When I have people ask me advice about running for municipal government I give them one important piece of advice before even announcing, EDUCATE YOURSELF. In other words watch old meetings, attend current meetings, talk to present and past elected officials and city employees and get to know the issues and before announcing build a strong platform with solutions that encourage transparency and common sense government.
You don’t need to be a part of a party or group, in fact in city politics that is probably the last thing you want to be a part of.
I also advise to stick to the issues that affect all citizens. That means fringe or special interest social issues, faith and personal interests should be avoided. It’s okay to talk about these things, but when running for city government it is important to look at the big picture.
Also, be specific.
After looking at Mr. TenHaken’s website, I’m a little lost on specifics. He touches on some good issues but gives us NO solutions;
Crime Reduction, Fiscal responsibility, Affordable Housing, Workforce and Economic development, Moving Downtown forward and building consensus.
And if you look at his FB page you will see he doesn’t take many stands and asks readers to give him advice.
I hate to say it, but these discussions with the public should have taken place BEFORE you announced. If you want the city’s top job, you should know what you want to do in the terms of policy before announcing.
I’m not saying you can’t change some these policy ideas during your campaign, but you should have them written down to keep your message solid while campaigning. Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
I don’t think Paul knows what he wants to do for us, it seems like he is just looking to win the race than figure it out later. I am NOT comfortable with that approach. You are building and managing a city NOT selling a website.
Having Faith, Being a People Person and wearing jeans isn’t a solid platform, it’s a starting point, and not a good place to be when you announce you are running for mayor.
When KELO interviewed him at his announcement, he pretty much said that things were fine in Sioux Falls and that we just needed to keep the ship in line. Then, he interjected a latter brief concern about affordable housing in the form of a “except for,” but offered no solutions to that issue and was smiling the whole time he was talking about it…. You are absolutely right, “… Being a People Person and wearing jeans isn’t a solid platform,” nor a candidate with real answers to the real issues in this town, like affordable housing, wage collusion, and equity in terms of membership on City boards, maintaining our streets, and plowing and sweeping them too….. We need a leader in City Hall and not just an other Thune….Who looks good (in jeans 😉 )…..
Huether proved Mayor is simply a promotion within the Sanford-Lloyd corporation. It’s a fast track into the upper eschelon with a meager salary but major side bonuses and preferential favors.
I get the feeling this and several other candidates would succumb and further this empire. Change and cure will be the unmanageable debt and the fact that residents will not tolerate more taxes.
Just a reminder of the kind of hard-hitting, policy-driven campaign that Optimus Subprime ran when he hung that 14-point whipping on Kermit in 2010:
http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2010/04/the-difference-between-saturday-sunday-in-the-mike-huether-campaign/
TenHaken, sadly, is doing it exactly right. Pick some big themes that nobody can disagree with. Seek to be open and inclusive – people love that consensus-driven leadership model these days. It comes across as humble.
You’re free to hate it – I’m not a fan either – but people aren’t looking for white papers and ten-point plans these days. If they were, Mike Huether never would have become mayor, Hillary Clinton wouldn’t have lost to a reality TV star, and a cardboard cutout would have beaten John Thune years ago.
Humble, Paul TenHaken is NOT.