If you watched last night’s city council meeting or several before that, you will notice a trend of some Sioux Falls city councilors digging in their heels on really bad policy decisions. As a person who has watched this for several years, I’m baffled by it. The public sees it too, and they are equally baffled. What accounts for this? Is there a deep state of local power broker puppeteers pulling the strings? Has the influence of private and/or business money in politics become so second nature, that even our city council and mayor don’t notice it – or just don’t bother to hide it? Example: look at the plurality vote. Everyone knows it was a bad idea to change it to majority, but the majority council voters didn’t blink an eye. Why?
Consider the re-zoning for the Avera nun apartments. This takes taxpaying residential affordable housing off the table for the benefit of non-profit housing. What’s in it for the taxpayers? Why the corresponding destruction of a core neighborhood next to Avera, and those adjacent to Sanford, Lifescape Children’s Hospital & School, and even Billion Buick/GMC? Why the closed door meetings when transparency has been promised? Why the dissent and apparent indifference toward Public Input at official municipal meetings?
Maybe we just chock it up to politics as usual, but given how much these decisions seem related to commercial development, it sure smacks of a bunch of quid pro quo. Are these obstinate councilors really that cheap of a date?