Mayor Kooiker continues to surprise me every day;

Kooiker, who estimated he personally collected about 400 signatures, said he was pleased that the City Council’s decision to approve $180 million in bonds for a new civic center arena will be put to a public vote.

What I find amazing about what Sam did, is that not only did he support a public vote, he helped collect signatures. This is in stark reality to our mayor who told everyone he supported snow gates, but when asked to sign the petition to put them on the ballot, he refused, as did many local politicians, including our Secretary of State elect Shantel Krebs, who told petition gathers after refusing to sign, “Initiatives/referendums should be illegal in South Dakota.” Interesting statement from the person that is now in charge of our elections 🙁

I want to commend Mayor Kooiker for standing up for democracy in South Dakota and setting an example for other elected officials who don’t really understand the process that well.

11 Thoughts on “Rapid City Mayor helps collect signatures to put Civic Center on ballot

  1. Dan Daily on December 29, 2014 at 10:08 am said:

    Unlike Sioux Falls, Rapid has a democratic form of government. It’s not strong mayor. He participates rather than dictates. Public input at council meetings is responded to. The council is not quelled. It’s refreshing to know constitutional liberty thrives on the west side of the state. Hopefully, west river will see Huether for what he’s about when he runs for higher office.

  2. Kelly Lieberg on December 29, 2014 at 10:17 am said:

    One attributable link too few. Seemed easy enough…

  3. Oh Kelly, I give credit when it is due. If you want to read BJ stories here about politicians or government please, stop reading my site and go to Stormland TV’s site instead. In fact, they think so highly of our Mayor they invited him to their employee Christmas party where he did several photo ops.

  4. Eyes Wide Open on December 29, 2014 at 2:00 pm said:

    I as well as most of my friends have discontinued watching Kelo as they are soooo openly biased and in the back pocket of MMM and Sanford. They have completely lost their credibility as a news source. They have simply become cheerleaders for big money, Sanford, and MMM. They do not cover all sides of city issues. They approve and put for the mayor’s approved agenda. Often they ignore other important news to accomplish their cheers for city hall. They have reached the lows of the national media.

  5. My Mistake Mike on December 29, 2014 at 4:57 pm said:

    I ran across this Facebook post from the mayor of Rapid City over the weekend. HE GETS IT!

    Sam Kooiker: “And their new event center is nice, and already too small. Sioux Falls built for 2013, when they should have built for 2025. Our proposed 15k fixed seat arena (19k if the floor is filled with chairs), if approved by Rapid City voters, will take the Black Hill into the future, and allow us to host conventions and expand LNI, BH Powwow, Stock Show and other events for our entire region.”

  6. That, and they will probably make room for a couple of hotels instead of pawn shops.

    Well, if it is any concellation, our EC will probably fall over by 2025.

  7. Dan Daily on December 29, 2014 at 6:04 pm said:

    KDLT is better news but there’s still not enough local coverage. They could capture the market (KDLT land). NBC programming is better than CBS. I’ve deleted KELO from my TV’s channel scan.

  8. Yes, and the Rushmore Civic Center had Elvis for the first concert. So far our Event Center hasn’t had anything in it that can compare with that. A couple months after Elvis performed at the Rushmore, he was dead.

  9. Jackilope on December 30, 2014 at 11:28 am said:

    Elvis performed at the Sioux Falls Arena that same year. I had friends that drove to SF to see him, I wasn’t a fan and didn’t go. Have a shadow of regret, sorta, for not seeing the show. Having some real regret for casting my first vote for MMM, though.

  10. SF Resident on December 31, 2014 at 10:33 am said:

    A community which elects a mayor like Kooiker is the very reason West River South Dakotans will never support Mike Huether for any state-wide office.

    All those palms he’s greased in Sioux Falls are not going to amount to enough votes for him to further his future political plans.

  11. I tell people to never underestimate Huether, while he is greasing the wheels of the SDDP (rumor has it he is one of the biggest donors to the monthly Founder’s club) the SDGOP will have a blistering primary, I suspect at least 4-6 candidates. And the media, he is going around town proclaiming ‘Joe Bob’ journalist day to every TV station in town.

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