briggs-profile-min

Hi, I’m Briggs Warren, don’t confuse me for my older opponent Greg Neitzert. Even at the ripe age of 18, I’m my own man, heck, and I have been registered to vote longer then our city clerk, who just retired from the military.

Like a lot of SD Democrats (or at least the younger ones) in order to get elected under the ‘D’ symbol, they take ideas from their conservative opponents and somehow twist them into their own values. Huether pulled that crap on Staggers, taking some of Kermit’s best ideas and values and making them into his ‘issues’. (Snowgates, better infrastructure, building an EC without raising taxes). It seems Briggs is pulling the same tricks, not just by duplicating Greg’s website format, but most of his ‘issues’.

Warren’s Website

Neitzert’s Website (which has been up for several months)

Warren on Transparency; An Informed citizenry is crucial to a democracy and without transparency, we can not have either. That is why one of my top priorities will be to ensure nothing is hidden away behind legal documents unable to be viewed by the very people they concern.

Neitzert on Transparency; Transparency will be a top priority for me. Trust is only gained and preserved with transparency. Secrecy is antithetical to a good government. We cannot ask citizens to pay for city government and tell them they have no right to know what we are doing with their money. We need to strive to avoid arrangements that allow for confidential agreements and settlements whenever possible. We need the council and citizens to be informed as fully and as early as possible.

Warren on Fiscal Policy; At the end of the day, the money used to run this city is your money.  With the tax money collected, we need to make sure that it’s used responsibly and that we don’t spend more than we have. It’s important to the city’s future that we don’t burden ourselves with unnecessary debt.

Neitzert on Fiscal Policy; I take a conservative approach to fiscal policy. I believe the money you work so hard for is your money. Raising taxes and user fees should be a last resort. As a city, we need to provide vital services and a quality of life that citizens have come to expect. However, we must balance that with being fiscally responsible. When government is entrusted with your money, it must be as careful with it as possible. We must also be very conservative with debt. We need to pay off city debt when we can. We need to be very cautious about taking on new debt. We should always strive to find ways to pay as we go. The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging. We need to avoid new debt whenever possible.

Warren on Zoning; Sioux Falls is growing, and that’s great! What’s not great is megastores being built across the street from residential homes. We need to make sure we protect residential homeowners from having their neighborhoods destroyed by commercial development. I believe we can do this while still allowing Sioux Falls to grow and it will be one of my top priorities in office.

Neitzert on Zoning; Zoning is a top priority for me because it is critical – it protects and preserves neighborhoods and the investment citizens have made into their homes and private property. Sioux Falls is a vibrant, growing city. We must encourage growth and redevelopment. However, we must also protect existing uses, neighborhoods, and homes. Protection of existing single family uses must be paramount. That will be my guiding philosophy. Encroachment of commercial development into existing residential neighborhoods is a major concern. Zoning is one of the most important and most common items the City Council addresses.

Warren on Infrastructure; The backbone of any city is its infrastructure. While it may not be exciting to talk about it is the most important part of our city and should be treated as such. The fact is South Dakota weather is tough on our road system; we need to look into ways of extending the usable life of the roads we have and invest in the best materials possible. Other cities have been able to extend their roads during harsh winters and its time for Sioux Falls to follow suit.

Neitzert on Infrastructure; Infrastructure is the most critical and basic of services our city provides. Roads, water, and sewer are core functions of our city. As our city grows, we must continue to expand our road system. In this region, road repair and reconstruction is a constant reality. We need to aggressively fund road maintenance and reconstruction to stay ahead of it. We need to repair roads not only in our main corridors, but in neighborhoods where they have aged and deteriorated.

I think it is great that Warren admires Greg’s conservative approach to city government as a registered Democrat, but instead of running against Greg, maybe he should be volunteering for his campaign?

