South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Sioux Falls

Bishop Dudley House Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless Sioux Falls TIFs

The Tifilicious Welfare Downtown Developers want to buy up the homeless shelters

l3wis 4Comments

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this article about the DTSF developers behind Cherapa XXX;

And concerns about Cherapa Place colliding with Bishop Dudley Hospitality House or Union Gospel Men’s Center have not made developers wary. Although there might be the possibility that rising values could cause the shelters to sell, overall Pendar Properties hopes to work on a solution that works for all parties.

“I think what we do is we make this work together. There is a division, but it can be something we make positive,” Scherschligt told the Argus Leader.

Gee, like putting them somewhere else to begin with? It reminds me of the quiet zones. This stuff should have been negotiated to begin with, now we are going to throw even more tax dollars at the problems (that is who is paying for the quiet zones and eventually the relocation of the shelters).

I don’t expect our leaders to have a ton of vision, well maybe I do, but common sense would be nice.

Curt Soehl Emmett Reistroffer for City Council Jim Burzynski SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilor, Soehl is very beatable

l3wis 2Comments

Make no mistake, beating an incumbent city councilor is not an easy task, ask Jensen who had to spend $127K and lucking out by having primary voters (who rarely vote in city elections) help him achieve the task.

Obviously it doesn’t hurt that Soehl now has two challengers, a well-intentioned, all around family guy and a fierce citizen advocate. We could likely see them in the run-off or one of them crushing the 51% threshold.

But what really makes Soehl beatable is that he really isn’t an incumbent because the Central district he was elected in doesn’t exist anymore and you really don’t need the McKennan park elite’s vote to win in Central.

The re-districting commission now have included parts of Whittier and Cathedral neighborhoods. Match that with Pettigrew Heights and you have pretty strong working class voters.

While it will be a challenge for the other two candidates to battle with an incumbent, Soehl is really an incumbent with NO home and will NOT be re-elected.

David ZoKaites Elections Ethics Sioux Falls

Guest post by David Z For Mayor – Widespread Sioux Falls Bribery

l3wis 9Comments

EDITOR’S NOTE: David’s post does NOT constitute my endorsement for his candidacy. I will give any candidate an opportunity to guest post on my website. I found the topic of interest when it comes to ethical standards in city government.

When public officials accept bribes, they stop working for “we the people” and start working for the people who bribed them.  Bribery therefore violates the fundamental purpose of democracy.  Sioux Falls Ethics Advisory Board found a widespread practice of bribery and local officials have been hiding it ever since.  Because of bribery’s great damage to democracy, and because I care so much about “we the people,” I keep raising the issue in the hope that someone in authority actually cares and will protect democracy.  I’ve publicly raised this issue so many times I’m losing count – three times at the ethics board and three times at city council – all to no avail.  Plus I sent email to SD Department of Criminal Investigation and received no response.  So now I’m sending the following letter to the attorney general and publishing it everywhere I can.  Integrity is critical to the success of democracy and both must be staunchly defended for the American way of life to succeed.  

I find the lack of official support for government integrity absolutely revolting.  I encourage you to get angry,  get involved, write letters, and vote in the upcoming city election on April 12.  Vote for candidates that care about protecting our democratic way of life.  Even if you don’t vote for me, vote for people who actually care. 

With that introduction complete, here’s the body of my letter:  

Dear Attorney General Jason R. Ravnsborg:

To provide some informative background information, I am campaigning for mayor of Sioux Falls and promoting honest, caring, practical government.  To prepare for the role as mayor, I have spent years studying issues of practical American government, making plans, and presenting findings via PowerPoint at Sioux Falls City Council meetings.  Many times over the past few years I have asked city council and mayor to improve processes, promote civil rights, and investigate bribery problems.  My efforts have met great resistance.  It is with considerable reluctance that I am writing this letter to yet again seek accountability and government transparency.  We the people should not have to go to such lengths as I have to obtain official accountability.

