I hope he wears underwear
l3wis 
Mayor TenHaken
Is Mayor TenHaken a ‘Lab Rat’ for Bloomberg?
I recently read this interview with Mayor TenHaken;
TenHaken, 41, entered office with lots of ideas from his private-sector days about how to build an innovative culture. He said it all went into overdrive last summer. That’s when he joined 39 other mayors to kick off a yearlong executive training program through the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.
While PTH may find this as a great opportunity for the city (but mostly himself, on our dime) I have often been of the opinion that we should elect leaders that are ready to lead. On the job training is NOT a great attribute in a city administrator. In fact, other cities that have actual city administrators instead of a strong mayor setup hire administrators with experience or at least degrees in the field.
That’s why the Bloomberg Leadership training seems like some Harvard experiment to see how much they can influence local government across the country. And quite frankly it is quite scary how much PTH is following suit.
What strikes me is the cultish appeal this “human-centered design” problem solving method of approach seems to have among the leaders & quoted participants (which has actually been around for decades).
“By the time Sioux Falls is ready to start piloting some solutions this summer, they’ll have confidence that they’re on to ideas that respond to real needs in the community, are likely to work, and represent innovation for Sioux Falls and its residents.”
Now, granted: those are presumably the words of whoever wrote this article for Bloomberg Cities (I don’t see a byline). However, it’s a pretty bold statement which seems to say this is a can’t lose proposition. I’m not inclined to believe very many “it can’t lose” claims.
Maybe it is just PTH and his young crew. He and his tribe seem smug; holding their cards close. Elbowing ahead with little explanation for the public about their process and goals. They know better. They have it all figured out. Brats!
It is frustrating to read quotes like this from Paul;
“We’ve got so many problems in the city that we were tackling the same way we did 10 years ago, and making two degrees of change,†TenHaken said. “That’s not enough”,
Especially in light of this pothole response. Is that just being perpetually critical of new ideas which aren’t mine/ours? Well, to a certain extent . . . yeah, probably. But, also – in the same way Former Mayor Bowlcut & Bucktooth wanted to erect monuments to himself while neglecting infrastructure – I think PTH is focused on intellectually titillating, entrepreneurially-exciting new org charts for municipal government and hi-tech innovations . . . to the exclusion of the basics. I remain a devotee of a healthy dose of “You gotta walk before you can run”; make sure you can take care of what you’ve already built before you take on more. Sure. Solving public transportation issues has merit and it deserves attention concurrent with other municipal responsibilities. But, fixing more potholes more quickly doesn’t take “cross-departmental synthesizing of key insights “, for chrissakes. Simply greater emphasis, higher expenditures: more teams, more trucks, more patch materials.
Innovation?
Maybe further explore new patching products (letting contractors in Europe handle their own R & D has helped them to construct better roads). And, instead of coddling department heads & staff for doing what they’ve always done (“Ohhh, we have to endlessly express our appreciation to our employees and bring them donuts” – I’m sure Wellness Director Michaels loves that), a leader (boss/administrator/head honcho) needs to hold his subordinates accountable. What successful coach babies his players to get winning results out of them??!!!! I guess one that gets it’s training from Bloomberg.
(CHB contributed to this post)
Ethics
Event Center
Mayor TenHaken
Patrick Starr
SF City Council
Sioux Falls
T.J. Nelson
Theresa Stehly
So who is lying about the openness of the Events Center Campus Book Club?
The ‘Painless’ Meeting in Public
We watched as this all played out. The meetings were going to remain closed, the TenHaken administration was digging in their heels. Then councilors Starr and Stehly bring a resolution forward opening the meetings. All of sudden the Task Force was claiming they decided they were going to open them up all on their own according to some secret vote, in a secret meeting and informed the Mayor in a secret email (to this day no one has seen);
An email from the event center group’s co-chairs Dan Statema and Jeff Eckhoff to Mayor Paul TenHaken said that the group had voted at their first meeting on Feb. 27 to allow the public and media to attend the rest of the meetings.
“We see no harm in having interested parties gain the same education we are as we progress through this process,” the email read.
Now fast forward today to the first open meeting. Deputy COS TJ Typeover tells those TV folks this;
“Pat Starr and I brought forth a resolution when we found out these meetings were going to be closed to the public and the resolution requested that they open the meeting and as a result of that the meetings have been opened,†says Stehly.
“After the first meeting they talked in between that meeting and this meeting and decided to open these up to the public,†says Nelson.
