Mike Huether; Poor Choice for Sioux Falls Mayor

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UPDATED: In all fairness to Mike, I have updated my comments about the EC.

While, I have been telling people, including, Mike Huether, that he is my second choice – after the past week, and things I have seen and heard, I no longer have a ‘second choice’.

Let’s not muddy the waters. Some things do not change.

FACT: Mike Huether was VP of Marketing for First Premier before quitting in June 2009 to pursue being mayor. He told me to my face that he quit at FP because he “Won’t do the bidding of T. Denny Sanford.” But let’s not be silly folks, the damage is done. As VP of marketing Mike was in charge of the marketing strategies for FP, he probably knew about how they targeted consumers, no, HE DID KNOW. I worked in the CC industry for 4 years as a mail piece and document designer, I knew a lot for being the low man on the totem pole. The CC industry is cloaked in secrecy, not just because of Federal Law, but because of trade secrets. Trust me, Mr. Huether was well aware of what he was doing, and he can say ‘Out damn spot’ all he wants, but it won’t go away.

Sure, he helped Sanford become a billionaire and he helped employ alot of people in Sioux Falls. But guess what, those strategies are now deemed illegal by the Federal government, and for good reason, they were bleeding their customers. Mike just can’t wash his hands of First Premier, I’m sorry, you participated in something that makes me not want to trust you and that is what scares me about a Huether administration.

I also have trouble swallowing some of the things he tells the public. In his Gargoyle Leader interview he told the Ed Board that he has been saving up for years to run for mayor. Yet he told me that he quit at First Premier because he wouldn’t do the bidding of Denny. So would Mike still be working at FP if he wasn’t worried about the perception of the public and the ‘business experience’ he achieved at FP? He is kinda like Costello in the realm of business, he loves to mention his experience but doesn’t tell people what that experience entailed. Pat likes to talk about burgers instead of meat-market bars and Mike likes to talk about ‘financial institutions’ instead of fee harvesting schemes.

When it comes to the Events Center, Mike says this; “I will present a palatable plan to the public, that touches on one point, and that is – let’s come up with a proposal to replace the existing Arena.” He also touches on funding, and says we can build a new EC for aroung $90 – $110 million. Mike does have some great ideas. He does agree that most residents are opposed to the current funding plan. He also suggests we can bond for the EC and use the BB & B tax. But in his AL interview he says he will introduce a plan once he becomes mayor. But why not NOW? I have told Mike in emails that it would actually help his campaign if he introduces a concise plan for the EC. Yvonne Hawkins (who sits on the Ed Board) even says to Mike that his proposal is ‘philisophical’ It seems she was trying, as I was, to get Mike to tell us his plan. He also would not promise a EC would get build during his administration. And he finishes by saying, “He will present a plan after he is elected mayor.” In an email to me he said this;

“Scott, if you don’t know me like you reiterate in your blog, then how can you attack me like you do?  No one has been more open than me on the Events Center Task Force proposal and future plans than me.  No one.”

He apparently was upset about this comment I made;

“That’s just it, that is all we have with Mike, is just his word, and I don’t think it is worth much. I sent him an email simply asking him to tell me his plan for the Events Center and he couldn’t do it. Why is that? That worries me.”

He talks about ‘ideas’ he has but still maintains that the task force needs to meet again and it is up to the voters. That’s not a plan, Mike, that is a suggestion. Leaders lead, they don’t make ‘suggestions.’

Just for the record, I have told Mike, on numerous occasions he is more then welcome to defend himself on my blog, with a guest post or even in the comments section. So before you start hollering at Detroit for being the big bad wolf, maybe Mike should build his campaign house out of bricks instead of straw. But what can you expect from a ‘straw man’


Posted in: Mike Huether, Sioux Falls Mayor Race

If you didn’t see this coming…

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…you must be blind, deaf, and incomprehensibly stupid. Time to find a new source of rainbows and unicorn farts.

The bill that would have allowed cities to raise a third penny sales tax for special projects was shot, hanged, poisoned, racked, gassed, lethally injected, drawn, quartered, and waterboarded by the House Local Government Committee.

While most of the arguments against the bill came from people saying they didn’t want to tax the poor to pay for something they’ll never use (a good argument), the main problem I have with funding a new EC with a sales tax is that it’s a crappy way to fund an entertainment building. Tax Bed, Board, and Booze instead. This will still give us enough revenue to build an EC without putting an undue burdon on people buying groceries or yet another set of clothing for a daughter who grows faster than our national debt.

The most unfortunate (and telling) part of the linked article is the paragraph quoting Jane Page of the State Department of Revenue.  She’d like to keep the option open for the state to raise sales taxes in the future without having to pile on top of increased local taxes.  I wonder how many legislators “can’t wait” to raise the sales tax to build all kinds of wonderful stuff.

Now that the city has to go back to the drawing board to come up with a workable idea, maybe they’ll be a little more open-minded about better locations and funding sources. If not, we’ll still be talking about building a new EC 20 years from now.

Posted in: Event Center, SF City Council, Sioux Falls, Taxes

On the fence

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I just got done reading Sue Aguilar’s website. She is running for SE district SF city council. I like some of her stances especially on road funding;

Infrastructure
Streets/sewer/water – the essentials of any good city government.  These basics are too often taken for granted, yet are one of the main functions of city government.  Currently, portions of the second penny sales tax, originally instituted many years ago to keep our streets maintained, have been used for other capital improvements.  While I am not opposed to using a small portion of this money, the majority of the dollars from this source must be used to make sure our streets are improved first.  Then and only then can we use any portion of this fund for other projects.

