New Facebook Page goes after TenHaken & his Dutch Mafia
l3wis So this is interesting. I also hear it is going viral. Stay tuned.
l3wis
City of Sioux Falls 2022 Municipal Election Update
In all honesty, this really isn’t an update, because I got nothing but gossip, but let’s have fun anyway?
Mayoral Race; As it stands right now it is Paul TenHaken vs. my favorite Levitt dancer, Mr. David Zokaites. Some have speculated that others will drop their hat in this ring, but I am at a loss of words of who would.
Central District; Curt Soehl currently doesn’t have a challenger, but I suspect someone will emerge. Some names thrown around are Tom Hurlbert, Sierra Brussard and Emmett Riestroffer.
Southeast District; so far one person has announced for the empty seat that Ricky Lee Kiley will be leaving, David Barranco. I think David will have a challenger, but I’m not sure who that would be.
At Large (2 seats); There are 2 at large members, Brekke and Erickson. Erickson is term limited and will leave an open seat. The rumor is Zach DeBoer will announce he is running for that seat. Brekke is the incumbent for the other seat and I think she plans to run again.
It is pretty early in this, and I don’t expect any real commitments until after the 1st of the year but if you have any juicy, squirt it my way.
Councilor Erickson goes ape over $60k while giving millions in tax rebates to welfare developers
(FF: 16:40)
So this happened at the informational meeting on Tuesday, and I didn’t think much of the drama until people started nagging me about it;
Erickson said the Playhouse, formerly known as the Sioux Empire Community Theatre until August, currently owes $66,000 in debt to the city. She questioned why the debt had not been settled after it received $418,739 between several COVID-19 relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
First, let’s put some things in perspective. The Sioux Empire Community Theatre incurred this debt, not the current group and SMG let it grow to level it should not have. Once the Orpheum changed hands to the Pavilion’s management a payment program was set up. But in all reality, the city should have just wrote off the debt due to SMG and the previous theatre company no longer being in play. That would be the ‘logical’ thing to do
Some have asked me, “While Erickson has voted to give millions in TIF tax rebates to wealthy developers and voted for a failed $26 million dollar bunker ramp debacle why does she give a sh!t about this $60K debt?”
Well folks, this isn’t about the amount of debt it’s about who is being held hostage for the debt. The NEW organization’s president is no other than Mr. Rick Weiland, and this is an obvious attack on him politically as a prominent Democrat in our state and Christine’s cozy relationship with SD GOP leadership. It’s petty, and honestly the reason I didn’t say anything on Tuesday after witnessing her driveling. But par for course for the dirt bags that run that institution (out of Iowa).
Besides, if we really want to question the abuse of tax dollars by an arts org in Sioux Falls, we only have to look to the Washington Pavilion who is rumored to pay their director around or over $200K a year and has ravaged the entertainment tax year after year for millions in maintenance for a $19 million dollar building that cost us $50 million plus to complete and continues to drain us. Why doesn’t the city council just have a resolution that renames the tax the ‘Pavilion maintenance tax’? Let’s call it what it really is. And when are we going to get a financial report from them? Isn’t the director a Democrat?
Stories the Local Media Should & Could cover but Don’t & Won’t
As many of you know, I have run this blog for about 14 years as a hobby and as a citizen advocate for open and transparent government. While I have a communications degree, I do NOT have a BS in Journalism. This is why I really don’t worry to much about all the criticism when it comes to my writing skills (seriously, I don’t care), I am only concerned about getting the information out even in a rudimentary and snarky way.
It often frustrates me when the media has a wide range of topics and stories they could cover but don’t. Nationally and Locally it has to do with who is paying the bills (advertising) and why I often roll my eyes when the right-winger radio manure spreaders say there is a left wing and right wing media. There is a GREEDY media, that’s it. Locally they have prostituted themselves to the Industrial Hospital Complex and anything controversial to do with them will never be reported or downplayed.
I will also have to give Mayor Poops credit for one thing, he has the local media right where he wants them, somehow he has found a way to make sure any negative or controversial reporting on him or the city is non-existent. Heck, KELO AM even gave him some kind of award. It works out great for him. He has NO serious challengers (only one so far) and he will cruise in as the incumbent with a tank full of money.
