South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Bonita Schwan

Bonita Schwan

Personal Privilege

l3wis 3Comments

Love you Bonita! Just wanted to start with that. So you may remember Bonita, she still haunts Sux but recently she told me she is running for City Council in her new residence. Good Luck Bonita! I am sure you will win. Is David Z running? Better check your sources.

I can ask Bonita for ANY advice, and she always has an answer, and if she doesn’t she just laughs and gives you a hug. Who wouldn’t want this person for a city councilor? Oh, that’s right . . . Sioux Falls really missed an opportunity.

Bonita Schwan Elections Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether SF City Council Sioux Falls

The city clerk’s ‘Double Standard’ when it comes to financial disclosures

l3wis 9Comments

This is what Huether submitted for his financial disclosure. City Clerk approved it saying it was ‘unintentional’ that he did not file everything. Heck, he doesn’t even list his mayoral salary.

huththt

 

This is what council candidate Bonita Schwan filed from the advice of city clerk Lorie Hogstad (Doc:  bonita-schwan_SFI)

It’s been known for a long time that city clerk, Lorie Hogstad, singled out Bonita Schwan in misleading her on her financial disclosure. Instead of just telling Bonita she could be ‘vague’ and ‘general’ in her disclosure, she asked for a detailed report. I won’t speculate why this was done, I could have a million reasons, but read the email transcripts for yourself (starting with the earliest);

From: Bonita Schwan
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 9:37 AM
To: Hogstad, Lorie
Subject: Re: City Council Meeting Calendar

Good Morning Lorie it is Bonita Schwan.  I was reviewing the forms in my Election Packet this weekend and had a question regarding the Statement of Financial Interest Candidate for Public Office form.  My question is specifically in regards to question number seven (on page 1) and the definition of “Nature of your association”(page 2, 3.) and “Close economic interest” (page 2, 4.(2)) and “Enterprise” (page 2,4.(3)).  For example, do I need to list municipal bond income that I received in 2013 from St.Paul Minnesota that is in excess of $2,000?  Thank you for your help
Lorie.  Bonita Schwan.

•

E-Mail Dated 1/29/14

Hi Bonita – My apologies for the delay in responding to your question. The answer to your question would be yes, that you would need to report the municipal bond income.  Please let me know if I can furnish any additional information.

Sincerely, Lorie Hogstad, CMC

So why wasn’t this important piece of information given to all of the other candidates? Why is it that Bonita was the only candidate that needed to be ‘unintentional’ in her disclosure?

This shows us a couple of different things. Huether plays by his own rules and the city clerk and city attorney allow him to do so. It also shows that the clerk’s office lacks consistency on implementing the rules. But they also don’t know how to write a simple ballot correctly, go figure.

Bonita Schwan Elections Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Mayor Race

So now our city clerk is the judge of what is ‘intentional’ or ‘unintentional’?

l3wis 13Comments

reviseagain8

The city clerk’s new decision making aid

Curious story in the AL today about campaign finance disclosures;

City Clerk Lorie Hogstad said there’s no penalty for errors in the disclosure form as long as they’re not intentional. Candidates can file updates that are placed online alongside the originals, Hogstad said by email.

So Lorie, please explain how you know if it is intentional or not? Did you use a magic 8-Ball? So you are telling me, let’s take the mayor for example, that a man who marketed a subprime credit card doesn’t understand disclosures? There are pages and pages of disclosures on those applications. He clearly understands them, and not listing his revenue was very INTENTIONAL.

Now let’s compare him to a candidate who did file their disclosures;

State law requires all candidates to disclose any enterprise that provided at least $2,000 in income or more than 10 percent of their family income during the past year.

On one end of that spectrum, Schwan included a three-page list of 57 different individual municipal bonds she owns. On the other end is Huether, who listed general categories of investments: “mutual funds, stocks, bonds, investment property, ethanol, municipal bonds, money markets, annuities, IRAs.” In each of those, Huether said he is a “common shareholder” with no “advisory, consulting or voting role.”

Schwan asked Hogstad for guidance and was told she should list each bond. Gathering all that took several days.

“I wanted to make sure I was in complete compliance with the statement of financial interest,” Schwan said.

I know for a fact that Schwan’s question about what to disclose was probably brought before the city attorney. So why wasn’t this same advice granted to Huether, the city attorney’s boss? And if it was, why did it differ from what Schwan was told. Apparently if you ‘Play Stupid’ you don’t have to comply with the rules. Ignorance of the law is not excuse, and I am sure any judge in this county would agree with me.

I will give Schwan props for following the rules and for having the common sense to know ignorance, or pretend ignorance is no excuse. The mayor, not so much.

Bonita Schwan

Mr. Vansickle is spreading his political capital

l3wis 16Comments

bonita7

First with Jamison’s fundraiser (I heard ticket sales have been very good so far) now with a letter of encouragement for Bonita;

I have known Bonita Schwan for more than 20 years. I met her through my wife and got to know her better through our work together volunteering for Make-A-Wish. It didn’t take me long to gain a sincere admiration for her and her spirit. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Bonita on many charitable events, and I know she’s been at the forefront of many more. Bonita is a smart, kind, ambitious, philanthropic person — the kind of person you want on your team. One of those rare individuals who not only stand up for their own beliefs but are even more motivated to stand up for the needs of others. She has been a true voice for people throughout her life, and, in Bonita’s case, “voice” isn’t limited to talking, it’s much more about doing. She is a unique blend of almost always having an uplifting smile on her face mixed with the confidence, skills and bravery needed to take on modern-day Goliaths.

I was happy to learn that Bonita Schwan is running for City Council representing the Southeast District in Sioux Falls, and I would ask that, if you live in our neck of the woods, you strongly consider giving her your support.

Kory Van Sickle

Hey, it doesn’t hurt to have the lead singer of Sioux Falls’ favorite R & R band endorsing you.

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