Patrick Lalley is really sinking his teeth into the story of how an Ohio political ad firm with connections to Corey Lewandowski landed a five-million-dollar deal to plagiarize Kristi Noem’s vanity bad-plumber ads. In his article last week about the selection process, Lalley reports that Ohio’s Go West Media, the corporate paper tiger Strategic Media Placement honcho Ben Yoho filed in South Dakota just a few days after sitting at Noem’s inauguration next to Lewandowski, did not appear to make a great impression with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development:
…of the seven proposals that were submitted, five were selected for interviews by former GOED Marketing Director Nate Welch.
A team of seven staff reviewed the proposals and sat in on the interviews. In addition to Welch, the team included:
- Travis Dovre, finance director
- Ann Gesick-Johnson, business analytics director
- Ashley McCloud, graphic designer
- Sarah Ebeling, communications coordinator
- McCade Ivarsen, marketing coordinator
- Josh Bixler, videographer
…A summary of the presentations was given verbally to Steve Westra, who was GOED commissioner at the time, by Dovre, the finance director.
“Westra signed off on the final decision based on the feedback that he received from the GOED team,” Schilken wrote.
However, an informal tabulation of individual members’ ranking of the companies does exist, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. In that process, the team was asked for their top two favorites.
Sioux Falls Live obtained a copy of that non-binding ranking, showing that Go West wasn’t the first choice of any of the team members and was the second choice of only two.
The team was also asked which firm they would not choose. Two members put Go West in that category [Patrick Lalley, “Governor’s Office Offers Lawmakers Private viewing of Freedom Works Here Proposals,” Sioux Falls Live, 2023.12.04].
Nobody’s first choice, only two out of seven judges’ second choice, and two other judges’ last choice. Having pored over lots of high school speech ballots, I know it’s hard, if not impossible, for a speaker to come up with rankings like that and still win the final round. Under the simple method of adding up ranks and taking the lowest number as the winner, any other contender who got three first-place votes would have mathematically beaten Go West. Even if the seven judges maximally spread out their first place picks, three of the other four bidders would have gotten two first-place votes. The only way those lucky three could have lost to Go West is if they received the lowest possible remaining rankings from the other five judges—and remember, two of the judges already ranked Go West last, so the worst they could do to the other contestants who got two firsts from other judges would be to give them fours and threes. And if we sandbag the two-first contestants, then the remaining twos and threes cluster on the fifth contestant who got one first, and that contestant comes out ahead of the no-first, two-fifth Go West.
You’d think Dovre the numbers guy would have talked numbers with Westra. But Dovre and Westra are closer to Noem, and Noem will tell any number-cruncher who tries to get in the way of her agenda with simple math to kiss her abacus.
Look at the bright side, in a couple more years voters will replace this corrupt governor with the next corrupt republican governor.
Budget move! Stop using review teams.
My comment is awaiting moderation. Joy. Guess I need to put something in the tip jar.
Your second comment posted, did you use questionable language in your first?
Curious if anyone knows that K Noem was in Vegas this past weekend at the NFR, high atop her pony, carrying the Stars and Stripes during the national anthem. Our SD tax dollars going to freedom in Nevada!
The state used out of state firms for video ads and the new crappy GFP website.
Wtf. There are companies in this state that can do both.
Knowem Nothing is not running for higher office in South Duhkota, SX123., Why waste vote buying money there?
When you add up all the mulligans Noem has received for not taking care of her day job, it is easy to understand using low scores as winners. Think golf and cross country.
I want another NASCAR sponsorship.
What are the chances of finishing DEAD LAST
again ?
I heard that they use Mike Lindell My Pillow
bedsheets to make their KKK hoods.
Geez, they could have bought those in state too.
Grand Gateway Hotel
1721 N. Lacrosse St.
Rapid City, SD 57701
Ask for Connie. ….Tell her Kristi sent you.
This whole deal is pretty stinky…I guess Go West won the “competition” because the Governor wanted to do business with a fellow named Ben Yoho, as Yoho is a drinking partner and confederate with her ex-offcio campaign Manager, Cory Lewandowski. So…the competition process was a sham. Or a sham and a scam. Take your pick. The money could have been spent in South Dakota.
LOL, same old cronyism going on in Pierre and nobody but Lalley and Cory reporting on it.
MN DFL to SD Dems – ‘another missed opportunity. wake up!’
It’s difficult to take Mr. Lalley seriously as his obsession with American sport is insufferable.