Who is Councilor Theresa Stehly going to vote for?

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Trust me, if I had the answer to that question, I would let you know. I do know at this point she is undecided, and she has told me so. But I do think she is leaning towards one of them.

She has said she has had several wonderful private conversations with both. Mostly to lay out what her agenda will be on the council over the next two years. I think that is a good approach.

She told me she has to work with either and it would be unfair to endorse or even tell people who she is voting for, and I agree.

But let’s look at reality here folks, doesn’t matter if it is Jo or Paul, the council is the policy making board of the city, and you are going to see that happening. I think councilors Neitzert, Erickson, Starr, Stehly and Brekke would be the first to tell you they are going to take that bull by the horns come May 16. And if DeBoer wins (GO ZACH!) you will see another added to that team. It could become a very lonely place for Kiley and Selberg no matter who is sitting at city hall.

I think you will see one of the strongest councils since the new charter was formed. Be for warned, when you combine a strong legislative body with more open government, things are going to seem very messy for awhile, but this is what government is supposed to look like when it is out in the sunshine and not behind closed doors. I think all of the sausage making will be beneficial to the citizens in the end.

I sat down for 45 minutes yesterday with mayoral candidate TenHaken, we discussed many things like public input, public funding of the arts and the Pavilion, satire in politics and forensic audits and budgeting. I told Paul that it will be essential for the next mayor and council to put on the brakes in 2018 and start from scratch. Really take an in depth look at our finances before moving forward with any new fees, taxes or monument projects like baseball stadiums. I told him that I don’t think the citizenry will hold it against the mayor or the council for taking this year for a gut check, I think most would praise them for it.

I look forward to 2018 no matter who becomes mayor. And when there is missteps, I will make sure they are held accountable.

Former Central District Candidate Bardon ENDORSES Zach DeBoer for City Council

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This is a great endorsement for Zach, and I have a feeling he will get more throughout the week;

****For Immediate Release April 14, 2018 5:30PM****

Media Advisory

From the Thor Bardon for City Council Campaign

At this time Thor Bardon’s campaign releases the following statement:

It is a great please at this time to announce that Thor Bardon is officially endorsing Zach DeBoer for Central District City Council in Sioux Falls.

“After starting this campaign journey eight months ago, I have been consistently impressed by the campaign efforts of Zach DeBoer in his run for the Central District City Council position”, says Bardon, “His work ethic and drive are above and beyond what we normally see from a candidate.  This is evident in his active participation in several public boards, and community activism.  I believe with DeBoer in office, we will see a strong and independent leader that will listen to the public and change the Council for the better, without being influenced unfairly from developers or current city administrators.”

Sioux Falls City Council Race mash-up

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The city council races are starting to come together, but there are still some unknowns and variables.

Currently the Central District has three running in the race. I won’t rule out that more could get in that race, but probably unlikely.

Retired Firefighter and Insurance Salesman, Curt Soehl. I don’t know a whole lot about Curt, but what I have read on his FB page is that he was very pro-Huether and approved of his accomplishments and leadership style, which is unfortunate.

Thor Bardon. I believe Thor works in banking. Thor’s platform is workforce development and other social issues in our community.

Local art promoter and business owner, Zach DeBoer. Zach is heavily involved with the downtown culture and development.

At-Large has 3 candidates, but that could change.

John Paulson, former Sanford Executive and Planning Commission member who lost to Theresa Stehly in the last election will probably run the same ‘everything is wonderful and great in Sioux Falls’ campaign.

Janet Brekke, who is a former city attorney and currently a private attorney is challenging Paulson. I don’t know a lot about Janet, but I think we will learn more in the coming weeks since she has formerly announced.

Clara Hart has said she will run in the At-Large, but she could just as easily challenge Rick Kiley to get out of a crowded At-Large race (which may get more crowded). Clara lives in his SE district and may have a better chance in a two person race, and avoid a run-off.

As I said, Kiley has announced he will run for a 2nd term and has no challengers currently, I hope that changes.

Erickson hasn’t announced whether she is running for a 2nd term or not, she has said she will probably NOT run for mayor. But currently if Erickson did announce, she doesn’t have a challenger. I’m wondering if someone is waiting in the wings until Erickson announces. One of the bigger questions I have been asked over the past couple of weeks has been, “Will Erickson run for a 2nd term to begin with or is she busy trying to recruit someone to run for the seat?”

As you can see, we have about 5-1/2 months until the city election and the council races are still shaping up. Anything could change at this point.

Zach DeBoer Running for Sioux Falls City Council Central District

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Sioux Falls, SD – August 27, 2017 “I am proud to officially announce my candidacy for Sioux Falls city council, representing the Central District. It is my belief that if we want our city to continue to prosper and grow like it has over the past decade, we need to invest our time and resources into creating more walkable neighborhoods, increasing density in our core, and improving our modes of public transportation. I am a believer in government transparency and giving all citizens a voice in city government. As a business owner, artist, and community advocate I have been involved with a variety of boards and organizations all with the aim of helping improve our city. I am currently a member of the city’s Visual Arts Commission, the All Saints Neighborhood Association, and DTSF’s Design & Development Committee. I was also an active participant in the creation of the city’s cultural plan, ‘Sioux Falls Imagined’, as well as Downtown Sioux Falls’ ‘Downtown 2025 Plan’. I have been a strong advocate for public art as well as contemporary urban design within the city of Sioux Falls. I am excited for the opportunity to continue the phenomenal work done by previous councils and look forward to working together to build a greater Sioux Falls.”

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Zach DeBoer is the owner of Exposure Gallery & Studios, a contemporary art gallery and studio space that aims to use art as a tool for positive change in his community. Outside of the gallery, Zach works

This seat will be vacated by Michelle Erpenbach who is term limited.

Citizen street striping job gets painted over

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Remember this?

While the city claims that it is legal for Zach to do this because of the 80% approval from the neighborhood, one has to question the liability of the city and and safety concerns of having a citizen buying his own paint and standing in a public street painting stripes?

It’s bad enough citizens risk their safety trimming city owned trees in the boulevard now they have citizens striping the streets, something public works and the traffic department should have paid for and contracted after Zach did the legwork of the approval process. Are we so destitute for money in the city we now are having citizens buying and painting city streets?

I guess the city recently re-striped North Main, somehow they were able to scrape the money together, but ironically it wasn’t to touch up the job Zach did. The city repainted the parallel parking spots taking away the angled parking Zach created. So I guess the city has money to stripe the streets when they are covering up citizen’s hard work.

The city’s chief traffic engineer claimed they decided to go back to parallel parking because the Bakery closed. Huh? I guess they don’t think the place is ever going to reopen. Let’s face it, the real reason they painted over Zach’s work was to cover up the embarrassment of having a citizen do their job for them. Lazy asses.