I found out this morning that Bonita decided to run for city council. She will be running for the SE District seat, currently held by Sue Aguilar (Sue has not made a decision on whether to run or not for re-election) according to Bonita’s statement;

“The vast majority of the residents I talked to expressed their concern that the council is not representing them and not listening to them. There is frustration with voters. People want leaders who will represent their voice,” she said in a statement released Thursday. “I will make connecting with people and voicing their concerns a priority.”

Say what you will about Bonita, but her resume in government speaks for itself. She has a law degree from Drake Law School and an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Texas. She served as administrative assistant to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, overseeing several state departments and making recommendations to the governor on budget and policy.

I have met Bonita on several occasions, don’t be fooled, she is smart as a whip, and knows good government and policy. She will not be a cakewalk to debate.

I don’t have any inside track on whether Sue is seeking a second term or not. But I will say, if she decides not to run, they will be digging out some administration water carrier to run against Schwan.

Sue has been highly ineffective as a city councilor, besides getting her buddy David Bixler a job with the city and helping Erpenbach to master mind the termination of Owen with mayor Huether, she hasn’t really accomplished much (for the people). I would think someone who is retired would have plenty of time to take the part-time job as city councilor very seriously, but it seems she followed in the footsteps of Quen Be De, another retired person who was more concerned about watching the Olympics and getting to bed early then serving the city, and we know what happened to Knudson the last time she ran for council. Even if Sue decides to run, Schwan will wallop her. There are not many constituents that I talk to who have been pleased with Sue’s performance in that district.

Good Luck Bonita!

32 Thoughts on “SON organizer Bonita Schwan to run for SF city council

  1. To have success, though, she needs to come up with other issues. The public tends to be a bit skeptical of one-issue candidates.

  2. Titleist on January 2, 2014 at 5:06 pm said:

    In the interests of good government, has Bonita pledged to recuse herself from all issues related to SON and/or the new proposed south east side Walmart?

  3. hornguy on January 2, 2014 at 5:32 pm said:

    So potentially, the Southeast District will feature the ex-wife of a billionaire’s son versus an ex-Wall Streeter and the wife of an SVP at Citi.

    Way to own the stereotype, south siders. You should at least demand that all literature be four-color and on glossy paper. These ladies can certainly afford to self-fund, that’s for sure.

  4. How do these single stay at home moms support themselves?

  5. Bonita is very smart and will be a great Councilwoman if elected. She is far from a one issue candidate, however, the media will move steadily to label her as such, as the Argus did today with the headline “Walmart Opponents runs for Council”. They are steering the zoning/development debate to be entirely about Walmart, which is only 1 aspect to a much larger issue. They want it to be about Walmart because that’s the easiest way to distract the voters and polarize an issue. This will cause a class battle in our city between the working poor (who appreciate walmart low prices) and the higher incomes. I felt this first hand while collecting signatures to put the referendum on the ballot. The real debate is about the future and fate of our zoning standards. If stores can be as big as they want and open 24 hours and open up anywhere in town, even right in new housing developments, then what point is there to make zoning decisions at all? What is there to determine when any type of zone can border or surround another type of zone anyways? This city election will be VERY IMPORTANT and will DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF OUR CITY!

  6. Well said Scott and nice reporting DL.

    Your correct Titlest. All candidates need to be asked this and held to the a higher standard than our current snake mayor.

    Another solid effort at hate typing towards people you don’t know or share a city with hornyboy. You stay classy outsider.

    I had no idea she had this background. I thinks it’s high time someone kicked this rubber stamp Huether sycophant in the ass. She’s got my vote as I think Sue is a paper hat and anyone else would be better, but Bonita best have more than blocking Walmart as a platform.

    I wouldn’t disclose that shes a former Iowegian if I were here. 🙂

  7. I will let you all spout out whatever, that is what this platform is for. But I guarantee you, when Bonita starts campaigning, you will have a different opinion.

    I will say this, even if Bonita didn’t marry into the Schwan Family, I don’t doubt for one moment that she wouldn’t still be in the same position she is now.

  8. rufusx on January 2, 2014 at 10:07 pm said:

    Out-of-state law schooled, politically and financially well-heeled candidate will be JUST what the poor working stiffs of SF need to assure THIER point of view is represented. Sure – yeah – uh huh.

  9. rufusx on January 2, 2014 at 10:09 pm said:

    Emmet – don’t kid yourself – if was a Macy’s or a even a Target being planned – there would be NO SON.

  10. carhart605 on January 2, 2014 at 10:32 pm said:

    Bonita has impressed the heck out of me and I agree with her. The mayor and a majority of the council just aren’t listening to the people any longer. It’s time for a change and the change is coming city-wide.

