South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Theresa Stehly

Alex Jensen Christine Erickson Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

UPDATE III: Sioux Falls City Councilor Stehly asks for ‘Reasonable’ accommodations for the recount

l3wis 3Comments

Update III: Recount will happen at 9 am next Wednesday, June 24

UPDATE II: The one thing that often makes me laugh about the right wing talking machine is how stupid they think people are. The latest statement made me scratch my head from that POS blog 40 minutes to the North;

Sioux Falls City Councilors do receive a salary. And the word is that Theresa continues to get paid as long as this drags out.  I’m told that in addition to monthly car & cell phone allowances, councilors receive a paycheck which Theresa will still have coming in as long as this recount takes.

Does he realize, whether Theresa is on the council or Alex, they would both be getting paid. It really is a neutral sum. Taxpayers are still on the hook either way. He is really grasping at straws.

UPDATE: Theresa has confirmed the appointment of Retired Judge Rodney Steele for the neutral party representing the City Clerk in the recount. While I have never been keen on Judge Steele’s light sentence for Wild Bill for running over Randy Scott and blaming it on a Diet Coke, I still think he would be a fair juror. I just think if she keeps denying applicants, this could go down hill even more. Let’s get this recount on.

Thoughts?

I want you to know, I took a lot of joy in the fact that Stehly chose Randy as her attorney. It reaffirms her commitment to NON-PARTISAN government in Sioux Falls. It doesn’t matter what color of stripes her representative comes from, as long as they can put up the good fight. He will.

But it often harkens back to when I helped Councilor Erickson with the school start date campaign, and how she gathered up assistance from all stripes of the political spectrum, as she should have, now she seems to spitting and spattering out the tired old partisan hackery of Theresa being a (lifelong) Republican but asking someone of another party to help. Oh, Christine, how you have lost your way. And to think I had high hopes for you.

I hope and believe the laundry list below gets a good washing.

You have to remember, this is NOT a referendum on Big T and Alex, this is a referendum on the job City Clerk Tom Greco did. Remember, before Tom was hired he wasn’t even registered to vote (yet we asked him to run our elections). That’s kind of like asking a diesel mechanic to be in charge of the church bake sale.

While most will be rubbing their brows about the Jensen team (I am not, I expected this motley crew) Greco’s first choice of Jack Marsh left me baffled. I said to someone today, “Does Tom think Theresa is that stupid to accept his first choice?” Oh, Brother.

Alex Jensen Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly Tom Greco

The Sioux Falls City Election Re-Count fireworks could start next week

l3wis 8Comments

City Councilor Theresa Stehly has until 5 PM on Tuesday to file her re-count intentions. As far as I know she intends to do that. After that Jensen has 3 days to pick a representative (likely a lawyer) in which I’m not even sure if he has one yet, because who I thought it might be may have backed out.

The city clerk also has 3 days to pick an independent person for review (likely an outside attorney). Some names in that ballpark have been thrown around, but nothing definitive. One of the names I heard is a real rat, and I am being kind. Either way, Stehly and Jensen must both agree on the independent person, so that process could take a few days.

After that I suspect some silly motions in court to stop the recount before it starts on a technicality. I’m not sure if that would hold up in court since a recount can be called within a 2% margin and I believe the margin in this race was around .05%. There will also be a legal battle about what votes can be reviewed and looked at, like undervotes and spoiled ballots. There is also the possibility of absentee ballots that arrived on Tuesday before 7 PM that didn’t get opened and counted (I think these ballots are the lynchpin because Stehly won the absentee ballot part of the race).

Once the logistics of what votes can be counted then the counting can start, which I don’t think will last more than 2-3 days. But who knows at this point. I suspect the process all together could take 2-3 weeks. Stehly remains on the council until the process is finished and an installation ceremony is scheduled, which I suspect will be almost immediate, especially if Jensen wins.

While some don’t have much confidence Stehly can turn the tide, I actually am hopeful she can and been having a weird feeling lately that she will. I’ve never felt this confident about an election before. Of course all the stars will have to align, and we know that isn’t possible because of the hatred towards Stehly and her policy ideas. If the re-count happens, this will be more explosive than the fireworks at Mt. Rushmore and a historic moment in city politics. If anything, it will be a fun one to watch.

