Entries Tagged 'Gregg Jamison' ↓

He plans an official announcement in August.

During the Farm to Fork dinner last night, apparently these three got into it about the ambulance service, but it looks like in the end, they cleared up their differences.

Jamison fills us in on his entire interview with the Argus;

“Theresa Stehly is exactly what the tax payers of Sioux Falls should want with a new council member. She thinks for herself and is not afraid of anyone or any issue. The best thing Sioux Falls could ever have happened with a councilor is that they think for themselves and express what their concerns are. As long as they’re thinking about every issue, that’s what you want and the public is going to win.”

Glad to see he corrected himself.

Time to collect some beer cans.

And he keeps getting the media to fall for it. Though I will give props to Stu for getting in some digs about his indecision, especially with including Jamison in the article.

He still hasn’t forgotten how Jamison attacked his ethics and credibility during the 2014 campaign by pointing to real estate investments held in office by Huether and his wife, Cindy, and questioning whether such interests impacted tax incentive decisions.

No wrongdoing was established and Huether went on to win with 55 percent of the vote. But he felt unjustly robbed of a landslide victory that would have more forcefully validated the successes of his first term.

I think wrongdoing was well established, but in the land of no ethics (and no ethics laws) there was really nothing the public or Jamison could do. Apparently family members can invest and benefit from tax dollars. Just look at the Huether’s Tennis Center.

“In my re-election campaign, our numbers were really positive, but what happens at the end of races is that sometimes people throw out everything to try to reverse that. The strategy in this case was that even if (Jamison) wasn’t going to be successful, he would make sure that Mike and Cindy Huether never got a chance to do this again. He decided to make it personal, and you can’t find a way to make it more personal than going after someone’s family.”

Classic Mikey, blame the messenger. He is the one who drags his family members into the fray then turns around and blames others for when he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Recently he had his daughter be a part of a proclamation for her work organizing the ‘Walk for Science’ which was basically people complaining about Trump’s stance on science, ironically, Mike is a Trump fan.

Even in his 2010 race for mayor, the support of otherwise friendly business leaders such as Sanford and Beacom was more elusive than Huether anticipated, a lesson in party politics that shaped some of his later decisions.

This has always been a point of contention. While helping the Staggers campaign I found out that Mike’s departure from First Premier wasn’t exactly ‘smooth’. I have consistently heard from former FP employees and city employees that he isn’t exactly pleasant to work for. But this of course is all rumors, maybe if he runs for statewide office, we will get to hear more about his executive management style from some of them.

Nelson points to public projects that had “stalled out or become stagnant” under previous mayors but were brought to fruition under Huether. Much of that work came without collaboration with the city council, leading to criticism about the mayor’s oversized ego and strong-arm executive style.

I will never criticize Mike for his enthusiasm or getting things done, but I strongly disagree with his process. I have often said that Mike could have accomplished all the same goals with using honey, getting the public and council involved with decisions and using transparency at the highest level. When you step on toes, you piss people off, and if South Dakotans are good at one thing, it’s holding a grudge. Mike has made a lot of fierce enemies over the past 7 years.

Does that mean a bid for governor is unattainable and that U.S. House is more prudent? Is there a fallback position that says go for broke and then run for mayor in 2022 if you fail? Maybe Huether would be comfortable enjoying time with family and making memories without that burning need to succeed?

The stream-of-consciousness debate in his mind is political agony in real time, which some of his once and future rivals find distasteful.

“I see a guy who’s struggling,” says Jamison, who has yet to declare his own candidacy for mayor. “It’s like he can’t figure out the next step and doesn’t want to lose, but nobody likes to lose. If it’s really about public service and not just being the guy, why doesn’t he run for city council? That would be a great way to stay involved. But if he’s going to ride it out because he only wants the top job and that’s all he’s good for, I would caution him against that.”

Personally, I think if Huether decides to ride it out for 4 years to run for Mayor again he has a strategy to keep him in the limelight. It is no secret in certain circles that he recruited Diamond Jim to run for mayor. IMO, if Jim wins, he will make Mike his Chief of Staff, and in essence, allow Mike to run the city for the next 4 years. I know this sounds like a crazy conspiracy, but just look how crazy the last 4 years have been.

There is also the possibility of Jim resigning after a year and having a special election for mayor in which Mike could run.

I guess it takes a former city councilor becoming a Pierre lawmaker to get our city to stop with their secrets;

District 12 Rep. Greg Jamison’s House Bill 1166, introduced on the House floor Wednesday, aims to bolster South Dakota’s open records laws by making it more difficult for municipalities, school districts and any other governmental entity in the state to keep settlements of civil or criminal proceedings confidential and shielded from the public.

In 2015, the city of Sioux Falls did that when it agreed to keep secret a $1 million settlement it entered with contractors involved in the construction of the Denny Sanford Premier Center after some exterior paneling began to warp before the facility’s opening in October 2014.

“The bill is reflective of that,” Jamison said Thursday. “Clearly that was a problem and I saw an issue that needed to be addressed and here’s my chance.”

I wish Greg luck in getting this passed.

The lawmaker, the troublemaker and the deal maker

It was a nice surprise to not only see councilors Neitzert and Stehly, but legislators Michael Clark and Greg Jamison were also in attendance talking to constituents today and the Coffee with Council event at HyVee. Jamison and I had a good conversation about repealing IM 22 (we didn’t solve much though) He thinks (mostly his caucus) we should repeal it ASAP, I told him that we should let the Supreme Court address it, and further more, Judge Barnett has already halted the law, so what’s the hurry for repeal until the SC weighs in? I also I have a problem with the legislature making it’s own rules when it comes to ethics.

Anybody but this guy is fine with me

To be quite honest with you, I may stay out of endorsing or helping a candidate this time around. I had a discussion this weekend about the candidates possibly running;

Kenny Anderson, Greg Jamison, Jim Entenman, Darrin Smith, Rob Oliver and Michelle Erpenbach. I have also heard of about 2-3 ‘ghost’ candidates. Even disgraced former Deputy Secretary of State is getting into the speculation game;

But what I do keep hearing – and did so again tonight – is that former Republican Legislator Christine Erickson who had said “no” before might be softening her no into a “maybe.”  And it might be a strong maybe at that.

I’m glad Pitty Pudge could put down is double whopper for a moment and get with the times. I asked Christine about a mayoral run several months ago, and her response was that she was going to ‘keep her options open’.

It’s not that I don’t think any of these people are qualified for the job, I just don’t think any of them really stand out. And councilors have a horrible track record of winning the mayor’s seat.

I think the next mayor is going to have to be a true populist with economic savvy and an appetite for transparency and someone who is willing to invest in rebuilding our core while putting urban sprawl on hold. While the race is technically non-partisan, I don’t think a Republican or a Democrat can manage a city that way, it will take an open minded independent who is willing to listen to all sides of the table. They are going to have to also deal with the financial mess credit card Mike has left behind.

But to anybody who is willing to run, I wish them luck.

Dakota Wuss College confirmed that Greg will run for House in District 12, with no primary challenge at this point.

On the Democratic side, Casey Murschel is taking another run at it.

Greg and I had a rocky start when he first got on the council, in fact, I felt like his seat was a coronation from his father. But in his second term, I have felt he had come around and grown as a city legislator, and has become his own lawmaker, and I have appreciated his leadership over the past 4 years.

He would make a great legislator and be a strong voice for Sioux Falls in Pierre.

Boy, the city really must be broke if they are sending city councilors out to fill potholes 🙂