Theresa Stehly

Stehly put up a great fight

UPDATE

Just out of curiosity, I decided to see what each candidate paid for each vote, if you added there expenses with money on hand (assuming they spent it all) this is what each paid.

STEHLY: $3.23 per vote

ERPENBACH: $4.70

If you only take what they spent up until April 8th;

STEHLY: $1.73

ERPENBACH: $4.11

My biggest disappointment Tuesday night was Theresa losing her bid for Central District. As I mentioned below, the council seat races were not mentioned by the media until the last minute, and that was tragic. Over the past couple of weeks Theresa has relentlessly asked local media to cover the races, not just for her own benefit, but for the benefit of all running.

Will Theresa run again? Probably not. This was something she had already decided. But don’t think this is the last of her advocacy – not for one second. I reassured her last night, that I prefer being an advocate over being a lawmaker, and it is not a bad place to be. Cheryl Rath also told Theresa she makes a great advocate, and I would agree.

I will say to, that I was disappointed in myself. I actually helped design some of Theresa’s campaign postcards and helped write some of her materials. As someone who has worked in graphic design and advertising for over 16 years, I feel I failed her on many levels. I have worked on non-profit fundraising campaigns in the past that have netted big results, so I don’t take this loss lightly.

It was no secret that Michelle also went to Hildebrand for political advise, and paid a lot more for her votes then Theresa did. When Theresa ran against Vernon I believe he paid 2 or 3 times more for votes then she did. What can I say, we got beat by a political giant.

But this fight ain’t over.

UPDATE: I guess that 731 voters in the Central District did not even fill out the council seat, that tells me that a lot of people were uninformed.

Absentee voting popular, no surprise

Since the city likes to play musical precincts over the past few elections, it is no wonder;

More than 1,650 absentee votes have been cast for the city election as of Friday, a record for Sioux Falls.

City Clerk Debra Owen noted that the central district is seeing exceptionally high absentee voter turnout.

That is because central district council candidate Stehly was the ONLY council candidate to advertise it on her campaign materials, hopefully it equals votes for her.

Theresa Stehly; Clear choice for Sioux Falls City council central district

I think this editorial about Stehly, written by close friends of hers, says it all;

Hard work, citizen advocacy, persistence and faith make Theresa Stehly the clear choice for the Sioux Falls city council central district. Her kindness, honesty and fairness also add to her broad appeal that will be an asset to city government. Her knowledge on the issues facing our city is superior. Theresa has been politically active in our community for several years. She studies the issues thoroughly, seeking figures and data to forecast the effect council decisions have on citizens. She goes the extra mile when urging citizens to get involved with their city government. Whether that is circulating petitions, urging people to attend council meetings or to dissent our local politicians. She successfully headed up the movement to keep Drake Springs as an outdoor pool and to resist the poorly planned, extravagant indoor pool, bringing the issue to a vote of the people, and they agreed. Just as she speaks out against actions and proposals of the council that she perceives will have a negative effect on the city and its citizens, she also speaks in favor of decisions and actions that are beneficial. She pays attention to the economics and financial situation of citizens from agencies that serve low-income families and individuals, and tries to educate the public to get involved. Whether it is going to events or going door-to-door to talk with people, Theresa has gone the extra mile for not just the central district but for all the citizens of Sioux Falls. Theresa also knows we live in a great community, and doesn’t take that for granted. But Theresa also believes great communities are built around the citizenry and not city hall, she will bring that community pride in citizenry back to city government and will work diligently to provide the highest level of customer service to the ones that count, you, the citizen tax payer of our great city.

There are many things I could say personally about Theresa, but one thing stands out to me; SHE IS DILIGENT. Her diligence would serve our city well. It is time we have a city councilor who WANTS to work, but not just work, but WORK FOR US! The  CITIZEN TAXPAYER.