    I challenge anyone to side with Hornguy’s attempt at portraying the “south siders” in a negative light after speaking with Bonita. These folks are fellow citizens and fellow South Dakotans. Come on man, that’s just crazy.

    Those who have met Bonita know this run is about more than just a 4th Walmart supercenter (to go with our 2 Super-Targets, Costco, Fairway, 4 Hy-Vees, Sunshine foods, Lewis’, Walgreens, Ace Hardwares, etc) across the street from her house. That’s not a conflict of interest, that’s called added incentive. Aguilar doesn’t stand a chance against this lady. Go get ’em Bonita!

  11. Titleist on January 2, 2014 at 11:02 pm said:

    Emmett: Bonita has nothing in common with the working poor. She doesn’t want them in HER neighborhood.

  12. Muqhtar on January 3, 2014 at 2:10 am said:

    We need a candidate who WANTS the working poor in their neighborhood! So… who will that be? Maybe I will run someday on that platform. Do the working poor even show up to vote? :/

  13. She is NOT a one-issue candidate. That is also the misunderstanding about the SON group. It isn’t just about WM. It’s about traffic, school boundaries and districts, floodplains, state highways, infrastructure upgrades, property rights, zoning rights, zoning, planning, citizen rights, transparency, censorship, public input and ordinances. This is a very multi-faceted issue, just like Shape SF 2014. Bonita will hardly be a One Issue candidate. We already had that with Sue.

  14. Poly43 on January 3, 2014 at 10:29 am said:

    Do the working poor even show up to vote? :/

    Interesting question. In the 2010 city vote the central district was double digit percentage points behind several precincts outside the interstate beltwayin turnout. Even more troubling is the fact that one in six of the 4380 some who did vote, marked NOTHING down between Theresa and erp. Most working poor just do not have the time to research issues. The argus does not help as we are bombarded with thorny issues like marathons and bikes.

    Bonita? A lock tight victory.

  15. rufusx on January 3, 2014 at 12:48 pm said:

    DL – so she has a background in urban planning? How many years of experience does she have at that profession? The 3 months of fighting Walmart we know about. Anything else? Bueller? Anything? Anyone? What special interest groups did she lobby for in Iowa?

  16. South DaCola,

    A few thoughts/questions with regard to your post.

    1) It is notable that Bonita would like to listen to people she would potentially represent, but unfortunately, that is the easy part of the job for an elected official. The tough part is when a decision must be made. It seems that Bonita’s, and possibly your, characterization of the public is that the masses are in full agreement and speak with one voice all of the time. Unfortunately, that is never the case, and as a political figure, you must represent the majority, or at least, the point of view that resonates with you as an elected representative the most. This will never be a job that satisfies everyone, so inevitably someone will not be happy with the decision you have made. This situation would also be true for you or Bonita if you held the City Council seat. Please keep in mind that just because your viewpoint was not the one that won, that doesn’t mean Democracy is dead or that there is a dictatorship, it just means you lost the debate or vote. If everyone did what you wanted, that would actually be a dictatorship and also would mean that you were the dictator.

    2) I have worked for a number of years and never have I seen an administrative assistant oversee any departments or make any substantive recommendations on budgets or policy. Usually, the admin assistant helps to support the person who is doing those things, but mostly in an administrative way, like managing a calendar or typing correspondence. Let’s not get carried away with suggesting an administrative assistant has some sort of governing experience.

    3) When you say “But I will say, if she decides not to run, they will be digging out some administration water carrier to run against Schwan.” Who is the “they” you are referring to? Are you suggesting that there is some sort of conspiracy theory around local City Council elections? I’m pretty sure the voters still pick the elected officials.

    4) Although I believe your characterization of Sue Aguilar is entirely flawed and based in fantasy, my question to you is what would a successful, highly effective City Councilor look like in your opinion? What would your vision be of someone who is “doing it right”? I ask because although it is easy to make unsubstantiated, broad-sweeping, anonymous swipes at an elected official, it is much more difficult to specify, and then execute, what “success” would look like and ultimately be in reality.

    In closing, I appreciate that you are engaged in the political discussion and have an opinion, but I would also encourage you to use your political forum for something that ranks above soapbox tabloid status. I would encourage you to do research, use facts, and then demonstrate that research and those facts with substantive evidence and footnoting. If all you are doing at the end of the day is spouting your opinion based on nothing more than the pseudo-reality you have conjured up in your mind, then your contributions to the conversation are not differentiated from those of a child who has a strong opinion on Santa Claus or unicorns. It’s like my friend used to say, “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and they stink.”