25 Thoughts on “Duplication is the best form of flattery? New council candidate in Northwest District

  1. They raise similar points, but surely, if those are issues that the electorate chime with, it is a good thing, right?

    I’ve had a good look at both sites and I think Briggs looks like the more promising candidate, since he has youth on his side. The popularity of Trump and Sanders just goes to show that the electorate are looking for something different, and with no offence to him, Greg comes across as rather bland.

    I also don’t think it’s reasonable for you to suggest that Briggs copied Greg’s website format as Briggs’ website looks very different and a lot more professional, in my opinion.

    I’m sure both Briggs and Greg have more policies and ideas than just the ones listed on their websites.

  2. Elliot, sure, those are some mainstream ideas, except for the fact that Greg actually wrote all of those himself.

    I will agree, youth is a good thing, and I’m glad he is giving it a shot (and it helps to have friends like you vouch for him 🙂 but Greg has been following city government before Briggs finished his first season of T-Ball. Greg has also served on 3 different zoning boards and is considered the citizen encyclopedia of Shape Places and zoning in Sioux Falls. He has also helped with many issues and projects behind the scenes in Local Government.

    You are right, Greg isn’t flashy, but he’s smart, knowledgable, honest and a straight shooter. We already have enough talkers in city government, we need some doers.

  3. anominous on February 10, 2016 at 11:44 pm said:

    Is there a way 2 donate straight cash? thanx

  4. He’s 18. That alone makes him an expert on everything. Have you ever known a teenager that didn’t know it all?

  5. My Mistake Mike on February 11, 2016 at 9:03 am said:

    The kid needs to get a job. I see the new WalMart is hiring.

  6. The D@ily Spin on February 11, 2016 at 9:17 am said:

    He’s to young. To fix the damage Huether caused, he had to have watched it happen. He was 11 when the mayor took office. Greg will curb Huether for the rest of his term. Present Councilors are controlled. Huether would just ground this kid or take away his allowance. Briggs is a good name for politics. Come back in 5 years after you’ve registered for selective service, had a few beers, and got laid a few times.

  7. FeelingBlueInARedState on February 11, 2016 at 10:13 am said:

    I’m happy he’s running. Good for Briggs! An intrepid young man who is interested in making the world a better place…I’m certainly not going to pour any water on that fire. Does Greg have more experience? – yep.

    Young people can do amazing things.

  8. Umm, just FYI – the Walmart location at 85th/Minn was NEVER zoned residential, nor was it designated as any6thing other to potential commercial development on the long-range comprehensive plan. On the other hand – the SON single family houses were built on what was ALWAYS zoned multi-family on both the comprehensive plan – AND by zoning. If there was any “encroachment” going on there – it was done by the builders of the single-family homes onto multi-family zoning.

  9. Voter Taxpayer on February 11, 2016 at 9:09 pm said:

    This kid needs to move out of mom and dad’s house and get some “life” experience before he thinks about being one of eight votes controlling millions of public tax dollars!

    After watching the piece KSFY did on him today, Kudos to him for getting other 18 year-olds registered to vote.

    But, quite frankly, I think he’s more interested in the personal attention he’s receiving from a run for the Council than he is in true public service.

  10. Good for young Mr. Warren! So often the younger generations get beat up for a multitude of reasons…apathy among them. Young voters should be encouraged to get involved in government because they have unique and fresh viewpoints and insights and deserve a voice in the game. I wish him good luck.

  11. The D@ily Spin on February 11, 2016 at 10:17 pm said:

    Rufus makes a sound point. The real problem is to many Walmarts. They’re closing 164 stores nationally. This one, like the northwest one, is overkill. It’s sad that a community was destroyed by a huge (soon to be abandoned) retail failure. It can be repurposed but residential values will never recover. You’d think there’d be awareness regarding real estate tax valuation. Our politicians and city planners are not wise enough to foresee this. After all, it’s common sense they seem to lack.