Alex Jensen Elections SF City Council Theresa Stehly

Sioux Falls City Council FAKE outrage over recount expenses

l3wis 11Comments

Funny how these things change in a matter of days. Last Wednesday night Alex Jensen and his Campaign Treasurer, Matt Paulson proclaimed if Alex would have lost by 110 votes, he would request a recount also. Heck, as I understand it, Alex already has an attorney hired to handle the recount. But now there seems to be some ‘Fake’ outrage from city councilors (mainly Erickson) that this is going to cost taxpayers money. Last I checked, that is usually the case, unless of course City Clerk Greco and Auditor Litz would like to volunteer their time for the recount? There will also be a judge and other city employees involved. But wouldn’t we be paying them anyway to show up to work?

It’s funny how all of sudden Erickson is a fiscal conservative when trying to save dollars on a recount but doesn’t blink an eye about the millions wasted on these projects that she proudly went along with;

State Theatre ($1.5 million)

EC Siding Siding ($1 million FAKE settlement – NO warranty)

Bunker Ramp ($26 million and counting)

Administration Building HVAC replacement

Ski Lift at Great Bear

New roof on Pavilion

As one my former co-workers used to say about my former boss, “He’s concerned about saving pennies while dollars are flying out the window.” Christine, take your fake fiscal outrage and shove it! Elections are important, especially recounts, this is not the time to worry about a couple of grand while millions are flying out the window due to your very bad decisions.

Alex Jensen Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

A recount in the City of Sioux Falls At-Large election likely

l3wis 13Comments

As I have said before, a recount is likely. I have also said that if Jensen would have lost by 109 votes, he would have asked for one to, so I found this statement interesting from him today;

Any results that finish within two percent when the final votes are tallied can be subject to a recount, should the defeated candidate make the request formally. With almost 30,000 votes cast, city officials would need to dedicate significant time and money to any recount efforts.

It’s like he is trying to ‘shame’ Stehly into not asking for the recount (even though he would have if the tables were turned). If she asks, it will not be a fast process. I also take issue with people who always want to ‘save’ money on elections. It is the last budgetary item we should be worried about. Heck we have given more to the private non-profit State Theatre than we gave towards this election, probably 10x more. Maybe Jensen should bring that up?

After the canvass tonight, Stehly has until next Tuesday to decide if she wants a recount. After that, it could take a couple of weeks to knock one out. Also, both sides get to pick a person to represent them (likely attorneys). I heard a rumor about who the Jensen team picked, and if it is who I think it is, he is a heavy hitter in the GOP, he is also very smart, but also very conniving and will use every trick in the book to throw out votes, hopefully Stehly picks someone who is also smart & cunning but someone with integrity to combat the rat from the SD GOP.

You will see this play out as a battle between attorneys.

The interesting factor is who the city finance director picks to be the third person on the grassy knoll. As we know, Mr. Pritchett was appointed by the mayor, and the mayor openly supported Jensen, so it will be interesting to see who this ‘fair and balanced’ third person is. I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I still think Stehly could pull this off, but she is already trailing, so there is a good possibility she doesn’t. I’m okay with that, and I think she is at peace with it to. But I also know that she knows she needs to fight to the end, just like she has done over the past 4 years.

The best news from all this? Stehly stays until the recount is over and the installation occurs, which could mean another 3 weeks. Amen!

Alex Jensen Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

One more reason why the City of Sioux Falls Election recount in important

l3wis 16Comments

Whether you agree or disagree with Stehly or Jensen, this recount isn’t really about them, it is about the integrity of the process. I have heard about a lot of questionable things happening during the process. The example below is a good example of some of the mistakes that may have been made. More than likely the ballots were double counted in this precinct (Item #41). It is nearly impossible to get a 89% voter turnout in a city election. There are probably a lot of examples of this, such as ballots that may not have been counted in other precincts.

I am unaware how the process is going, but from the calendar, you can see that the installation ceremony is canceled until the recount is complete. I think Stehly has 5 days after the canvas (June 9) to ask for the recount. It could be another two weeks before we know the results.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

Marijuana

Protecting Kids in a Super 8?

1st Amendment Augustana Secretary of State Sioux Falls

Did SOS Monae Johnson cancel a speaking engagement at Augie hosted by Turning Point USA?

Code Enforcement Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE: The toppling of MX Liquor took way to long

Uncategorized

Delusional