February 2022

Sioux Falls City Council Candidate Barranco had another ‘VOTE BUYING’ event last month

Sorry, I just caught this, but it looks like Barranco had another questionable vote buying event. Unlike the event before that at Thunder Road (which was filed as an in-kind donation on his last finance report) this event was NOT at a private facility but one that was owned by taxpayers. I am pretty sure that Great Bear CANNOT provide an in-kind donation to a political candidate and it is likely he paid for this out of campaign funds (at least he should have).

Ironically, I’m not even sure the event took place since Great Bear being open at all is a rarity 🙂

To play the Devil’s advocate, you could argue that candidates hold events all the time at rented facilities where they may provide light foodie and drinkie, but I’m not sure paying for voter’s kids to go tubing is the same.

I have seen many candidates over the years do questionable events that border on unethical, but over the last two election cycles it has exploded into what they can get away with, like the mayor having a FREE two-hour radio ad KELO.

There is a checklist when deciding on a candidate that you should review, and ETHICS should be at the top of that list.

The disappearing Sioux Falls Planning Commission Agenda

Now you see me, now you don’t

On Thursday night I happened to take a gander at the agenda page, I was surprised to see the March 2 agenda for the Planning Commission posted. I didn’t make a copy of it because normally if an agenda is posted it usually doesn’t come down even if changed before the 24 deadline. I did read it though, and NO surprise that everything was in the consent agenda with a stamp of approval from planning staff.

What I find interesting about the disappearing agenda is that it did have one item on it that would be of interest. There was a rezone request for offices at the Sanford Sports Complex (The DSU project). Why is this interesting? No public funding has been approved yet by the city. Was the agenda pulled because of this? What other changes were made? By law they don’t have to post an agenda until 24 hours before a meeting and it must be the final agenda. In other words if they would have kept up the agenda from Thursday, they could have updated that agenda any time between then and Tuesday before the 24 hour deadline. The city council has done this on occasion. But to take it down completely to make the updates is very curious.

I tried to find something in the charter that would address posting an agenda then taking it down completely without replacing it with an updated agenda, but I could not. Maybe this is something that needs to be addressed at the meeting Wednesday night?

Perspective Sioux Falls City Council Candidates Zitterich and Bassey didn’t make the ballot

A news story probably not covered in SF politics yesterday was that two perspective candidates DID NOT make the ballot due to the lack of signatures.

Mike Zitterich who was hoping to run for AT-Large B did send me an email last night explaining to me his disappointment and hoped to run in the future. He said it was due to time constraints.

Immanuel Bassey has said very little except this to AL reporter Trevor Mitchell;

Bassey did not have enough valid signatures to get into the race, he tells me

I found out about Bassey last week and that he was recruited by some local politicians to run. Considering who they were I anticipated that he would make the ballot. I find it odd that if the rumor was true that he was recruited by these folks they didn’t help him gather signatures. Almost looked like a false flag operation to discourage others from running against Barranco.

Thank goodness Ingle qualified for the ballot and I encourage anyone that is on the fence in the SE district about the candidates to reach out to Mr. Ingle and get to know this incredible individual. As for Barranco, I hear very little about him except that he doesn’t pay his property taxes on time.

BREAKING: Emmett Reistroffer & Cody Ingle qualified for Sioux Falls City Council ballot today

Some very good news today in the city council races. Both young men are incredible progressive advocates for citizens and they are going to make this race fun to watch.

Riestroffer is running for Central District. He is a consultant for the Cannabis industry and has previously run for the City Council I think against Rex Rolfing.

Ingle is running for SE District.

About

I currently work as the IT/App Support Specialist at the Center for Family Medicine, where I help physicians and residents best utilize our Electronic Medical Record system to ensure quality patient care. I also help in daily IT issues, such as printing errors and random computer glitches (technology is great). I am passionate about healthcare and addressing the disparities seen in it. Data analysis and population health are my biggest professional joys.

I am a board member of Pathways to Inclusive and Equitable Workplaces, which strives to educate the business community in Sioux Falls on diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am the Secretary of Sioux Falls Pride, and am a strong advocate for marginalized people groups. I strive to help lift up voices of those who feel as though they have no voice, and to help bring equity to all humans.

Here is the list of candidates. While Emmett is NOT listed on the city website, he did confirm to me that the city clerk confirmed he had enough signatures. I guess Immanuel Bassey did not have enough signatures to make the ballot in the SE District.

Listing of Current Candidates
(Alphabetical Order (Last Name) by Office)
Name Office
Taneeza Islam Mayor
Paul TenHaken Mayor
David Zokaites Mayor
Bobbi Andera At-Large Council Member “A”
Janet Brekke At-Large Council Member “A”
Sarah Cole At-Large Council Member “A”
Pam Cole At-Large Council Member “B”
Rich Merkouris At-Large Council Member “B”
David Barranco Southeast District Council Member
Cody Ingle Southeast District Council Member
Jim Burzynski Central District Council Member
Emmett Reistroffer Central District Council Member
Curt Soehl Central District Council Member