South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

l3wis

Bishop Dudley House Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless Sioux Falls TIFs

The Tifilicious Welfare Downtown Developers want to buy up the homeless shelters

l3wis 4Comments

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this article about the DTSF developers behind Cherapa XXX;

And concerns about Cherapa Place colliding with Bishop Dudley Hospitality House or Union Gospel Men’s Center have not made developers wary. Although there might be the possibility that rising values could cause the shelters to sell, overall Pendar Properties hopes to work on a solution that works for all parties.

“I think what we do is we make this work together. There is a division, but it can be something we make positive,” Scherschligt told the Argus Leader.

Gee, like putting them somewhere else to begin with? It reminds me of the quiet zones. This stuff should have been negotiated to begin with, now we are going to throw even more tax dollars at the problems (that is who is paying for the quiet zones and eventually the relocation of the shelters).

I don’t expect our leaders to have a ton of vision, well maybe I do, but common sense would be nice.

South Dakotans State Funding State Legislature

Are South Dakota Trusts hiding Russian oligarchs money?

l3wis 12Comments

While Republicans in our state and DC want to whine about the Biden administration not doing enough to prevent war in Ukraine they say little about the possibility that some bad actors that could be hiding Russian oligarch money in SD;

Chuck Collins, the author of The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions and the director of the programme on inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies, said the situation with regard to South Dakota was “an embarrassment” for the US.

“We are the weak link. And South Dakota is in a race to the bottom to be the weakest link on trusts,” said Collins. “We have seen the hidden wealth apparatus but it is always considered offshore. The more we understand that it’s onshore, the US is a weak link and we are now the magnet for kleptocratic capital the better for national understanding and the greater the potential for national legislation.”

Our super majority Republican legislature with the help of the governor could dig deep and enact legislation that prevents ANY ties to ANY oligarch from ANY country from hiding money in South Dakota. But while Ukrainians are dying all we get is silence and inaction.

It goes back to what I have often accused Republican lawmakers of (especially in our state), when it comes to THEIR personal wealth and livelihoods they could care less where the money is coming from as long as they can control it, this is why they refuse to take sales tax off of food even though 47 other states have done it successfully.

War, drought, poor healthcare, poverty, gambling, you name it, GREED is the only thing that controls them.

Curt Soehl Emmett Reistroffer for City Council Jim Burzynski SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilor, Soehl is very beatable

l3wis 2Comments

Make no mistake, beating an incumbent city councilor is not an easy task, ask Jensen who had to spend $127K and lucking out by having primary voters (who rarely vote in city elections) help him achieve the task.

Obviously it doesn’t hurt that Soehl now has two challengers, a well-intentioned, all around family guy and a fierce citizen advocate. We could likely see them in the run-off or one of them crushing the 51% threshold.

But what really makes Soehl beatable is that he really isn’t an incumbent because the Central district he was elected in doesn’t exist anymore and you really don’t need the McKennan park elite’s vote to win in Central.

The re-districting commission now have included parts of Whittier and Cathedral neighborhoods. Match that with Pettigrew Heights and you have pretty strong working class voters.

While it will be a challenge for the other two candidates to battle with an incumbent, Soehl is really an incumbent with NO home and will NOT be re-elected.

David ZoKaites Elections Ethics Sioux Falls

Guest post by David Z For Mayor – Widespread Sioux Falls Bribery

l3wis 9Comments

EDITOR’S NOTE: David’s post does NOT constitute my endorsement for his candidacy. I will give any candidate an opportunity to guest post on my website. I found the topic of interest when it comes to ethical standards in city government.

When public officials accept bribes, they stop working for “we the people” and start working for the people who bribed them.  Bribery therefore violates the fundamental purpose of democracy.  Sioux Falls Ethics Advisory Board found a widespread practice of bribery and local officials have been hiding it ever since.  Because of bribery’s great damage to democracy, and because I care so much about “we the people,” I keep raising the issue in the hope that someone in authority actually cares and will protect democracy.  I’ve publicly raised this issue so many times I’m losing count – three times at the ethics board and three times at city council – all to no avail.  Plus I sent email to SD Department of Criminal Investigation and received no response.  So now I’m sending the following letter to the attorney general and publishing it everywhere I can.  Integrity is critical to the success of democracy and both must be staunchly defended for the American way of life to succeed.  

I find the lack of official support for government integrity absolutely revolting.  I encourage you to get angry,  get involved, write letters, and vote in the upcoming city election on April 12.  Vote for candidates that care about protecting our democratic way of life.  Even if you don’t vote for me, vote for people who actually care. 

With that introduction complete, here’s the body of my letter:  

Dear Attorney General Jason R. Ravnsborg:

To provide some informative background information, I am campaigning for mayor of Sioux Falls and promoting honest, caring, practical government.  To prepare for the role as mayor, I have spent years studying issues of practical American government, making plans, and presenting findings via PowerPoint at Sioux Falls City Council meetings.  Many times over the past few years I have asked city council and mayor to improve processes, promote civil rights, and investigate bribery problems.  My efforts have met great resistance.  It is with considerable reluctance that I am writing this letter to yet again seek accountability and government transparency.  We the people should not have to go to such lengths as I have to obtain official accountability.

Last week I had a meeting with Police Chief Jon Thum and Sheriff Mike Milstead.  We talked about reducing crime and drug addiction by switching our communal focus from incarceration to treatment.  We also talked about investigating bribery among city officials.  The chief and sheriff recommended I share my concerns with you via a certified letter so that’s what I’m doing here and now.  Concerning bribery, the city’s ethics board wrote a letter to city leaders stating city leaders have a common practice of accepting gifts of paid travel.  In other words, bribery is common among city leadership.  I have attached the ethics board letter describing this problem.  We can be sure city leaders are aware of the problem because I publicly asked for accountability and disclosure repeatedly.  I have attached two of my PowerPoints on the subject, PowerPoints which I publicly presented at Sioux Falls City Council meetings. 

I am asking you to investigate city leadership accepting bribes and then to file appropriate criminal charges so the people of Sioux Falls can reasonably expect integrity in city government.  Our American Constitution begins with the words “We the people.”  When politicians accept bribes, they work for whomever provided bribes instead of working for “we the people.”  This of course violates the fundamental purpose of American democracy.  Government corruption doesn’t vanish by itself.  Frequently, visibility and publicity are necessary before bribery and corruption are addressed.  Consequently, I plan to publish this letter in local news and social media. 

                               Sincerely,

                                    David Zokaites

LINKS OF INTEREST BELOW;

AG LETTER

ETHICS BOARD LETTER, PAGE 1, PAGE 2, PAGE 3

PRESENTATION ON POLITICAL GIFTS

PRESENTATION ON ETHICAL PRACTICES

CAMPAIGN PROMISES

MAYORAL PRAYER

David Barranco Elections SF City Council

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

l3wis 7Comments

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.

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