leadership style for a long time, he is a dictator;

“First of all, this is the executive branch,” he says of the governor’s seat being vacated by Dennis Daugaard. “It’s not the judicial branch. It’s not the legislative branch. And I don’t care who the candidate is – I’ll put my qualifications up against any of them, particularly if you want to bring business acumen to government. OK? If it were a non-partisan race, I would have thrown my hat in the ring already.”

As usual, what Mike has never understood is that all 3 branches of government must work together in a democracy. But for 7 years he has enjoyed a city attorney that follows orders from the guy who appointed him and a rubber stamp council.

He is going for broke. Nothing but victory will suffice.

“I don’t handle losses very well,” he says. “I would struggle if that happened. I’ve had people encourage me to run for things and say, ‘Do it and just get your name ID out there. Establish your foundation for the next race.’ No. That’s not how I do things. There are no fallback positions. That is not how I do it and I know that people don’t understand that mentality – but that is me. That’s a problem I have and it’s an issue I must deal with as a person. And I struggle with it. I do.”

Win at all costs, no matter who you destroy or if it benefits the citizens or not. It was his mantra while running against Staggers, it was his mantra while pushing for an EC, Pool and Administration building. Mike doesn’t give a rip if what he proposes helps a damn soul as long as HE is WINNING. And it is a piss poor and disgusting attitude for any politician to have.

More importantly, with help from Hildebrand’s consulting firm, he coordinated a get-out-the-vote effort that pushed him past Brown and Costello and into a runoff with Staggers, the penny-pinching city councilor that he knew he could beat head-to-head.

Since I was partially involved with the Staggers’ campaign, I can really tell you that it was Hildy’s get-out-the-vote strategy that put Mike over the top. Not only was Hildy suckered by Mike, but Sioux Falls Democrats helped Mike to. And what has Mike done to the pro-labor party? First he took a dump on the unions then he left the party all together. Remember, win at all costs no matter who you trample.

“I’ve taken a lot of heat, but that’s exactly what we should be doing in government,” he says. “And I know not everybody in the press likes that. I don’t care. I don’t give a crap. It should be run like a business, looking for productivity and service improvements and getting better bang for your buck. That’s what I did in business and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for Sioux Falls.”

His business acumen philosophy will probably bankrupt our city. The signs of over borrowing are already starting to rear their head. By the end of his term, it will be obvious what his ‘business acumen’ has done for us. We will have a lot of bond payments for play things and little money to keep up our infrastructure.

He became estranged from his former campaign strategist on the events center issue, as Huether favored building at the convention center complex and Hildebrand spearheaded the Build It Downtown campaign. Huether claims to have lost other friendships in that battle, but he came out on top – just as he stuck to his guns to override the city council on a $25 million administration building plan.

Win at all costs, screw friends, who needs them.

Hildy describes the mayor as I have described him for years, an out-of-control dictator;

“There are people who have known Mike Huether for a long time who still don’t know what drives him,” says Hildebrand. “Some might argue that he’s been a strong leader, but saying ‘my way or the highway’ is not being a strong leader. That’s being a strong dictator.”

And he has certainly proved that, time and time again.

He admits that the statewide odds are against him but feels he can find a “perfect storm” to stir up voters, pointing to name recognition and favorability ratings while refusing to comment on whether he has conducted internal polling for a potential run.

Once again, just because you ‘say something’ Mike doesn’t make it true. If you have actually conducted a poll, tell us that, don’t just pull the old, “I’m popular, just ask me.” routine.

“Try to outwork me,” he says, leaning in again with competitive flare. “If there’s one thing I love to do, that is engaging in people. Actually engaging the people. Going to where they’re at. And that makes everybody else unbelievably nervous. There are still people in South Dakota that actually want you to earn their vote instead of buy their vote. They actually care that you shook their hand. Or that you listened to them. Or that you had to agree to disagree on something that they challenged you on. They respect that more than someone who’s out there raising millions of dollars from people outside of South Dakota and pretending to represent normal voters. And if I do run, that’s what I’m banking on.”

Yet he knew he couldn’t beat Staggers in handshakes, so he spent well over double of what Kermit did.

Nothing new in this article, just the same old hubris. Surprised he didn’t mention his chain-smoking alcoholic father . . . oh, sorry, that will probably be in Part II of this intriguing in depth article into a Hayseed Egotist from Yankton.