2019

UPDATE: Argus Leader ED board holds back important details in their attack on councilor Stehly

l3wis May 3, 2019 11Comments

It’s often easy to attack someone when you leave out the important parts.

UPDATE: After talking to a few folks about this editorial tonight, I think a better approach would have been to write the article about the dysfunction of the council as a whole. They all have their faults and strengths. Not one single councilor is to blame for the breakdown. While some are louder than others, sometimes inaction can be just as harmful as too much of it.

Ever since Mr. Myers took over the helm at the AL the place has been on a steady decline and it culminates in their attack on a city councilor. It’s funny how he has so many choice words for a person with a high level of integrity, like Stehly, but doesn’t have the courage to call out one of his key staffers or even fire them after they majorly screwed the pooch. And better yet, it didn’t even make the pages of his fine paper, worthy of a front page story, he just put the person back on their beat like nothing happened. Of course this person never committed a heinous crime like calling someone on a Saturday before Easter . . . the SHAME! The Shame!

I first want to apologize to city councilor Theresa Stehly, I feel bad she has to take the full weight of this diatribe even though she has had support from other city councilors and most importantly citizens on these issues. I’ve known Theresa long enough to know that she just doesn’t wake up in the morning and decide to be on the wrong side of an issue. She listens to her constituents and even reaches out to those with a differing opinion. I can’t say that about the rest of them. She’s an AT-LARGE elected representative of the citizens FIRST! The news media, developers and any other whiny ass, give me, give me, give me organizations in this town should be at the back of the line. The lion’s share of taxes and fees that fund this government come from the citizenry as a whole. We support this community through Federal income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes and ever increasing fees. She represents us more then any city councilor has since the council form of government was formed under the Home Rule Charter.

What makes the attack even more suspicious is it comes out just hours after the paper put up a story about the failing parking ramp. Another story Cameraman Bruce had to give the paper on a silver platter, just like the EC siding and the EC secret settlement. All along the way, it has taken us ‘unqualified’ journalists to light a fire under these paid ‘qualified’ journalists. I was actually laughing when recently Mr. Myers wrote about the SNAP suit and mentioned how hard the paper went after the EC secret settlement. He failed to mention that it took Bruce and I weeks to convince them that the settlement stunk, and they fought us along the way, yet now Myers is playing ‘We are the Champions’ on the headphones in his brain.

Why do I bring up the Parking Ramp? While councilor Starr did support Stehly on trying to stop the project, Theresa was the only one vocal enough to say this was a bad deal, many citizens agreed. So instead of praising Theresa for standing against this colossal f’k up, they write an editorial lambasting her about not voting for an unqualified candidate for the Internal Auditor.

But let’s review all the things Mr. Myers and his prestigious ED board left out to make a more compelling argument against Stehly;

Two days after the call, councilors Neitzert, Christine Erickson, Marshall Selberg and Rick Kiley issued a press release condemning Stehly’s automated call and rebutting her claims that the months-long hiring process was being “ramrodded” through.

It may have been a ‘months long’ hiring process (which it wasn’t), but magically after only 3 weeks of online ads and 15 unqualified applicants they decided to pick Mrs. Nelson instead going back to the drawing board. They also were so proud of the selection they posted it on the agenda without a BIO or background of Mrs. Nelson 4 days before a special council meeting over a holiday weekend. But, you know, that’s not ramrodding . . . WTF? It is also interesting that there has never been a stated reason why the last auditor left so quickly after being appointed and whether the administration is going to replace Mrs. Nelson. The three councilors had a very good reason to be skiddish.

Stehly accused Neitzert of calling her a liar.

Listen to the interview for yourself, Neitzert does call her a liar and being slanderous, an actual violation of the city council’s ethics code, but notice how the ED board twists it. Not only was it an ethics violation, it was also untrue. Nelson’s husband was one of the players behind the VERY controversial parking ramp (as we are finding out) Shana has NO experience as an internal auditor or supervisor and has several conflicts. Please, identify these ‘LIES’ for us. NO one in the media or on the majority of the council has been able to prove what Stehly was saying was a lie(s).

As pointed out in the editorial, the city council has been dysfunctional, and it started way before councilor Stehly came aboard, she has just shined a light on the dysfunction of the rubber stampers and the big wheels that fund their campaigns and it has them really pissed off, and now they apparently have the ear of the ED board.

I told Theresa to wear this as a badge of honor, it must have been a slow week at the paper to have to attack an individual like this. Apparently Bruce and I need to step up our game and give them more things to investigate.