Well, it hasn’t been a secret that Christine Erickson is running for mayor. She confirmed the news with me over a month ago but was working out logistics before announcing. We actually had a long and productive conversation. I pretty much told her it was ‘hers to lose’ unless some dark horse business person announces. I also asked her feelings about working with council and she pretty much said she will stay out of their way unless they ask for assistance from the mayor’s office. Now, granted, all mayoral candidates say that, and never deliver, because the power goes straight to their heads and it irks them that 8 part-time councilors are telling them how to run a city. They are not, they are proposing a framework you should follow. I think Christine will be more sympathetic because of her legislative and council experience. But, she knows all the tricks on how to hide things from council. I’m not sure who else will announce. Beck and Huether still seem to be hold outs, at this point, and many others have said they will likely NOT run. Former DTSF director, Joe Batcheller will also likely announce soon.
*I assisted Erickson in the past on FREE youth public transit initiative and school start date initiative.
“Say, should we start a rumor that she is related to Paul?…. No, not the mayor, the other Paul
“
So, as she is indeed a viable candidate, will our moody Mayor slam her like he treated Theresa or help to fund her campaign?
As mayor, will she be putting her Airbnb interests in a blind trust so there’s no conflict of interest? I mean, will she use the Carter approach, like he did with his peanut farm, or will she use the Trump approach?
Because, I could see a lot of conflict of interest issues with a mayor who owns Airbnbs and also oversees Zoning and the Planning Commission, and will have obvious influence over the Council as well…
( and Woodstock adds: “You know, Trump explained a “blind trust” to Stormy once, but she wouldn’t put them on,…. Well, that’s what I heard” …..
)
Sioux Falls mayors do NOT have to close their businesses, or place them in trusts. They simply cannot vote, or participate in discussions without disclosing their conflicts, The only rule they must follow, they have to remove themselves from the conversation.
I just reviewed the 2022 gubernatorial race in South Dakota, looking only at how well both Noem and Smith did in Sioux Falls precincts only, which are found in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties.
Noem beat Smith in Sioux Falls by a slim margin of 50.9 to 49.1% (36,068 to 34,795). Noem carried the Lincoln County precincts with 56% of the vote, while Smith carried the Minnehaha County precincts with 50.68%.
Now, given this outcome, I do believe that Erickson is more popular than Noem, so the task for Smith to beat Erickson is a higher bar than the one he had against Noem in ’22.
What Smith has going for him in a ’26 mayoral race, however, is the potential of a blue wave, but it’s questionable as to whether that will be sustained and whether it can be sustained beyond the primary election, and assuming a then run-off between Erickson and Smith. Because I don’t believe any mayoral candidate in this race will get over 50% in the first election cycle.
I believe Erickson’s greatest weakness is misogyny, which is something that Noem definitely faced in ’18 against Sutton, and it may reappear in ’26 as to whether some want a female mayor, but we’ll have to see if this matters given her solid past electoral victories in Sioux Falls, and that will be greatly determined by her numbers in the initial mayoral election in ’26.
So, given all of this, I’ll stick with my 53 to 57% prediction win for Erickson. I believe I said it would be 53% with a June run-off and 57% with a November run-off, but now that we know it’s going to be a June election, I’m going to call it for Erickson at 54%, or “Heels 54″…..
VSG
( and Woodstock adds: “‘Heels 54’?”…. “Say, do you know by European standards how big of a shoe that is?”…. #OMG #TransShaq ” ….. )
But Mike,
The “conversation” is always greater than the actual meeting.
It’s time for a female mayor. From her record she would not be a crook as for the last 3 mayors.
Erickson was a rubber stamp for two different mayors. Most decisions concluded behind closed doors before council meetings. Do I want to trust her? Of course.. Do I trust her? Not based on her score card. Unless a true person for the PEOPLE runs, I will sit this one out.
anyone who thinks she’ll be any different than tenhaken is kidding themselves. during her time on the council she voted for every tax and fee increase presented to her and, i believe, every tif. from her record, she is the same crook with different gender.
“Madame Mayor, tear down that ‘Bunker Ramp’!”
She was against every tax increase and spending bill that she voted for, but the charter made her do it.
“I was against the war before I voted for it”…..
“I was against the City Center building before I voted for it”…..
So, what is it? Are we getting rid of FEMA, or the response to the Texas flooding was not slow? Because if Noem and Trump plan to get rid of FEMA, then why is Noem even defending her response? …:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dhs-secretary-kristi-noem-defends-fema-texas-flooding-response-after-nyt-reports-slow-response/ar-AA1IARr2
“Say, do you remember back in ’13 when Kermit and others didn’t want us to take FEMA money for the ice storm clean-up?”…. “So, I guess Kermit and some others were ahead of their time, huh?”….. “But now we have a HS Secretary, who not only does not like FEMA, but she also didn’t know enough to send the Guard to McCook Lake last year, when she was a governor”…. “So, apparently, to Noem see wants all of us to just be dependent upon our neighbors down the road who helped us raise a barn last year, huh?”…. ( ….. “Wow, talk about it ‘Takes a Village’ literally, my goodness” …. :- ( ) #AmishRelief #AmishNation