After the election results came in last night I’m starting to ask that question. I will give the TenHaken camp credit though, I have been hearing they ran a multi-faceted campaign that contacted people through social media, direct mail, robo-calls/push polling, radio and print media. Diversity works.
But I ask people if they recall this resume from 8 years ago from another candidate;
Business acumen and pro-business
Corporate Marketing experience
ZERO government experience as either an elected official or public employee
Someone who wasn’t afraid to wear Jesus on their sleeve
Lots of ‘promises’ on how they will make Sioux Falls better for EVERYBODY.
Someone who got the financial contribution support of the big banksters in town
Someone who used nationally proven strategic campaign techniques
While that was Mike’s resume, guess who’s resume this time around fits that bill? Only ONE candidate, Paul TenHaken and to a certain degree Loetscher. Did we learn anything about what a Marketing guru has done for our city? I’m guessing not.
While many may say Mike was a Democrat and Paul is a Republican, I have often thought Mike was a Democrat in name only and used the Dem stamp to get support from labor and the party resources. After he switched to independent he proved to me that he really never was a Dem.
I truly believe that Paul is using this run as a stepping stone for something greater (kind of reminds of someone else to? Huh?)
I think it will be important for the new council to get ahead of the game this time around, whether it is Jo or Paul as mayor. They really need to implement policies ASAP to assure transparency and open communication between the mayor’s office and council. It’s better to just write open government into ordinance than to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. We have been down that road the past 8 years, we don’t need to be there ever again.
I’d say the voting public learned nothing. I was in the commons area of a senior retirement village recently. A 89 year old was going over the resumes of the six candidates as they were presented by the Argus. She seemed engaged enough. I soon learned how and why people like trump end up where they do. I asked who she was leaning towards. She said tenhaken. I asked why. She said he had a lot of yard signs and was on tv a lot, so…people must like him. In spite of what I said about that, I suspect her mind was not changed. Nice lady, but I know she voted for tenhaken yesterday, and trump in 2016. This is exactly why this country, and this city, are SCREWED.
This city at least moved forward in one respect. Janet replaces someone who really needs an extended vacation. Hopefully Zach will do the same.
Oh….go Jolene. Tough climb, but not insurmountable.
Without reading your first paragraph, I wasn’t sure if you were talking about the pooper scooper or the internet guy. The rest of your bullet points apply to both candidates I believe?
Though as I read your commentary, I knew the digs were just at the one whom you’ve targeted the entire election. After Entemann seemed to be losing traction…Paul became the new “Heuther”. Remember when this all started Entemann was the Devil.
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see little “Liberty” running the hallways of City Hall for the next 8 years as her Mom learns how to oversee 1300 employees. Jo can have the project managers play the role of babysitter and finally give them something to do to pass the time other than guide tours through new city buildings.
I guess some of you missed this line in my post,
“Only ONE candidate, Paul TenHaken and to a certain degree Loetscher.”
I agree Jo and Paul have a lot in common. I just wonder why people think Marketing Execs can run government better? Weird.
This election is just an other example of the “Tale of Two Cities” in this town. The southern part of town, or the “Taupe Housing Society of Conformity” crowd voted in bigger numbers than the core. Yet, it is the core which faces head on many of the problems with this city.
That’s why Riley didn’t have an opponent. Everything is just fine in “THSC” land, where the only real issue is whether their next lease will be a white or an other black SUV.
So, the people did not learn in this election, in terms of ThuneHaken’s advancement, because those to the south think that everything is just fine and the people in the core are not organized, and they generally do not vote as often as a result (Democrats !?!).
I saw the same AL story as you, seems Jo needs to spend a little time in Lincoln County and crush ThuneHaken.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2018/04/11/analysis-sioux-falls-central-district-voters-tenhakens-weak-link/508000002/
“I just wonder why people think Marketing Execs can run government better? Weird.”
Here’s what I think you can conclude. People with backgrounds in marketing tend to do well as candidates in environments where other candidates’ campaigns are not being run by people with backgrounds in marketing.
The overwhelming majority of voters aren’t like you. You watch this stuff like a hawk, you know all the players, etc. But comparatively, the reasons most people vote for candidates are more superficial. Aptitude for governance isn’t a thing that can be easily predicted, and experience in government is not necessarily a reliable predictor.
Also, let’s not kid ourselves about Huether. Take Steve Hildebrand out of that equation in 2010 and there’s a good chance Huether doesn’t get through the primary.
Actually, I didn’t. After seeing KELO’s map of the precincts, at 6, that Jo and ThuneHaken won, you couldn’t help but notice the division. Plus, last night as the results came in, I couldn’t help but notice that the core precincts were just not producing the aggregate numbers that they should have been doing compared to the southern precincts.
But thanks to you, I have seen the Argus piece now, and its a good one.
There’s a very big difference. Either candidate is professional and ethical. Huether is a narcissist crook. Ellis did a story in today’s Argus stating that prior councilors never become mayor. It was proven again this year when Entenman, Jamison, and Anderson lost.
Because too many of them run and split the votes of “experienceâ€. Also feel they speak the truth, where new comers tell the voters what they want to hear… exactly what Tenhenken and Letcher have done, and what Huether also did to get elected. Voters have been fooled again!
I’m not sure why everyone is so upset about these 2. I looked for a candidate who said they wanted to serve the PEOPLE of Sioux Falls, as opposed to the businesses of Sioux Falls and there wasn’t one. Heuther and his immediate predecessor were both the businesses first mind set and I for one am sick of it. I long for the days when we had a mayor (Gary Hanson) who listened to the people rather than the business as usual. Not sure how Tenhaken thinks he’s going to improve the law enforcement situation in Sioux Falls when all the money comes from the underfunded county!
what are the chances of either jo or tenhaken revisiting the legacy parking ramp/hotel deal?