  17. DaCoffee –

    1) I think most intelligent people, or at least people who have a pulse understand that when a politician says they ‘will represent the citizens’ they mean ‘the majority’ of citizens. It is impossible to please everyone, but it’s not that difficult to be ‘fair’ to citizenry. Something that doesn’t happen very often since Home Rule took over in Sioux Falls.

    2) You of course would have to get specifics from Bonita on that. But I do know that she was an integral part of his administration by conversations I have had with people who know her. You must be pretty naïve to think that administrative assistants don’t do or know much, and just follow orders. Sometimes they know and do more then the ones they serve, and are responsible for a lot of decisions made in that office. I know many people who have held this kind of position in the private sector and in the public sector, and can’t remember any of them ever telling me they only did what they were told, they had to make tough decisions each day, or they wouldn’t have a job.

    3) This has happened many times. In fact it happened in the last city council election. One candidate was being recruited to run against Staggers and promised ‘campaign help and donations’ he felt uneasy about it, because he knew where the marching orders were coming from, so Knudson was asked to carry that water. Ellis and I both put together stories about it. So if you think it is unsubstantiated, think again. It happens, quite a bit.

    http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2012/06/my-suspicions-about-the-sd-democratic-trying-to-assist-municipal-candidates-are-confirmed/

    4) I have received plenty of evidence from current and past city employees and other councilors about ‘what’ Sue does. Agree or disagree with her positions, isn’t really my point, my point is that she has just been a seat warmer. Her biggest accomplishment was helping to organize volunteers to help with the BIN campaign. You may have supported the EC and think that is a great thing, I for one didn’t think councilors or the mayor should have been involved on the front lines of EC promotion.

    So I hope I have supplied enough ‘evidence’ for you. I have followed city government for over 10 years, I think I have plenty of ‘knowledge’ when it comes to how it operates, knowledge that comes from experiencing it first hand. I also here from a lot of citizens, and have around 12,000 individual readers a day. As for this comment,

    “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and they stink.”

    Ironically, the ones that stink the most come from anonymous commenters on blogs. If you want me to heed your advice, next time, at least use your real name.

  18. I’m taking a shot in the dark but me thinks DaCoffee is on the payroll of Dacity.

  19. Oh wait DL your forgetting when she rode on Daplane with Damayor to meet with railroad top bras in MN. She was very instrumental in informing the public of the meeting findings. When the mayor spoke, she nodded.

    A seat filler… HA. More like Huetherism by proxy.

  20. Oh Gosh I just can’t resist 1 more.

    DaCoffee… I think you forget to end your post with your usual catch phrase. “Make it a great day Sioux Falls”.

  21. rufusx on January 4, 2014 at 12:28 am said:

    DL –

    1. “representing the people” actually has a different context to what “most people” take it to mean. It does NOT mean reflecting the opinion of the majority. THAT can be done with polling – THAT is a sheet in the wind approach to governance.

    What a “representative” form of democracy really means is that instead of everything being up for a vote of the entire populace – that a “representative” sample – or “symbolic” group acts as a substitute for PURE democratic decision making. That a congress – or council “represents” (like a photo of an object represents the actual object) the people – SYMBOLICALLY.

    2. None-the-less – administrative assistants have NO decision making authority – OR responsibility.

    3. But you still haven’t said who “they” are – and what their agenda is.

    4. So. IYPO, councilors shouldn’t have personal opinions or act on them?

    Finally – as has been pointed out to you on numerous occasions, 12,000 PAGE VIEWS does NOT = 12,000 PEOPLE.

  22. LJL, I will give credit, where credit is due, Huether says, “He doesn’t read the blogs.” and I believe him 🙁

  23. Your right Ruf, I should clarify, I have 40-60,000 page views a day.

  24. OldSlewFoot on January 5, 2014 at 8:11 pm said:

    DL – you would have to post some analytics for me to believe you have even 1/100th of the traffic you just stated. That is 27 hits a minute 24 hours a day. You can not click on your own site that many times without wearing out a mouse, can you? That is 100 times the traffic the KELOLAND Auto Mall get.

