Who are the Score Keepers? (Guest Post, Bruce Danielson)

Of course they don’t want to acknowledge they keep score.

“As public servants, we don’t keep score. It’s about doing what’s right. We do what is best for the public and the community as a whole to move our great city forward and care for its citizenry,” TenHaken said Thursday after seeing Starr’s Facebook post.

It is always interesting how shallow the 5 and mayor are. There is no ability to see past their winner takes all attitude. This is not a football game. This is government where the people elect representatives to work together to craft solutions good for as many as possible without trampling the rights of the less powerful. Why is it when the public wins, sore heads like the six work so hard to make it seem like the public didn’t win anything.

The classic line from Vince Lombardi “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” just isn’t supposed to apply to government.  

“TenHaken’s deputy chief of staff T.J. Nelson said none of the three councilors who opposed the street vacation were involved in crafting the compromise proposal.”

Those of us who have worked for years to open the doors to Sioux Falls city government find humor in the following statement.

“Kiley said Starr’s role in finding compromise was minimal at best and his response to it isn’t productive for Lifescape or the community.”

Of course they were not involved, the doors of power have been locked to keep the three councilors out. If the doors had been open to any of the three to contribute, it would have validated their concerns. The way this has been handled including not informing the whole council before the media shows this administration does not understand the importance of or care to give respect to the Council.  This process shows the way the simple moronic authoritarian ways of city hall are perpetuated post-Huether.

The compromise was hatched by citizens during the September street vacation public input. The compromise proposal was cultivated by neighbors. The ill-conceived second vacation vote did not address the neighbor’s concerns or the mismatched and ill-fitting proposal being forced on the Council during the last vote. The legal process was followed and the voting showed the vacation was legally rejected by the Council.

“I wish the effort and energy it requires to take credit for things he has little if any invovlement would be placed in a more positive and constructive fashion for citizens, especially those who struggle with disabilities,” he said.

Mr. Kiley in speaking for the losing majority seems to forget his hours of lectures he and a few others on the Council have forced us to listen to as they have crafted their demands for the three to be subservient to the majority’s wishes. The March 5, 2019 Council meeting incident where Mr. Kiley cried out to the mayor about an audience member laughing at his pompous buffoonery just shows how weak he really is when faced with opposition.

Just think how much more could be accomplished if the leader of the administration and his followers on the Council tried to compromise?

Start link:  https://youtu.be/Dopk4WwAW7Q?t=6192