Last week I had a meeting with Police Chief Jon Thum and Sheriff Mike Milstead.  We talked about reducing crime and drug addiction by switching our communal focus from incarceration to treatment.  We also talked about investigating bribery among city officials.  The chief and sheriff recommended I share my concerns with you via a certified letter so that’s what I’m doing here and now.  Concerning bribery, the city’s ethics board wrote a letter to city leaders stating city leaders have a common practice of accepting gifts of paid travel.  In other words, bribery is common among city leadership.  I have attached the ethics board letter describing this problem.  We can be sure city leaders are aware of the problem because I publicly asked for accountability and disclosure repeatedly.  I have attached two of my PowerPoints on the subject, PowerPoints which I publicly presented at Sioux Falls City Council meetings. 

I am asking you to investigate city leadership accepting bribes and then to file appropriate criminal charges so the people of Sioux Falls can reasonably expect integrity in city government.  Our American Constitution begins with the words “We the people.”  When politicians accept bribes, they work for whomever provided bribes instead of working for “we the people.”  This of course violates the fundamental purpose of American democracy.  Government corruption doesn’t vanish by itself.  Frequently, visibility and publicity are necessary before bribery and corruption are addressed.  Consequently, I plan to publish this letter in local news and social media. 

                               Sincerely,

                                    David Zokaites

LINKS OF INTEREST BELOW;

AG LETTER

ETHICS BOARD LETTER, PAGE 1, PAGE 2, PAGE 3

PRESENTATION ON POLITICAL GIFTS

PRESENTATION ON ETHICAL PRACTICES

CAMPAIGN PROMISES

MAYORAL PRAYER

Planning Commission Sanford Sports Complex Sioux Falls

The disappearing Sioux Falls Planning Commission Agenda

l3wis 2Comments

Now you see me, now you don’t

On Thursday night I happened to take a gander at the agenda page, I was surprised to see the March 2 agenda for the Planning Commission posted. I didn’t make a copy of it because normally if an agenda is posted it usually doesn’t come down even if changed before the 24 deadline. I did read it though, and NO surprise that everything was in the consent agenda with a stamp of approval from planning staff.

What I find interesting about the disappearing agenda is that it did have one item on it that would be of interest. There was a rezone request for offices at the Sanford Sports Complex (The DSU project). Why is this interesting? No public funding has been approved yet by the city. Was the agenda pulled because of this? What other changes were made? By law they don’t have to post an agenda until 24 hours before a meeting and it must be the final agenda. In other words if they would have kept up the agenda from Thursday, they could have updated that agenda any time between then and Tuesday before the 24 hour deadline. The city council has done this on occasion. But to take it down completely to make the updates is very curious.

I tried to find something in the charter that would address posting an agenda then taking it down completely without replacing it with an updated agenda, but I could not. Maybe this is something that needs to be addressed at the meeting Wednesday night?

Cody Ingle David Barranco Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls

Perspective Sioux Falls City Council Candidates Zitterich and Bassey didn’t make the ballot

l3wis 2Comments

A news story probably not covered in SF politics yesterday was that two perspective candidates DID NOT make the ballot due to the lack of signatures.

Mike Zitterich who was hoping to run for AT-Large B did send me an email last night explaining to me his disappointment and hoped to run in the future. He said it was due to time constraints.

Immanuel Bassey has said very little except this to AL reporter Trevor Mitchell;

Bassey did not have enough valid signatures to get into the race, he tells me

I found out about Bassey last week and that he was recruited by some local politicians to run. Considering who they were I anticipated that he would make the ballot. I find it odd that if the rumor was true that he was recruited by these folks they didn’t help him gather signatures. Almost looked like a false flag operation to discourage others from running against Barranco.

Thank goodness Ingle qualified for the ballot and I encourage anyone that is on the fence in the SE district about the candidates to reach out to Mr. Ingle and get to know this incredible individual. As for Barranco, I hear very little about him except that he doesn’t pay his property taxes on time.

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