I agree with Belfrage, endorsements don’t matter, they may even hurt

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Maybe on a National level, but in local politics, I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if certain endorsements might hurt you if someone has already made up their mind to vote for you and see someone they don’t like politically endorse you.

For instance let’s look at both candidates;

TenHaken

 • Family Heritage Alliance, an organization known for it’s ultra conservative right-wing partisan stances. They opposed gay marriage and gay rights and host of other freedom issues that are unconstitutional. I heard Loetscher didn’t even bother responding to them. If that is true, good for her.

• Greg Jamison, while this certainly doesn’t hurt, he did come in 4th place, and Paul could garner his votes, the same could be said about the Anderson endorsement of Loetscher.

• Dave Munson, Not sure how much this helps either. Munson started the downward spiral of transparency at City Hall and Huether perfected it. Dave actually got in trouble for signing a 100% cost overrun on Phillips to the Falls without Council approval. He almost didn’t run for a 2nd term because of it.

Loetscher

• Rick Knobe, not sure a mayor from 34 years ago has much weight, but it certainly won’t hurt her.

• Andy Howes, a one-term city councilor that most voters probably don’t remember, but props to Andy for promoting some great rock shows in town 🙂

• Pat Starr, no doubt Pat has been doing a great job on the city council. He spearheaded the Glory House land deal and has held firm on many issues on the council when it comes to transparency. While I don’t think his endorsement hurts or helps Jo, it could hurt his relationship with a new mayor, especially if they are NOT Jolene. Hey Pat, I guess were in the same boat on that one 🙂

• Michelle Erpenbach, while I believe Jo when she says she will improve transparency in city hall, this is the LAST person you want endorsing you when it comes to transparency. Michelle supported the secretive operations committee and assisted in terminating Debra Owen, which was a violation of Open Meetings Laws.

As Belfrage points out, and as I do, not sure if the endorsement game is really that big of a deal.

Posted in: Elections, Greg Belfrage, Jolene Loetscher, Paul Ten Haken, SF City Council, Sioux Falls

12 Thoughts on “I agree with Belfrage, endorsements don’t matter, they may even hurt”

  1. J on April 20, 2018 at 1:11 pm said:

    TenHaken was endorsed today by the Homebuilders Association of the Sioux Empire. Not sure if it’s going to be a huge impact, but the org has a lot of members that may be more inclined to vote for Paul alongside their member organization.

  2. Matthew Paulson on April 20, 2018 at 2:20 pm said:

    Imagine what would happen if Huether endorsed someone.

  3. "Very Stable Genius" on April 20, 2018 at 2:23 pm said:

    It’s more about if you can get people to endorse you then whether who endorses you. It’s a numbers game that can yield credibility.

  4. l3wis on April 20, 2018 at 2:32 pm said:

    J, the HBA endorsement is actually a good one. I just brought up the endorsement that I think either don’t matter or are bad.

  5. l3wis on April 20, 2018 at 2:33 pm said:

    MP – Around these parts we call that the ‘Death Nail’

  6. "Very Stable Genius" on April 20, 2018 at 2:39 pm said:

    But why are we shocked by the HB endorsement? If you check ThuneHaken’s contribution disclosures, it is filled with developers and real estate people from this town.

    I guess we won’t be “draining the swamp” with ThuneHaken, huh? But thanks to the FHA he might get a lot of “Mulligans,” however, to cover his insider shenanigans.

  7. Knothead Peasant on April 20, 2018 at 3:39 pm said:

    FHA why are they in the bathrooms all the time? Peeking over and under the stalls. Pant or skirt checks. Creepy! Just want to do our business and get back to work. Does that mean Lord Tapio Haken is into that too?

    They don’t like my co-workers that are not from South Dakota either.

  8. TS4D14 on April 20, 2018 at 5:25 pm said:

    I came to the realization it doesn’t matter anymore,we are going to have a great city council that I think will spear head a lot of change in the next few years

  9. J on April 20, 2018 at 7:02 pm said:

    I haven’t seen Paul promote the FHA endorsement on his Facebook page. I take that to mean he’s not aligning himself with them? I mean he didn’t denounce them, but I can’t imagine either candidate denouncing any endorsement unless it was the KKK or ISIS.

  11. "Very Stable Genius" on April 20, 2018 at 7:31 pm said:

    Let’s see…. A cavalier attitude about affordable housing on my newest commercial, then an endorsement from the FHA……Oh, I see how it works now…..

  12. "Very Stable Genius" on April 20, 2018 at 11:09 pm said:

    ThuneHaken plans to hold Bible studies at City Hall. As a fellow Christian myself, I think such studies should be held at your church or home. Why? Because a leader, who is of faith, should not establish a precedence of faith on government grounds because out of respect for all faiths and those of no faith. What about chaplains at Council meetings, well, I think I have already answered that question, haven’t I?

    http://fhaaction.org/sioux-falls-mayoral-candidate-survey/

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