Baumeister: Jensen Seeks to Replace Stehly’s Voice for All with Favors for Big Money

Last updated on 2019-11-26

from Dakota Free Press Sioux Falls correspondent Dave Baumeister

Greetings Blogophiles!

This week I have been watching a news item in that Sioux Falls paper, on South DaCola, and on Dakota Free Press about Alex Jensen, who announced as a candidate for Sioux Falls City Council nearly a year before the election.

Personally, I don’t believe I have ever seen such a blatant attempt to for a politician to say, “Money is the only thing that matters here. Anyone with money is always right.”

Next Thursday, Sept. 19, Jensen is planning a $250 per head fundraiser to bolster his bid to unseat Councilor Theresa Stehly for the at-large seat she now holds, although, she hasn’t even announced her intentions to run (but, knowing Stehly, if she hadn’t planned on running before, she will now).

It has been reported that Jensen is planning to raise more than $100,000 to get elected to a $19,191.12-a-year job, but I find it more interesting to look at Jensen’s past record. In 2016 he was a state representative for District 12. Before the end of session, he moved out of District 12 (that fancy house in District 13 must have been more important than his constituents). Prior to the end of session, though, it seemed that he took out a petition for State Senate in District 13.

GOP loyalists picked Sue Peterson to run for that post in 2016. But now, Jensen is pushing (or being pushed) to run against Stehly by people who really don’t seem to like Stehly. And I have to ask, “why bother?”

Those who follow Sioux Falls city politics know that quite often, Stehly is the voice who speaks against what the majority wants to do. Sometimes she may go a bit overboard is trying to be heard; however, since she is in the minority, what she says usually doesn’t have much impact.

But that is not what is important. What is important is that someone is around to speak up for the minority. Even if their preferences are going to be ignored by other council members like Christine Erickson, who openly supports Stehly’s opponent, it is vital that those preferences be heard.

If not, there is a large group in Sioux Falls who would be taxed without any representation, and taxation without representation did very well for others who were once in power in North America.

So let’s forget about whether we agree or disagree with Councilor Stehly. Instead, let’s look at what she does. Apart from bringing up possible negatives to issues, she is the person that many people in Sioux Falls feel comfortable to go to when they want to know about local issues that really matter, like cleaning up after tornadoes.

I am sure people would go to Alex Jensen and his supporters to learn about issues like how much needs to be paid to whom in order to grease the proper palms in the city.

But Theresa Stehly represents all people in Sioux Falls. Again, agree or disagree with her about specific issues, no one can truthfully say she doesn’t represent people, or that the people she does represent don’t deserve a voice (see previous note on taxation without representation).

And with the little I have seen so far, I get the impression Jensen will be using the tired Republican ploy (remember, this is a non-partisan position, although Stehly is also a Republican) of saying that he is a “Christian,” as if that should be a reason to vote for him. I know this is just a political talking-point that is meaningless to many candidates, but I need to ask: who is really the “Christian”—the person who made a career teaching elementary children for the Sioux Falls Catholic Schools, or the person who is a loan officer for First Premier Bank, a financial institution known for its predatory lending tactics*?

Also, if we are bringing political parties into this, who is more the Republican, the person who is really the “conservative” or that one who will readily spend $100,000 of someone else’s money to get that coveted $19,000 job?

*First Premiere’s Banking tactics are well known. When I was the owner of a business in Yankton, one day I received a letter from a law office (Jason Ravnsborg’s office, no less) at my post office box. It wasn’t addressed to me or my business, but to a couple whose names I didn’t recognize. At first, I thought it went to the wrong box, but it was addressed to P.O. Box 98, my address. Since I had already opened it, I looked at the paperwork and saw that it was some legal work done for a court filing of a bankruptcy, at which point I phoned the law office and learned it was sent to the right people at the right post office box, but to the wrong city. However, two days later, I received another mailing to the same people at P.O. Box 98 in Yankton, only this time it was a solicitation from First Premier Bank which told the people it was addressed to that they were pre-qualified for a new credit card! The only place they could have gotten those names at that address is if they had been trawling bankruptcy proceedings to look for new business.

Probably not the most Christian thing to do.