I’ll get the uncomfortable part out of the way first. Theresa is my friend, a very good friend. In fact almost every time I have a conversation with Theresa, she asks how I am doing first. My career, my family, my faith and my health. She starts most conversations this way and I am sure she does it with all of her friends. She cares, even if she has a big mouth. It’s kind of cool, and it’s kind of her.
So why would I place my friend on this pedestal? Even if I didn’t know her personally, you have to admit you can’t ignore her perseverance. I have often said that Theresa may not get much legislation on the Sioux Falls city council passed, but she makes a difference. Here are a few examples;
• Potholes. After her and councilor Starr’s proposal to give a million dollars towards potholes fails, the mayor ramps up the program and puts several crews on it.
• The same could be said about the tornado cleanup. After she pressures the administration for city assistance, the city employees step up and provide the assistance. It goes one step further with Governor Noem securing Federal FEMA aid.
• After she meets with the prison warden, the mayor decides to use more prison labor. Which I think is a great step towards rehabilitation and repaying a debt to society, as well as learning good work and life skills.
• She helps compromise a deal with Lifescape’s street closure proposal, making the much needed organization in the community work with neighbors on a solution.
• One of the only councilors to respond to constituents on a regular basis, turning her part-time position into extra overtime and compassion for citizens.
• Organizing a meeting with Whittier Neighborhood businesses to work on solutions for intoxicated transients.
• While her texting legislation of the city council fails, she has gotten them on their toes to pay closer attention to the meetings instead of their phones.
• Bringing beekeeping to Sioux Falls, even though some Negative Nancy’s on the council have treated potential beekeepers as public nuisances instead of encouraging natural food production.
• Giving almost daily reports on social media about city issues and publishing a monthly column, ‘The Stehly Report’ in a weekly shopper.
• Making Sioux Falls neighbors well aware of annexation intentions and putting the meetings in the fore front.
• Having the courage to call out the conflict of interest hiring of the new internal auditor with no auditing experience.
• Doing the same with the online tool salesman who got appointed our technology manager of the city so he could fly around the country and tell us the latest museum he is boozing at on Mayor Bloomberg’s dime.
• Shortly after the local paper railed on her about ‘grandstanding’ they reported about the failed Bunker Ramp downtown something Stehly has fought hard from the beginning due to corruption, special deals, wasting taxpayer money and the general lack of government transparency.
• Speaking of Big ‘T’ and the ‘T’ word. While Stehly has gotten a lot of flack about her big mouth, it has helped to open government up to the people. Her almost daily and weekly rants about open government and transparency has gotten her a reputation, and it’s not so bad. She has the elite in town trying to raise $150K for her opponent, even though she has not announced. Of course they are scared, they should be. Loose lips sink ships, and the big ship builders in town are worried about another 4 years of Stehly. She has interrupted their ‘progress’ at the detriment of the rest of us working stiffs.
While her ‘style’ isn’t always in favor, her results have been astounding. That’s why I am calling Theresa Stehly the local government hero of 2019, and if she runs again in 2020, she will win in a landslide, spending only the pennies she pulled out of the seats of her late model Toyota, to the detriment of failed, corrupt, state employees blogging from podunk towns 40 minutes away.