This is a tough choice, because I also believe Bob Christensen would make a good councilor. But, I will say this, the city council needs more women, and Sue isn’t a slacker;

Sue began her professional career in New York, where she held positions as a Government Bond Trader, Human Resource Executive, and Social Services Administrator.

This is a tough one.

Posted in: SF City Council

I actually got a letter published

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From the Argus Leader;

The upcoming Sioux Falls municipal election is important. But I’m not writing this letter to encourage you to vote for a certain candidate. There will be plenty of those suggestions from friends and relatives of the candidates. I’m writing this to encourage you to get informed and vote on April 13.

So what is the most important thing to do first? Register to vote. Today. If you are unsure about party affiliation, register independent. The municipal election does not have primaries, so your party affiliation is moot.

Remember, we will be voting in a mayor and four new councilors. At the least you will be voting for the mayor and the two at-large council seats.

Before researching the candidates, keep in mind that our next mayor and city councilors basically make decisions based on taxes/fees, budgets, city ordinances, infrastructure, code enforcement and customer service to citizens.

This isn’t about education, abortion, religion, gun rights or whether they were born in Kenya or Hawaii. This is important to keep in mind. It makes your decision process easier when you don’t cloud it with fringe issues, especially when the candidates want to talk about quality of life, rainbows and butterflies.

So remember, hiring a city councilor or mayor is like hiring a good accountant. It doesn’t matter if they are a Packers fan, just as long as they can handle your finances fairly, listen to your concerns and do it in a professional manner.

So where to begin?

First, ignore any and all advertising and testimonials directly from the candidates and their minions. As a person who has worked in advertising for almost 20 years, I can tell you this: It’s not all truthful.

The first place to start is reading candidates’ financial reports, which are listed online at www.siouxfalls.org/Council/Cityclerk/election_ information/2010_election. Investigate who is donating to the campaigns and do a Google search of those donors. Are they influential businessmen and women in the community, or are they community advocates? I can’t tell you whether to look on these associations as positive or negative, but I can tell you it is a good starting point.

ext, make a list of things you have concerns about in our community. Also, make a list of things you like about Sioux Falls. From that list, create questions you would ask candidates.

Finally, don’t wait for watered-down forums to meet and get to know the candidates. Get out your list of questions and either e-mail them or call and ask them the questions yourself.

Don’t be hornswoggled. Create a point system with your questions. If you like the way a candidate answered your question, give that person a 5. If you don’t like the answer, give the candidate a 1 and so forth.

Politicians are good at telling you what you want to hear, so if they can’t answer a simple yes-or-no question with a yes-or-no answer, they most likely have something to hide. Finally, after tallying the results, share them with friends and family and have a discussion about it. Debate among your peers is the best way to clean up the remaining cobwebs.

I cannot stress enough that this is an important municipal election. The country and Sioux Falls are struggling to pull out of a deep recession, and the people who will be holding the city’s purse strings literally will change overnight.

I encourage you to register, inform yourself and vote in the April 13 municipal election.

Posted in: Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls Mayor Race

Veteran’s Day post of the day

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(SD) The Volante

Nation at a crossroads this Veterans Day

By LeighAnn Dunn • November 11, 2009

Before the Iraq War, our nation had a policy of not striking a potential enemy unless our interests were clearly endangered of imminent attack.

The Iraqi invasion changed that policy.

This “first strike” standard also obligates our nation to another standard, which is to take extraordinary steps to prevent wars our leaders can see developing in the future. One threat we clearly see and can prevent is further damage from climate change. The U.S. Department of Defense, the CIA, the State Department and the National Intelligence Council see this threat and are all incorporating man-made climate change as a security threat into their long-term planning. Here are some climate change scenarios our nation’s top military minds are looking at:

• Climate change dries up water and creates famine. Nations panic. Wars erupt. American troops get deployed.

• Climate change makes sea levels rise, creating tens of millions of refugees. Refugee camps are ripe recruiting grounds for terrorist organizations.

• Climate change fuels radical storms to occur more frequently. This stretches military resources from their primary mission: defending America against our enemies.

Top military and intelligence authorities are working on strategies to respond:

•  In February the Pentagon and State Department will include a climate section in their next respective Quadrennial Review.

•  Last year, the National Intelligence Council said “global climate change will have wide-ranging implications for U.S. National security interests over the next 20 years.”

• This fall, the CIA launches a center on climate change to examine security risks.

This year’s Veterans Day finds our nation at a crossroads clouded by political wrangling. Lobbyists for oil and coal companies want to kill climate change legislation in Congress right now, because their clients get rich keeping things the way they are, even though our military and intelligence leaders know climate change will create a series of wars around the world.

Our nation spends $1 billion per day on crude oil from other countries, some of which are unstable or hostile to America’s security. American consumers are forced to help fund both sides of the war against terrorism. Add to the monetary costs the lives of American soldiers, like those who served with me in Iraq. Since 1973, we’ve known America remains threatened as long as we depend on foreign oil.

Our nation has a stronger obligation than ever before to avoid wars that can be prevented to preserve our national interests. I can think of no better response than to pass the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act in Congress, and put our nation in the leadership position to end this threat now.

LeighAnn Dunn

USD Graduate Student and member of the S.D. National Guard

Posted in: Veterans Day