  12. “This kid needs to move out of mom and dad’s house and get some “life” experience before he thinks about being one of eight votes controlling millions of public tax dollars!”

    Tell that to Jenna Haggar

  13. @anominous If you were asking about how to donate to Briggs, there is a donate form on his website.

    @Elliot I don’t actually know Briggs, i’m not even from America, but I saw this article then did some research into both candidates before posting.

    @Voter Taxpayer Maybe Briggs has an uphill battle convincing voters that he is a safe bet, due to his age, but i’m sure he would be just as good in the position as anyone else. I fear you might be projecting when you say that you think he might be more interested in the personal attention rather than an interest in public service.

  14. anominous on February 12, 2016 at 9:56 am said:

    I already put the Bills in the DvdR0m tray but.. it don’t except them whin I click on it ..They donot go thru,.. And they stil all in it I even got my ferst1st peirmere card in there to.,.

  15. Teatime on February 12, 2016 at 4:40 pm said:

    “Bland” or “not bland” is not a qualification to be a council member. Experience is a qualification and Greg has that. He will prevail over Briggs because of that.

    But, Briggs should seek the attention. That will open some doors to allow him to get experience on committees, speaking before the council, etc. so he can get that experience and we’ll check him out later.

    Greg knows a LOT and I am very impressed with his abilities. From my perspective, he is young enough to still have youth on his side.

  16. Teatime on February 12, 2016 at 4:55 pm said:

    Rufusx walmarter: you don’t live here, so who cares. But think about this: someday SF will want to annex Tea. Only a few short miles and an industrial park separate them now. Before long industrial or commercial will merge with the east side of Tea. How will that go down? Will Tea residents just roll over to planning and zoning and be satisfied with a belly scratch to feel good?

    SON may seem like a pain in the neck, but walk in our shoes and you’d understand. Win,lose,or draw fighting City Hall is worth it.

  17. D-Spin – FYI, most of those Walmarts that are closing in the US are/were “experimental” store-fronts – not the supercenter types. Here’s the list.

    102 Walmart Express stores,
    6 discount centers,
    12 Supercenters,
    23 Neighborhood Markets,
    4 Sam’s Clubs,
    7 Amigo stores in Puerto Rico.

    Ever been to a Walmart Express? It’s more or less a convenience store. Likewise the Neighborhood Markets, and Amigos. That leaves 16 larger stores.

  18. sierra broussard on February 13, 2016 at 12:02 pm said:

    im supporting greg jamison for mayor

  19. Sierra, I wish you could have met the late great Janoct before he died!

  20. sierra broussard on February 13, 2016 at 2:07 pm said:

    who is Janoct

  21. An amazing pot stirrer in SF that died last year. He ran for mayor I think 3x. I think you two would have hit it off as friends.

    http://www.southdacola.com/blog/?s=janoct

  22. sierra broussard on February 14, 2016 at 9:06 am said:

    Is that a good or bad thing a pot stirrer in SF?

  23. sierra broussard on February 14, 2016 at 9:10 am said:

    I looked at the blogs about him and he was a amazing interesting man

  24. Johnny Roastbeef on February 14, 2016 at 9:42 pm said:

    “This kid needs to move out of mom and dad’s house and get some “life” experience before he thinks about being one of eight votes controlling millions of public tax dollars!”

    Tell that to Jenna Haggar

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Best comment this year! Killing it! Nice one l3wis!

  25. death to corrupt government on February 16, 2016 at 11:07 am said:

    I pity the fool breathing in vaporized big poo for photo op.
    I went to 4th of July with that dumb MMM parade once when owner here was making
    fun of the parade.

    What better place to handout a pulled pork and a pop to greedy cheap SDakotans than in a highly fecal coliform area.
    More revenue for sanford and avera.
    1/2 a million for cuttin some grass,goddamn the city.

    IAaL
    BBG

    I am going to give the russians lat and long. of SF so
    they can blow it off the map first.

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