So what stories are we missing out on that the local media could cover?
• The lack of Covid vaccination education and combatting misinformation
• Massive profits from the healthcare industry in Sioux Falls and their monopoly on care (relating to Covid). This actually showed up in the city’s financial report presentation yesterday at the city council informational meeting.
• The possible Federal investigation into a certain person (there have been several national stories about this but the local media has only barely scratched the surface, oh and they have taken it to the SD Supreme Court)
• Smithfield (Federal fines, environmental concerns, TenHaken’s ties, tax rebates and incentives, Covid health of workers, product shipping to China, etc.) This place alone could keep one news organization busy for months
• Economic Impact of TIFs in Sioux Falls (I would even suffice for simple story about how the returns don’t even add up)
• A survey of South Dakotans and their stance on abortion (I still think a majority supports legal and safe abortion in SD especially when it comes to exemptions)
• Medical and Recreational Marijuana and the REAL harmful effects, if any really exist, and Noem’s corrupt war on the voter’s will
Medical MJ Dispensary limitations (the not so quiet rumor going around is that the big wheel developers and banksters in town went crying to the Chamber and Mayor Poops claiming if a dispensary is built next to their property it would decrease it’s value. Doubtful. If you visit downtown Fort Collins, CO you will see a striving entertainment district full of bars, restaurants and galleries intertwined in with dispensaries
• Why has the Bishop Dudley House become so mis-managed? What is the SFPD and City Hall doing about it? The neighbors and business owners response? The taxpayers responsibility? The cost? The solutions?
• What’s going on with the Bunker Ramp?
• Why is everything sponsored in Sioux Falls by one person?
• I leave the most important story to last; The lack of open and transparent government in Sioux Falls and the push towards secrecy and corruption. If you think things were kept quiet during the last two mayoral administrations, they have nothing on Poops. He has virtually made sure public meetings are posted so vaguely or just eliminated them all together. He also has limited the number of public meetings the council holds, got involved with eliminating an incumbent populist councilor, changed the meeting times to be inconvenient for the working stiffs, changed public input, tries to cut deals with councilors and developers without quorum and generally doesn’t tell the public much unless it is about his dogs on Facebook.
Do I think this is intentional? YES!
I also don’t think this is a conservative, liberal or independent thing, it is a authoritarian thing. There are some political philosophies out there that think informing the public to much only complicates getting things done in government. While I will agree it is a REAL philosophy, it is also wrong-headed and extremely dangerous and wreaks of corruption. You would think those in the media would be appalled by the lack of access they have to their local government. Sure Poops likes to tell us about butterflies and parking ramps but he really isn’t letting us in on much else except that city employees apparently hold hands and sing songs during their morning coffee breaks because they are part of the SF One Borg.
It is time for our local media to remove their heads from a certain person(s) butt and start digging around, at least on a few of these issues. I would agree we live in a pretty good town, but I also think the concentration of power by a few players and the lack of transparent government is holding us back and it is the duty of the 4th Estate to remedy this, if only they had the courage or the brains.
Mayor TenHaken’s PAC hosting a Fundraiser for his Mayoral Campaign
I guess I can’t even ask the question, but I will, since I am baffled, ‘What is the legality of this?’
I am not saying this violates any campaign finance laws, I’m saying I don’t know. But it certainly raises an eyebrow, you know, like when toddlers each give you a $1,000.
So Poops’ Next Generation PAC is holding a fundraiser for Paul’s Mayoral Campaign. Why wouldn’t Paul’s mayoral campaign just hold a fundraiser for itself? The only inkling I have is that Paul is also trying to raise money for the PAC so he can hand it over to council candidates since he will virtually have NO big name challengers as Mayor (sorry David 🙂
- Raise money under the guise of mayoral candidate, 2. Give that money to anti-populist authoritarian city council candidates, 3. Rinse and repeat your last 4 years, 4. Scott is speculating from his rear, once again.
I will NOT be attending, but I’m sure I will have plenty of foot soldier reports of the event.
