Paul Ten Haken

Public Input belongs to the Public, not the mayor or council

So if Paul becomes mayor he thinks he is going to make some changes;

TenHaken said establishing a sign-up sheet for those wishing to address the City Council, potentially reducing the five minute time allotment, enforcing a code of conduct for everyone at meetings and designating seats in the Council chamber for those who’ve signed up to speak.

First off, Public Input belongs to the public. Secondly, the mayor has ZERO power in changing the rules at public input, that is the council’s job.

I will not sign a sign up sheet, and I will not sit in a designated area. Public input belongs to the public. We own this government and the agenda, not the mayor or council. I will not have goofy rules put on my 1st Amendment rights.

When people are acting up, you gavel them and ask them to leave or escort them out by security.

It is already intimidating enough for people to come and speak, we don’t need to make that process harder for EVERYONE because a few bad apples called the mayor names when HE wasn’t following his own rules of conduct.

I refuse to take a number and be called on like a person waiting at the DMV. And if Paul or the Council think they are going to thru with these changes there will be the biggest revolt they have ever seen, and it won’t involve respect or decorum.

UPDATE III: FORMER Argus’ ED Board member Co-Chairs TenHaken’s Campaign

UPDATE III: Ding! Ding! Ding! And the winner is . . .

As the May 1 election approaches, those distinctions have been drawn. It is our conclusion that TenHaken’s experience and leadership qualities make him the best choice to succeed Mike Huether as the city’s next mayor.

Shocker!!! Oh, but the Argus wanted to reassure us no funny business is going on;

Editor’s note: Though community at-large members are a key part of the mission of the Argus Leader editorial board, such members were not part of the discussions involving this endorsement.

So Stu Whitney and Cory Myers endorsed Paul. That makes me feel comfortable.

UPDATE II: From Cory Myers;

Hi Scott, all – Michelle is a former community member of the Argus editorial board. She was not part of any editorial board discussions concerning the mayoral candidates, nor any board discussions since December of 2017.

How fun it was for Cory Myers to cry about transparency yesterday;

But specifically for a campaign so focused on transparency, I see no reason why Loetscher won’t release this voicemail.

You mean like when you (didn’t) release this information before the general election when your editorial board endoresed TenHaken and Loetscher;

Oh, that’s right, you didn’t bother telling your readers.

Ironically, TenHaken is the one that scooped this on his FB page. So the Argus ED Board, who has a FORMER member that is assisting TenHaken’s campaign, was endorsing TenHaken.

WOW! Let’s talk ‘transparency’ Cory.

Can’t wait to see if the Argus endorses TenHaken before Tuesday. Cory might have to do a lot of explaining to his far away boss in Denver and the execs at Gannet. Or maybe this is just par for course?

Why not endorse Donald Duck? It would seem less ridiculous.

Follow the Money; TenHaken & Soehl’s donor lists tells us who they will serve

Some of the Biggest Banksters and developers in Sioux Falls have thrown thousand$ at Paul and Curt.

PTH: TENHAKEN-Donor

CS: SOEHL-Donor

I always find it ironic when I hear certain candidates tell us what they will do for ‘US’ than read their donor list that tell us a different story.

The other night in the final mayoral debate, TenHaken made the comment that he felt we haven’t used TIF’s enough. I just about fell out of my chair. With 5 years of record building permits, why is it that we continue to handout corporate welfare to the developers? They are NOT hurting, just look at the money they threw at these two candidates.

We need to focus on bringing customer service back to ALL the citizens in Sioux Falls, not just the super wealthy. Council Candidate Zach DeBoer has proposed numerous initiatives that would lift up neighborhoods and support more affordable housing in Sioux Falls. Paul and Curt have proposed we stay the course with corporate welfare and TIF’s.

Some say the decision on Tuesday is a hard one. Just look at these donor lists, it will make your decision a lot easier.

Integrity is what separates Loetscher from TenHaken

This letter writer lays out why Jolene has more integrity than Paul;

First, he takes a $1,000 donation from each family member of the DocuTap founder Eric McDonald and his five children. He claims this does not violate any campaign rules in this race and was found to be ethical. Nevertheless, it violates moral integrity of a candidate for mayor. He went on to claim that the children in the McDonald family independently supported him as a candidate for mayor. I for one find it hard to believe that a 6-year-old child can even comprehend the concept of the campaign for mayor.

The irony of this is that McDonald could have created a PAC to funnel as much money as we wanted to Paul instead of using his children as a political pawns. But McDonald’s actions aside, Paul should not have accepted the donation, and several people have told him so. It lacks ethical behavior. He has raised close to $200k, did he really need to take money from toddlers?

Second, for a man who claims he will have transparency in his office, how can he be trusted to work on the business of the City of Sioux Falls or will he be too busy digging up dirt on every citizen of Sioux Falls?

Paul’s past is worrisome, trolling his employees on FB, trying to chase down political operatives using college students, and moving data around to cover a state employee’s ass. Imagine how he will treat the citizens of Sioux Falls? How many instances have we heard of Jolene doing these things. ZERO.

Paul TenHaken lacks the moral integrity to be mayor. He fits the mold of Mayor Mike Huether and eight years of that administration is enough. Join me in voting for Jolene Loetscher.

I have compared Paul to Mike on several occasions. Let’s face it. I told people about Mike before he was elected. He marketed one of the most predatory credit cards in the nation. The Feds changed the laws because of it. I told people, his actions as a professional will not change when he becomes a public official, and I was right. I feel the same about Paul. You can’t just flip a switch and become a person with integrity because you put your hand on a bible and took an oath. While I believe Paul and Jolene have similar experience in business and lack that similar experience in governing, the one thing that separates them is honesty, integrity and ethics. I think Loetscher has it, and I’m willing to live with her missteps starting out if I know she will do things in the open. We don’t need another corporate welfare lackey in City Hall, we don’t need another Huether.

AG has a double standard on interfering with an election

Besides the fact that they have received no evidence;

The Attorney General’s statement does say investigators on this case are waiting on records from other social media entities.

The timing of this press release is questionable.

Remember when Marty’s buddy Rounds was running for Senate and they couldn’t comment on an ‘ongoing’ investigation into EB-5 during a campaign? But it seems for some reason it is OK for the AG to say they have essentially ‘found nothing’ because, well they have ‘nothing’ a couple days before an election who just happens to have a Republican VS a Democrat.

Gee, that’s not questionable at all. Marty Jackley wouldn’t do anything underhanded like that? Would he? That would be like saying a guy killed himself using a 5-Foot branch, but we won’t let you see the autopsy, just trust us.

Reminds me of when TenHaken was helping his buddy Pity Pat out move servers around the country to hide his campaign store and when we questioned the obvious conflict of interest Jackley says, “They didn’t steal anything. Investigation closed.”

Jackley has made a mockery of the AG office.

During the debate tonight, TenHaken said a major endorsement is coming. Wonder if that is from Jackley? I would think he would be smarter than that while running for Governor, but who knows, the Silver Fox wiggles his way out of all kinds of things.