From siouxfalls.org
Lorie Hogstad, a former assistant city clerk and the current licensing specialist for the city, will become the new city clerk, Council chairwoman Sue Aguilar announced today.
I have been impressed by Lorie’s professionalism as the licensing specialist for the city. The only thing that worries me about Lorie is that she has worked for the city for 27 years, while her experience and knowledge is a good thing, it can also be a detriment to progress. The thing I thought gave Owen an advantage as city clerk was that she wasn’t a city person that wanted to play the reindeer games that long time city employees play. We will see how much transparency Hogstad will bring to the table, and the latitude she will have to utilize it. Take a deep breath and cross your fingers.
UPDATE: Here are some little known factoids about Lorie’s history working for the city
• Lorie can retire with 30 years of service so she can leave (if she chooses) in a few years.
• She may be bailing out the council because they really didn’t have a plan B. Why wasn’t another assistant city clerk appointed to the position?
• Lorie worked in the clerk’s office prior to 2006 when Debra Owen was appointed.
• Lorie was in line for the promotion BUT the council insisted that they follow Charter and appoint this position (not the mayor). In doing so, the council changed (beefed up) the job description and appointed Owen. (Actually they announced the change via a press release stating Owen would serve as their Chief of Staff.)
• De Knudson (Sue Aguilar’s mentor) never cared for Owen and wanted to get rid of her and put Lorie back into that position and reduce the scope of authority of the city clerk. Looks like De and Sue got there way.
changing subjects, My boy said Huether visited Harrisburg High School and gave a speech. I asked him what it was about and he wasn’t sure what the point was. He did say he talked about his dad dying of cancer. When I asked him if he faked cried, he laughed and was surprised that I asked him that because he and others thought he was faking it.
The wierder part was that he was talking to Harrisburg High School. Is he making a campaign trip to students outside sioux falls now. Are sioux falls taxpayers paying for him to make campaign visits? How many schools are on his list to visit? The questions keep coming
Majority of Harrisburg students live in SF.
New City Clerk………..
TWENTY-SEVEN years as a city employee………..
I am NOT optimistic about TRANSPARENCY!!!!!!!
CR – I would agree. While I think Lorie is a professional at what she does, I have often noticed she is good at washing her hands of things at meetings, always referring to the city attorney when the tough questions come her way. She is pretty good at staying clean.
I hope the money is worth it as I wouldn’t touch this job with a ten foot pole.
For being ‘Yes Woman’ she gets promoted. Like the last 2 fire chiefs, she’ll retire this year at 90% salary. It’s the usual city employee con. Retire at top level so your retirement is same as your present salary. Across the country, troubled local governments have gone to 75% retirement with 60% for new hires. When Huether discovers this is a way to raise events center money, city employees will get screwed like citizens.
City employees must realize they can’t sue the city because Code 2-62 doesn’t allow appeals into court. At least they’re smart enough that half live outside city limits where taxes are cheaper and services better.
I think Owen got paid $70,000 a year, which I thought was low, considering she wore many hats. I would be curious as to what Lorie will get paid, since the job has been toned down to ‘records keeper’.
… continuing OT with reply to dork:
HisManMike (TM) visited HHS:
a.) because the students learned more from him than from the mayor of ‘Mayberry’ … errr … Harrisburg.
b.) because he was already in town as part of double top secret negotiations designed to transplace the site of the third WalMart to a location south of future SD Hwy 100 and within the city limits of Harrisburg.
c.) see rufie’s repsonse (the households in which many of the students live are within the city limits of SF).
d.) because he is cultivating their votes as future newly-registered-voters, voter support which will come in handy in a couple of years when he is running for state-wide office (Governor; U.S. Rep.; U.S. Senator … take your pick).
e.) all of the above.
Next he will go on a statewide speaking tour.