  25. 85th stuckee on January 6, 2014 at 7:03 pm said:

    most of you guys think its a class war, thanks for the BS. Hornguy you have to be pleased the rich in this town go and pay for SF symphony tickets so you can live pretty good. Detroit Lewis, thanks for the sanity, Sue Agulair is a putz, can you hear Walter Matthau saying it while tossing a fish in her back seat. Bonita is strong, she and Greg Jamison would make a great team to ensure this city won’t look like other cities that tossed zoning out the door and wine and dined the developers. Can you imagine what this town would have looked like with Craig Lloyd standing in the back of the council meetings, flashing $100 dollar bills and getting the council to vote on anything he wanted. Well gees, the

  26. 85th stuckee on January 6, 2014 at 7:03 pm said:

    most of you guys think its a class war, thanks for the BS. Hornguy you have to be pleased the rich in this town go and pay for SF symphony tickets so you can live pretty good. Detroit Lewis, thanks for the sanity, Sue Agulair is a putz, can you hear Walter Matthau saying it while tossing a fish in her back seat. Bonita is strong, she and Greg Jamison would make a great team to ensure this city won’t look like other cities that tossed zoning out the door and wine and dined the developers. Can you imagine what this town would have looked like with Craig Lloyd standing in the back of the council meetings, flashing $100 dollar bills and getting the council to vote on anything he wanted. Well gees, the

  27. 85th stuckee on January 6, 2014 at 7:10 pm said:

    game is never ending with the money people. I sure hope the Social program experiment Shape Places does not get passed as it will surely dictate the poor neighborhoods will only get more houses demolished when our fire dept goes into the poor rentals with the smoke detectors and starts declaring unfit, unfit, and then they build more big apartment complexes just like the bronx in NY 40 to 50 years ago, what a cycle this will be for history.

  28. date #reqs #pages
    Jan/ 1/14 28100 15127
    Jan/ 2/14 31417 14043
    Jan/ 3/14 30447 14151
    Jan/ 4/14 28455 13629
    Jan/ 5/14 26991 12244

    This is just for January so far. ‘Pages’ refers to individual users. You also must realize that Google is my #1 referral, so a lot of people come across my site accidentally looking for other images and topics. One time I posted a Scooby Doo picture, and my hits went thru the roof. I would guess by these stats my ‘TRUE’ Sioux Falls or SD readership is around 4-5,000.

  29. teatime on January 6, 2014 at 8:16 pm said:

    Great, News! Bonita certainly is qualified to do the job. Her analytical and problem solving skills are second to none. If she worked for Branstad, that says a lot. He was a very good governor of Iowa when I lived there. She will do a better job of representing the voters in this sector of Sioux Falls. It’s too bad, however, that she was called “Walmart opponent”. The issues are about appropriate zoning and traffic, not a particular brand of supercenter. These zoning decisions affect the entire city and I believe she has concerns about all sectors.

  30. “‘Pages’ refers to individual users.”

    lol. No… no it doesn’t.

    I’ve discused this nonsense before as have several other people, but you keep on telling the same story, so I can only assume you don’t like to admit your actual number of unique visitors is VASTLY lower than you would like to admit. In fact, I’d put money on you getting fewer than 500 unique visitors in a day (perhaps significantly less).

    What pages is telling you is your number of pageviews. This means if I visit your primary site, then I click on a blog post, then I add a comment, then I refresh to see said comment, then I click to another blog post… I have just added at least five pageviews to the site. It doesn’t take long for a single user to rack up a few dozen pageviews in a few minutes.

    As far as requests, one single page can generate multiple requests as each graphic can indicate a request. So one single page can lead to several requests.

    The only way to know your number of unique visitors would be to do some form of tracking via cookies. Cookies aren’t perfect and won’t give you absolute accuracy (for instance if two people share one PC, you would think it is one unique visitor) but they are much more accurate than pageviews, hits, requests, or anything else.

    You could try to base your visitor count based upon IP address, but considering proxy servers and cache servers and webcrawlers or search engines you would still end up with a fictional number. Thus cookies are your best option.

    Put this into perspective Scott. Keloland.com managed to capture around 215,000 – 300,000 unique visitors in the last 30 days depending upon which site you check. You are trying to suggest in a 30 day period, that you have more than 415,000 (based upon your averages above).

    Not bloody likely.

    Besides, unless you are paying for detailed site analytics from your provider (not even sure GoDaddy offers such a thing but it isn’t part of their standard hosting package) and/or paying a third party analytics company, you aren’t going to get anything beyond pageviews or requests with perhaps a rough estimate of visitors based upon those values.

    Compare your Alexa rating and traffic yourself and then tell me you honestly get more than 12,000 unique visitors a day. If you seriously believe that, it simply proves you don’t know how this whole ‘interwebs’ thing works.

    Here is a good starting point: https://siteanalytics.compete.com/keloland.com/

    P.S. – when I click this little ‘submit’ button, I am going to increase your pageviews and your requests. Just giving you a heads up.

  31. Craig, thanks for the advice. Are you going to send me an invoice? 🙂

  32. With all the bandwidth I cost you… we can just call it even.

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