Things keep going from bad to worse for Jolene Loetscher as her negative campaign against Paul TenHaken in the Sioux Falls mayor’s continues to blow up in her face.
Apparently, after several years of selective information releases from Mayor Mike Huether, some of the media does not appreciate it when a candidate for Mayor releases snippets to try to tell the story they want people to hear, versus providing the whole truth:
We’ve asked Loetscher’s permission on multiple occasions to publish the entire voicemail, and she has refused. Loetscher has agreed to release a specific clip of the 64-second-long voicemail, and she’s said on the record that she’s OK with publication of direct quotes from the message or even a full transcript.
That’s not good enough to meet Argus Leader’s standards, and it would be disingenuous for us to publish without the full audio. Context is essential in political discussions. One sentence or one phrase could be framed a dozen different ways, but the intended meaning isn’t fully discernible unless it’s in the appropriate context.
and…
But specifically for a campaign so focused on transparency, I see no reason why Loetscher won’t release this voicemail.
and…
On Monday, TenHaken and Loetscher spoke publicly about the voicemail and the so-called “negative” campaigning during a candidate forum hosted by the Downtown Rotary.
After that forum, Argus Leader asked Loetscher if she would release the full audio. She declined.
On Tuesday, after other media reports shared a clip of the voicemail, Argus Leader again asked Loetscher to release the full voicemail. She again declined.
The selective releases in her campaign and lack of disclosure on Loetscher’s part is reminiscent of the type of mayoral administration Sioux Falls is just getting out from under with Mayor Mike Huether, as evidenced this past year with the explanation the Mayor’s office gave on the Premier Center siding settlement:
Mayor Mike Huether and top city officials told taxpayers that contractors responsible for warped exterior panels on the Denny Sanford Premier Center agreed to a $1 million settlement with the city.
The settlement funds, they said during a Sept. 18, 2015 press conference, would be deposited into an Events Center Construction Fund and used to pay for “future fan enhancements” and “facility improvements.”
and…
But the details of a once-secret contract negotiated by the parties show that the settlement was more complex than taxpayers were led to believe. The city did not receive $1 million in cash, and in fact, the agreement called for the city to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars that officials didn’t disclose when the settlement was announced.
The city released the contract one day after the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that it was a public document under the state’s open record laws. Argus Leader Media filed suit in 2015 to win the release of the document after the city declared it confidential.
So… Mayor Mike Huether made selective announcements to the press to get the coverage he wanted, and now Jolene Loetscher seems to be doing the same as she wages a negative campaign against her opponent?
This does not bode well for what a “Mayor Jolene Loetscher’s administration” would look like.
If “Low Blow Jo” can’t be open as she makes negative accusations against her opponent in a political race, what would she do if elected? Because it looks like she would spin, spin, spin all the time.
And hasn’t Sioux Falls had enough of that by now?
Let’s see if Pat’s selective publication of comments continues when I actually agree with him:
Loetscher comes across as dishonest and the attempts to selectively release segments of the voicemail come across as pretty blatant attempts to mislead the public as to their contents. This is pretty damning.
Just keep it on topic
And there it is. Really, Pat?
Holy crap! It takes a lot to have Cory Meyers to write a story that calls you out. And according to the ticker at the bottom of the website it has already been shared on social media 2,300+ times. This does not bode well for her campaign even if she ends up releasing it.
Should’ve waited until today before taking that office pool on Jo losing it during the debate. Going to be a good one tonight.
I am out of the loop, honest question—will it be on TV or radio/net somewhere?
Thank you
Yes, live-streamed on FB and rebroadcasted on KSFY.
Make no mistake about it, “JO” represents the far left side of the liberal agenda.
She had to go negative in hopes of a Hail Mary.
Qualified, give me a break Sioux Falls.
NO WAY!
Joe is scum. The full audio clearly shows Paul had zero ill-intent. She deserves to lose this race, she’s of weak moral character clearly.
So the Argus you guys hate, is a now a member of the press which is complaining about not having the full message, which KELO released to the public the day before? Do I have that right?
Jo is the Sioux Falls version of Elizabeth Warren. I think a big chunk of SD is watching how you handle this Sioux Falls!