Alex Jensen

A recount in the City of Sioux Falls At-Large election likely

l3wis June 9, 2020 13Comments

As I have said before, a recount is likely. I have also said that if Jensen would have lost by 109 votes, he would have asked for one to, so I found this statement interesting from him today;

Any results that finish within two percent when the final votes are tallied can be subject to a recount, should the defeated candidate make the request formally. With almost 30,000 votes cast, city officials would need to dedicate significant time and money to any recount efforts.

It’s like he is trying to ‘shame’ Stehly into not asking for the recount (even though he would have if the tables were turned). If she asks, it will not be a fast process. I also take issue with people who always want to ‘save’ money on elections. It is the last budgetary item we should be worried about. Heck we have given more to the private non-profit State Theatre than we gave towards this election, probably 10x more. Maybe Jensen should bring that up?

After the canvass tonight, Stehly has until next Tuesday to decide if she wants a recount. After that, it could take a couple of weeks to knock one out. Also, both sides get to pick a person to represent them (likely attorneys). I heard a rumor about who the Jensen team picked, and if it is who I think it is, he is a heavy hitter in the GOP, he is also very smart, but also very conniving and will use every trick in the book to throw out votes, hopefully Stehly picks someone who is also smart & cunning but someone with integrity to combat the rat from the SD GOP.

You will see this play out as a battle between attorneys.

The interesting factor is who the city finance director picks to be the third person on the grassy knoll. As we know, Mr. Pritchett was appointed by the mayor, and the mayor openly supported Jensen, so it will be interesting to see who this ‘fair and balanced’ third person is. I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I still think Stehly could pull this off, but she is already trailing, so there is a good possibility she doesn’t. I’m okay with that, and I think she is at peace with it to. But I also know that she knows she needs to fight to the end, just like she has done over the past 4 years.

The best news from all this? Stehly stays until the recount is over and the installation occurs, which could mean another 3 weeks. Amen!

One more reason why the City of Sioux Falls Election recount in important

l3wis June 5, 2020 16Comments

Whether you agree or disagree with Stehly or Jensen, this recount isn’t really about them, it is about the integrity of the process. I have heard about a lot of questionable things happening during the process. The example below is a good example of some of the mistakes that may have been made. More than likely the ballots were double counted in this precinct (Item #41). It is nearly impossible to get a 89% voter turnout in a city election. There are probably a lot of examples of this, such as ballots that may not have been counted in other precincts.

I am unaware how the process is going, but from the calendar, you can see that the installation ceremony is canceled until the recount is complete. I think Stehly has 5 days after the canvas (June 9) to ask for the recount. It could be another two weeks before we know the results.

BIG MONEY BEATS THERESA – FOR NOW

l3wis June 3, 2020 24Comments

There will likely be a recount (it is within the 2% with only 110 votes separating them out of over 28,000 votes)

In hindsight, I still think Theresa could have pulled off the election if it was held in April, I think it gave the Jensen campaign time to accumulate more support by postponing it. But let’s face it, this wasn’t about Theresa vs. Alex, this was about Theresa vs. Herself. I have always felt that you either like her or you don’t. I also think her decision to make all the campaign strategy decisions herself this time around didn’t help. I offered my help early on to no avail.

Controversial candidates usually have a tough road a head of them. I am glad that she may be able to go back to normal life (and hopefully help with some city petition drives). I actually didn’t want Theresa to run for re-election, I saw the affect it was having on her mental health and like I said, I think she can do more with petition drives, which she can do at her leisure.

Let’s also face it. When you spend 5 times more than your opponent, your chances are greatly enhanced. Like I have said before, Alex is a nice kid and all, but he will beholden to the big money donors who funded his campaign. Do you really think a business banker would turn his back on these donors? Not a chance. The RS5 may just turn into the RS6. It’s going to be rough over the next two years. You are going to see a lot of steamrolling, higher taxes and fees and a total loss of citizens rights. And transparency? That was bad already, it will go into complete darkness, because the RS5 and Mayor HATE, HATE, HATE transparent government. It is the darkness in their souls.

Hopefully Stehly requests a recount and is successful. With all the crap I heard going on over the last couple of days with this election (indies told they couldn’t have a ballot – primary or city), I think it is high probability she could turn this around. Let’s pray justice will prevail.

Sioux Falls City Council Candidate Count Jensen lacks the transparency it takes to be a leader

l3wis May 29, 2020 11Comments

So there is a lot of talk about transparency as a candidate for city council but little action. While the blog up North wants to rip on Stehly for a tiny donation from a well known Democrat, there has been little mention of Jensen getting endorsements and donations from two well known Democrats, Jack Billion and Scott Heidepreim. I will commend the Count for at least talking about it.

But what is startling is the lack of transparency on his financial report. You spent all this money on ‘advertising’ but didn’t break it down? How much on consulting, meals, TV ads, Social Media, radio, publications, postage, printing, etc.

So why is this? I think he hired the blogger up North to run the whole campaign. So no one knows how much money is being made and where it is being spent.

The way one runs a campaign is comparable to how they will govern. If you can’t even tell us how much you spent on stamps, how can we trust you as an elected leader? We can’t. There is a lot of people running a cottage industry from making money from suckers like Jensen, and the ring leaders are cashing in. I took very little in when running 4 successful campaigns. Why? Because I believed in them and didn’t care about the payola.

And for the record, I have received NO money from the Stehly campaign and the only consulting I had with her was contentious conversations about how she was doing it wrong. That is why I respect Big ‘T’ because I can have disagreements with her and it is water under the bridge. I don’t owe her a damn thing, and she doesn’t owe me.

Jensen is running a ‘big money’ campaign not because he wants to win but because he is lining the pockets of those who are supposed to be helping him. It is pathetic, disgusting and the reason why politics have become so gutter.

While I have my issues with Theresa sometimes, I would NEVER question her intentions, integrity or looking at the bigger picture. Theresa could give ‘two-sh*ts’ about what it takes to win a campaign, she learned from the best of them (Staggers) that it is about human contact and connecting with constituents, you can’t put a price tag on that. That’s why I think she will pull this off. Trust me it will be close, but I know who her supporters are, and they vote. If she loses, oh well, it will only fortify that scheming and scamming is the only strategy that gets BAD candidates elected.

Alex Jensen campaign misleads candidates and puts out a ‘hit’ piece on Stehly

l3wis May 28, 2020 10Comments

A certain Republican blogger who lives 40 minutes north of us runs a campaign consulting and marketing business, the one he was running while working as Deputy SOS (which he had to ultimately quit because of the conflict). He apparently has been helping with marketing materials for Count Jensen. Yesterday around 40,000 (an estimate) Republicans in Sioux Falls got a mailer promoting Jensen and other Republican primary candidates. Many candidates who have advertised in the rag were told this was going to be a positive campaign mailer. They were misled. Some Republican candidates were also snubbed and not allowed to be in the mailer. Several of the candidates have actually reached out to Stehly apologizing and explaining to her how they were misled. While there are many positive stories in the mailer and ads there is a huge hit piece on Stehly. They even lied about her employment.

The sad part about this is that Stehly has been a life long Republican who essentially has been stabbed in the back by her party, mostly by that guy up north, sadly, in a non-partisan race.

If I were any of the candidates who paid to be in this piece of garbage mailer, I would ask for my money back.

I have never understood why the city races have become more and more partisan over the past few years – oh that’s right, because we continue to elect partisans.

If I was Stehly the first thing I would do next Wednesday morning is register Independent and tell the Republican party to go fly a kite!