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UPDATE: Sioux Falls Ethics Board meets Friday to discuss the ethics of some mysterious Mickey Mouse city official

l3wis 10Comments

UPDATE: After a brief public input session the BOE met for approximately 4 hours in executive session with the accused being represented by what seemed to be two attorneys who were in the room before the session started. As I understand it the person who filed the complaint and the accused attorneys left the meeting two hours into it and they met for another two hours then recessed. In other words the BOE did not emerge for a public vote which means they are still in discussions about the validity of the complaint. It seems odd to me that 5 people can’t make a simple decision in a matter of 4 hours. Of course we still don’t know who Mr. Mouse is, and we don’t even know what the complaint is. Will we ever know? The BOE of course will have to reschedule a later time to finish deliberations. Who knows when that will be?

Another interesting tidbit is that one of the attorneys representing the accused seems to be the same person representing the Jensen camp in the re-count next week. Of course, this is not surprising since there probably isn’t a lot of attorneys out there willing to wade into the waters of election recounts and ethics complaints.

First, let’s pretend for a minute that Mickey Mouse works for the city, and let’s just say, Mr. Mouse took a trip paid for by a partisan group. Then let’s say that this same Mr. Mouse already had a violation thrown out on a technicality, which cost taxpayers in outside counsel $3,750. Then let’s say the city council met last night to approve another expenditure for Mr. Mouse from the SAME law firm that could not exceed $7,500. But for some reason none of us seem to know who Mr. Mouse is? Could we assume that the first Mr. Mouse is the same Mr. Mouse that is being looked at a 2nd time around? Or could it be his friend Donald Duck? Or maybe it is from another department? Maybe Mr. Pooh. Or Waldo? Or the Grinch? Oh, it’s probably Rat Fink!

Here is my take. If you are a city official, and an ethics complaint is filed against you, and you think your are innocent, why hide behind confidentiality? As Porky Pig would say, ‘That’s all Folks!’

Mayor TenHaken Patrick Starr SF City Council Sioux Falls

Mayor TenHaken breaks tie to profit private Sioux Falls Garbage Haulers

l3wis 18Comments

Tonight there was an attempt by Councilor Starr to end the Covid inspired ordinance that requires residents to drag their garbage cans to the curb for PRIVATE, FOR PROFIT garbage haulers. I put this in caps, because if they were public contractors, this would be fine, but by requiring citizens to do this for private companies, they are saving these companies a lot of dough in time and labor costs.

I have argued for a long time we should have a public garbage system, contracting with private companies, which would save taxpayers millions a year in tipping fees and labor costs.

All this does is allow the private haulers to make a lot more money without giving a discount, because as a private company, they are not required to do so, and with Mayor Ayn Rand on your side, why worry?

The council vote was 4-4, and once again, the mayor voted for big business over citizens, and now we are all paying more for less service using Covid as an excuse, which ironically never shut any business down in this town.

And Paul seems to be embarrassed for me that I call him a hypocrite?

Christine Erickson Ethics Greg Neitzert Patrick Starr SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilor Erickson thinks it is a ‘Mystery’ that Councilor Neitzert is costing taxpayer’s up to $7,500 to defend him against an ethics complaint, a second time

l3wis 10Comments

I often chuckle when Erickson accuses Stehly of being the crazy one on the council. Kettle meet black. Tonight at the city council regular meeting when councilor Starr pulled the consent agenda item about the potential $7,500 legal fee for Neitzert’s ethics complaint for outside counsel defense Erickson accused Starr of releasing confidential information.

I about died laughing.

Starr encouraged her to read the Argus Leader. It is all there in black and white.

Once again, I was laughing.

Christine seems to think that since the public already knows there was an ethics complaint against Neitzert that was thrown out on a technicality that the public doesn’t know the 2nd time around it is also against him. Who did she think the 2nd complaint was against with the proper legal reference this time around? Bugs Bunny?

While none of us have seen it in writing it is against him, isn’t the writing on the freaking wall?! Duh!

But I guess we are all conspiracy theorists. Nope. We are realists.

Alex Jensen Christine Erickson Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

UPDATE III: Sioux Falls City Councilor Stehly asks for ‘Reasonable’ accommodations for the recount

l3wis 3Comments

Update III: Recount will happen at 9 am next Wednesday, June 24

UPDATE II: The one thing that often makes me laugh about the right wing talking machine is how stupid they think people are. The latest statement made me scratch my head from that POS blog 40 minutes to the North;

Sioux Falls City Councilors do receive a salary. And the word is that Theresa continues to get paid as long as this drags out.  I’m told that in addition to monthly car & cell phone allowances, councilors receive a paycheck which Theresa will still have coming in as long as this recount takes.

Does he realize, whether Theresa is on the council or Alex, they would both be getting paid. It really is a neutral sum. Taxpayers are still on the hook either way. He is really grasping at straws.

UPDATE: Theresa has confirmed the appointment of Retired Judge Rodney Steele for the neutral party representing the City Clerk in the recount. While I have never been keen on Judge Steele’s light sentence for Wild Bill for running over Randy Scott and blaming it on a Diet Coke, I still think he would be a fair juror. I just think if she keeps denying applicants, this could go down hill even more. Let’s get this recount on.

Thoughts?

I want you to know, I took a lot of joy in the fact that Stehly chose Randy as her attorney. It reaffirms her commitment to NON-PARTISAN government in Sioux Falls. It doesn’t matter what color of stripes her representative comes from, as long as they can put up the good fight. He will.

But it often harkens back to when I helped Councilor Erickson with the school start date campaign, and how she gathered up assistance from all stripes of the political spectrum, as she should have, now she seems to spitting and spattering out the tired old partisan hackery of Theresa being a (lifelong) Republican but asking someone of another party to help. Oh, Christine, how you have lost your way. And to think I had high hopes for you.

I hope and believe the laundry list below gets a good washing.

You have to remember, this is NOT a referendum on Big T and Alex, this is a referendum on the job City Clerk Tom Greco did. Remember, before Tom was hired he wasn’t even registered to vote (yet we asked him to run our elections). That’s kind of like asking a diesel mechanic to be in charge of the church bake sale.

While most will be rubbing their brows about the Jensen team (I am not, I expected this motley crew) Greco’s first choice of Jack Marsh left me baffled. I said to someone today, “Does Tom think Theresa is that stupid to accept his first choice?” Oh, Brother.

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