So which is it TJ? Did they vote on it? Did they decide later? My guess is both stories are TOTAL BS. You and the Mayor decided to open these meetings up after pressure from Starr and Stehly. Just admit it. Because just lying about it makes you look even more foolish, and certainly NOT transparent.
UPDATE: TenHaken comes up short . . .
UPDATE: What is even more scary is the Emergency Declaration clause (not the clause itself) but what it permits. It gives the executive/legal branch the authority to hire contractors without going thru the RFP process or ‘lowest bid’. In other words contractors will be coming in and probably charging their ’emergency rates’ you know, like they do for our 100 buildings 
I told a councilor last night if I were mayor, a couple of things I would do is ASK some of the big contractors in town to do the right thing and be fair in their rates, especially with an emergency. We are all in this together. I would have also asked ALL eight city councilors for ideas or references of people that can help. When you have something that could potentially be this big of an issue, you need as many people at the table as possible, good leaders rely on others for expert advice and frankly any advice that is helpful. I’m glad to see they are warning the public in advance, if you do the math, this has the potential to close down the entire city whether your neighborhood is in the flood plain or not. After watching the press conference, I have a feeling they are not telling us everything YET. Everyone was pretty nervous, including the State Hydrologist.
As I have already said, I have tempered my remarks about PTH’s leadership skills in this whole mess, from how Yankton Trail looks like the film set of the Titanic or how it should be renamed ‘Glacial Trail Park’. Or how they finally decided today to close Falls Park (sometime tomorrow – you still have a few more hours to get in your risky behavior). PTH kindly reminds us in this FB video that it is a misdemeanor to cross barriers. Ohhh, a misdemeanor, so baddddd! I’m also wondering why he is wringing his hands so much, reminds me of that scene where Lady MacBeth is washing her hands or is it Mr. Burns at the board table? I’m still debating that one. Fortunately I could not find any Seinfeld references.
But the kicker of this week is the below picture of Mayor TenHaken standing on his tippy toes during this very uncomfortable photo op. And people call me a weird little man. Stay safe Sioux Falls, we may all end up on Giligan’s Island. And for those who will rip me apart for this post, I always remind myself what has gotten me through difficult times is laughter and humor. I only PRAY I don’t split my pants.
Who are the Score Keepers? (Guest Post, Bruce Danielson)
Of course they don’t want to acknowledge they keep score.
“As public servants, we don’t keep score. It’s about doing what’s right. We do what is best for the public and the community as a whole to move our great city forward and care for its citizenry,” TenHaken said Thursday after seeing Starr’s Facebook post.
It is always interesting how shallow the 5 and mayor are. There is no ability to see past their winner takes all attitude. This is not a football game. This is government where the people elect representatives to work together to craft solutions good for as many as possible without trampling the rights of the less powerful. Why is it when the public wins, sore heads like the six work so hard to make it seem like the public didn’t win anything.
The classic line from Vince Lombardi “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” just isn’t supposed to apply to government. Â
“TenHaken’s deputy chief of staff T.J. Nelson said none of the three councilors who opposed the street vacation were involved in crafting the compromise proposal.â€
Those of us who have worked for years to open the doors to Sioux Falls city government find humor in the following statement.
“Kiley said Starr’s role in finding compromise was minimal at best and his response to it isn’t productive for Lifescape or the community.â€
Of course they were not involved, the doors of power have been locked to keep the three councilors out. If the doors had been open to any of the three to contribute, it would have validated their concerns. The way this has been handled including not informing the whole council before the media shows this administration does not understand the importance of or care to give respect to the Council. Â This process shows the way the simple moronic authoritarian ways of city hall are perpetuated post-Huether.
The compromise was hatched by citizens during the September street vacation public input. The compromise proposal was cultivated by neighbors. The ill-conceived second vacation vote did not address the neighbor’s concerns or the mismatched and ill-fitting proposal being forced on the Council during the last vote. The legal process was followed and the voting showed the vacation was legally rejected by the Council.
“I wish the effort and energy it requires to take credit for things he has little if any invovlement would be placed in a more positive and constructive fashion for citizens, especially those who struggle with disabilities,” he said.
Mr. Kiley in speaking for the losing majority seems to forget his hours of lectures he and a few others on the Council have forced us to listen to as they have crafted their demands for the three to be subservient to the majority’s wishes. The March 5, 2019 Council meeting incident where Mr. Kiley cried out to the mayor about an audience member laughing at his pompous buffoonery just shows how weak he really is when faced with opposition.
Just think how much more could be accomplished if the leader of the administration and his followers on the Council tried to compromise?
Start link: Â https://youtu.be/Dopk4WwAW7Q?t=6192