Is Jamie Smith running for Mayor of Sioux Falls?
l3wis When I first saw that Smith was a possible candidate for mayor in a recent news article, I just chuckled and wondered who was concocting this story. Sources told me at the time that Smith was NOT considering a run and even blew off speculation. Until recently. The Dems were successful in getting Duffy elected to the school board, even though that was NOT a heavy lift, so I think they want to try their hands at a mayoral race. I welcome it if it is true. Sources tell me Smith plans to announce next week at a staged event in Downtown Sioux Falls. We will see. I have had only two candidates confirm to me they are indeed running but don’t have a launch date, but I would assume IF Jamie announces next week the dominoes will begin to fall.
CAN THE COUNCIL LEGALLY DETERMINE THE DATE OF THE NEXT ELECTION?
The council is tasked with determining if our municipal elections will be in June or November of next year. I lean towards November, but only two councilors currently support that idea, so our elections will likely be in June. But can the council determine this? Some are saying since there needs to be a change in charter, that change should be determined by voters in a special election. In other words the city council should be calling a special election BEFORE January 1st allowing the citizens to make the determination. I will let the lawyers hash it out, but like the pool bonds, I would just let the citizens decide and wash your hands of it instead of all the hand wringing. This is a decision that will likely hold for years, so you best make the right one.
