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While I was doing my early morning reading in bed, I noticed a couple of interesting stories that seemed to intersect with each other. How do they relate? Think Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether, who recently changed his long-time Democrat Party affiliation to independent, as he is trying to shed the liberal Democrat label as he prepares to run for office.

First off, this story from KELO-AM back on February 15th:

Sioux Falls has made another top 10 list, however this one is nothing to be proud of.

The web site 24/7 Wall Street has named us the third fastest growing crime city in the nation in their annual ranking.

The ranking took into account a four year boom in violent crimes per 100,000 residents (from 215 to 364) and the city’s growing drug problem (meth seizures quadrupled from 2015 to 2016).

Read that here.

Let that sink in – Sioux Falls is the third-fastest growing crime city in the nation.  Four-year boom in violent crimes. Growing Drug Problem.

Now, here’s another story, more recent, from National Review, on a governmental phenomena they’re terming “The Bloomberg Syndrome:”

Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg used to offer all sorts of cosmic advice on the evils of smoking and the dangers of fatty foods and sugary soft drinks. Bloomberg also frequently pontificated on abortion and global warming, earning him a progressive audience that transcended the boroughs of New York.

But in the near-record December 2010 blizzard, Bloomberg proved utterly incompetent in the elemental tasks for which he was elected: ensuring that New Yorkers were not trapped in their homes by snowdrifts in their streets that went unplowed for days.

The Bloomberg syndrome is a characteristic of contemporary government officials. When they are unwilling or unable to address pre-modern problems in their jurisdictions — crime, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate transportation — they compensate by posing as philosopher kings who cheaply lecture on existential challenges over which they have no control.

Read it all here.

What has Huether’s tenure been characterized by? Empire building, ego, and pontification.

Since early on, Huether ram-rodded through building projects, which often had the community sharply divided; The Denny Sanford Arena, a new indoor pool, and most recently, a new city administration building.  But alongside that, we’ve been constantly reminded of Huether’s massive and unabated egomania through such things as his top ten lists, as well as his infamous municipal ad campaign and billboards featuring.. himself.

While Huether was glad to tout sales tax revenue as an accomplishment when times were good, he’s not talking about it so much anymore, especially because it’s a statewide economic trend under which he has little to no control. Same thing goes with employment. Those economic conditions are largely on autopilot, and not affected as much by city hall as the local citizens would care to think.

One factor that can effect quality of life, as well as whether businesses want to locate in an area is crime. And during Huether’s tenure, it’s been been growing by leaps and bounds while Huether has been writing his top ten lists over the course of his time in the mayoral office.

And it’s continuing to get worse.

Sure, Sioux Falls has a low unemployment rate, but you might get carjacked at McDonalds.  And this has happened largely under Mayor Mike Huether’s watch.

Coming into the last year of his mayoral tenure, he’s gone from calling himself a hero for city workers clearing trees during “Operation Timber Strike” to finding out from the evening news and crime statistics that he’s Mayor Mike Huether of Crime City, U.S.A.

So, what do you think? Has Huether dickered over minutia and empire building, fiddling while Rome Sioux Falls burned under his watch? Is it going to affect his campaign for whatever office he’s going to run for?

The floor is yours.

It’s a little battered and stained after all these years (aren’t we all), but I still have an official Roger Porch for State Senate square yardstick in the closet for all those measuring and “getting things that fell behind the cabinet” duties. Such as the marker I fished out of my wife’s desk.

Rounds, Kaine Introduce Bipartisan DOD Cyber Scholarship Program Act of 2017

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services’ Committee Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) today introduced a bill to strengthen the cybersecurity workforce that is critical to addressing the United States’ growing cyber challenges. The DoD Cyber Scholarship Program Act of 2017 would reinvigorate and modify an existing DoD scholarship program for students pursuing degrees in cybersecurity fields. This bill would authorize the DoD’s scholarship fund to receive $10 million for FY 2018 and would expand scholarships to students pursuing associate’s degrees at several community colleges.

