Either Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken wants to be my youth pastor, fitness instructor or my adoptive dad because he had a lot of fatherly advice for me as I left the meeting last night, to which I replied, ‘Thanks Dad!’ He sarcastically told me that I had a lot of constructive input (he purposely walked out of the meeting during my general public input and waited for me to leave the meeting in the lobby with two other tough guy city employees). While being extremely thin skinned (which I always knew) he is starting to turn into the last mayor who used to like to accost people after the meetings in the parking lot. I called him ‘Picking fights Mike’. Maybe Poops needs to look into getting a Medical MJ card so he can take something to relieve his stress?
I have often been puzzled why elected officials take criticism about policy so personal? It has nothing to do with you personally, it has to do with your policy decisions as a paid public official in that capacity. If you want to wear sneakers and have a mohawk, I really don’t care. Plow the streets and fill the potholes Converse All Star.
I think what triggered his frowny face was when I testified against raising the mayor’s salary and the salaries of the city council 30% in one year. They already get inflationary raises (you know, like the rest of us and union city employees). The argument from do nothing councilor Marshall Selfish is that the Mayor should get paid the same as the directors and he is the CEO of the city and that most CEO’s in Sioux Falls make $260K a year. That is actually the top of the scale in Sioux Falls, it averages around $140K. (The mayor makes $130K now and they want to raise it to $195K – Ironically $1 per resident – where the number really came from. How 3rd grader of them). Either way, the Mayor is NOT a CEO and should not be compared to someone running a for-profit corporation (I also pointed that out and that the directors get paid too much). I still think this will fail at the ballot box by over 60%. If the mayor doesn’t like what he makes as the mayor, maybe he can just resign and return to the private sector. He certainly isn’t doing us any favors especially when he is cocking off to constituents in the lobby of Carnegie (That’s usually a 2nd term thingy).
I was also very vocal on other issues like the attorney bounce back rule (ridiculous). This was the testimony that seemed to put Poops over the top. He stared me down for several minutes when I returned to my seat and called me some name by mouthing it at me. I couldn’t make it out but I’m sure it wasn’t GOOD JOB. I was surprised he could even do that with 12 Werther candies in his mouth. But I’m no DUMBASS, I know Poops hates public input, it seems to enrage him.
I have never understood why people run for office then get upset when citizens are critical of the jobs they are doing and wondering why they don’t get paid more. If it bothers you that much, please resign immediately and go back to the private sector where everyone stuck their nose up your ass because you signed their pay checks. In the public sector, we are your boss, not the other way around.
SIDE NOTE: A citizen who attended the meeting last night parked in an open parking spot right behind Carnegie (where they normally park for meetings at around 5:45). They told me when they parked there was NO tow away bag on the pole, but when they got to their car after the meeting the bag was there. They just drove off (no ticket on windshield) and this morning the bag was gone. This citizen spoke also at the meeting and not in a praise be god sorta way.
I also spoke during public input at the 4 PM Informational Meeting about affordable housing towards the end of the meeting.
