South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Jolene Loetscher

Jolene Loetscher Mayor TenHaken

UPDATE: Mayor TenHaken Deposed by DCI in 2018

l3wis 16Comments

UPDATE: I texted Jolene Loetscher yesterday and asked her if she new anything about him being deposed by the Sheriff and DCI during the 2018 campaign. She has not responded yet.

Mayor TenHaken was recently featured on the RESGEN Giving Life Podcast. From what I can guess, it is a business/religion podcast.

Paul touched on some different things throughout the entire podcast including that “He doesn’t love being mayor, but doesn’t hate it.” He says he had a calling from God to serve as mayor (another dude thinks that to) and there are days he wants to quit. He also compares himself to the bibilical character Jonah. He talks about mentoring and touches on something Bill Maher has been on a kick about, Men need to be Men.

But the big surprise was when Paul tells the host that he was deposed by the DCI in 2018 when he ran for office. He said there was ‘allegations’ made towards him they wanted to investigate. He never said what they were, but if I had to guess, it may have had to do with candidate Jolene Loetscher’s allegations that someone was breaking into her online bank accounts. The allegations were unfounded.

This is the first time I have heard this (maybe it came up during the campaign but I can’t remember). There was also his previous associations with the Marion Mike Rounds campaign (Doxxing) and the musical servers with Pat Powers’ blog.

Jolene Loetscher

Loetscher’s Agency wins awards for campaign commercials

l3wis 5Comments

I have told people looking back at Jo’s campaign for mayor, her husband, Nate, who owns Mud Mile with Jo, was her most valuable campaigner using his talents to create all of Jo’s videos.

The advertising agency also received bronze awards for its work for Augustana University and owner Jolene Loetscher’s mayoral campaign.

While I agree, they were done well, AND, certainly worthy of praise for their ‘marketing’ appeal, I question praising something that didn’t sell your product.

Sure, we could talk about the other missteps by the campaign, and certainly put the videos on a pedestal, but I kind of wonder if giving awards to a losing political campaign is kind of like giving the losing kid’s T-ball team all trophies.

The best way to know if a marketing campaign is working is if it sells.

What is even more puzzling is why would you submit the videos for judging?

Yes, I know there is different categories, but just because something is pretty or done well doesn’t mean it is effective.

 

Elections Jolene Loetscher Paul Ten Haken Sioux Falls

Vote for anybody but TenHaken

l3wis 38Comments

I guess if you want to take that as an endorsement for Loetscher, so be it.

Even with all the missteps by the Loetscher campaign over the past couple of weeks (which has more to do with HOW she responded, NOT what she was responding to) I just can’t bring myself to vote for Paul.

I have heard many voters tell me they are so disgusted with both campaigns they are not voting for either.

I try to remind them of my Banana VS. Raisin argument, you have to pick one.

Let’s face it, there really isn’t many differences between Jo and Paul in their professional lives. Both young business professionals that have been very successful. Neither has elected government experience, but both have been involved with boards and legislation and both have worked on political campaigns with their agencies.

So what separates Jo and Paul?

Some of those things are obvious. While Paul has been a little wishy-washy about diversity, Jo has made it a part of her campaign platform. And while Jo has been beat up a little about not having a 100-day strategy or plans for a transition team, unlike Paul, Jo understands that this is all new to her, and those plans have to be made carefully. I also think Jo understands the separation of power between the council and mayor.

Jo has made many missteps along the way, but she has never lost my trust and she has always continued to show a genuine passion for people.

Jo has also not lined her campaign chest with the business elite in Sioux Falls (or their toddler children) who will be the first to be asking for corporate welfare if a TenHaken administration rolls in.

Besides the fact that Paul has been involved with some pretty shady political hackery in his past, thinks it is OK to troll your employees on Facebook and tends to take an authoritarian approach to government the thing that has bothered me the most about Paul is that he has never really has had a consistent platform from day one. Jolene has never waivered from her platform.

Like I said, the inexperience of both of them is worrisome, but you gotta pick one. I pick the Banana.

Elections Jolene Loetscher Sioux Falls Thune

Noem gets involved with Mayoral campaign, why not Thune?

l3wis 15Comments

I was pretty surprised to hear Noem put out a robo call for TenHaken. I would think being involved with a governor’s run she wouldn’t want to complicate things. Her call I guess.

So the bigger question is what does John Thune think of the race? He is a Sioux Falls resident, his wife I believe works for Sanford. Wouldn’t he have an opinion?

You would be surprised what that opinion is.

First the facts. Mud Mile, Jolene’s advertising agency has done video/campaign work for Thune for years, NOT Clickrain. In fact Thune and his wife consider themselves personal friends with Jo and Nate. The TenHaken’s? Not so much.

I guess there was a early discussion whether Thune would endorse Loetscher, but I guess the Loetscher campaign declined. Why? Good government and common sense. I think Loetscher wanted to keep this a non-partisan race but the TenHaken campaign has decided with the endorsements and postcard from the area GOP, the Jackley press release about nothing and the Noem endorsement, that idea went off the rails. They have run a successful smear campaign making Jo look like a uber liberal victim. But that’s what the SD GOP does best, hide from the real issues and throw mud.

I would encourage Loetscher to except the Thune endorsement if he is still willing to give it, and truly show she has support from both sides of the aisle.

And without getting into to much detail, I will say, while Thune may be undecided on whether to endorse his friend Jolene, he certainly WOULD NOT endorse TenHaken. And if you can’t get the endorsement of the TOP Republican in the state that lives in Sioux Falls, it really makes you take pause, doesn’t it?

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