“As our reliance on technology in everyday life continues to grow, so does our threat of cyber-attacks which could significantly disrupt our economy and weaken our national security,” said Rounds. “This expanding threat underscores the need to recruit and train cybersecurity professionals. In particular, our national shortage of these experts impacts the Defense Department’s ability to accomplish its cyber missions. Our legislation strengthens a proven cybersecurity scholarship program that has amply benefited students in South Dakota and nationwide as they embarked on cybersecurity careers in support of our national security.”

“A well-trained and highly skilled cyber workforce is essential to addressing the United States’ growing cybersecurity challenges,” Kaine said. “There are good-paying jobs in Virginia and across the country in the cyber field that are going unfilled, and it’s clear we must make it easier for students to access the programs that prepare them for these roles. Expanding scholarship funds so they’re available to community college students is a commonsense change that will help put more of Virginia’s students on a path to success and support our national security needs.”

The bill would require that at least 5 percent of scholarship funds go to 2-year program students who attend institutions designated by the NSA and DHS as Centers of Academic Excellence, such as Dakota State University in Madison. The bill would also make competitive grants available to eligible schools for developing cybersecurity academic programs.  

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Attorney General Jackley Commends U.S. Attorney Sessions’ Renewed Commitment to Combat Violent Crime

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley commends U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ commitment to targeting violent crime nationwide.

“As Attorney General, I welcome and appreciate the Department of Justice’s commitment to addressing violent crime with state, local, and tribal law-enforcement. In South Dakota, we are very fortunate to have strong federal law enforcement partners, and we look forward to the renewed priority to working together to keep our citizens safe,” said Jackley.

U.S. Attorney General Sessions made clear “Turning back our nation’s recent rise in violent crime is a top priority for the Department of Justice, and it requires decisive action from our federal prosecutors,” said Attorney General Sessions. “I’m urging each of them to continue working closely with their counterparts at all levels and to use  every tool we have to put violent offenders behind bars and keep our citizens safe.”

In a letter to federal prosecutors, Sessions directed his U.S. Attorneys to partner with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crimes in their districts.

South Dakota Democrats are holding an “I love Obamacare” rally in Sioux Falls on Friday:

Since South Dakota is one of the states that has opposed the measure the strongest, and where the new Government entitlement is the least popular, I wonder how that’s going to go. And who is going to show up in support of it?

Dusty Johnson is holding a BIG fundraiser in Sioux Falls in 2 weeks for his bid for Congress.

Are there any residents of Sioux Falls who are not on this list?  We’ve got Legislators, former Legislators, businessmen, a former Democrat PUC member, a cabinet member, etcetera and so on. Seriously, counting husbands, wives and individuals, there’s close to 90 hosts for the event.

Wednesday March 22, from 5-6:30 PM at the Prairie Berry East Bank, at 322 East 8th Street in Sioux Falls. (If you’re going, send me pictures).

Contrary to what I had heard in recent weeks, Pierre news-stringer Bob Mercer is claiming that Secretary of State Shantel Krebs is preparing to announce a congressional run 4 or 5 months after former PUC Commissioner Dusty Johnson pulled the trigger:

By the way, I’m told that Secretary of State Shantel Krebs is preparing to be the second candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. House to succeed Kristi in Congress. So far Dusty Johnson is the only declared candidate for the Republican slot on the 2018 general election ballot. Dusty has the backing of Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who hasn’t taken a public side in the governor contest.

Read it all here.

It is not inconceivable that others would enter the race for an open congressional seat. But, they may face a rocky path. At this point, Dusty has had several months of uncontested campaigning, and has managed to put some respectable fundraising numbers together to fend off challengers.

What has me questioning his report, is that it hasn’t seemed that the signs are there. Inside reports have pointed elsewhere, and notably, this year’s Hughes County Lincoln Day dinner, which tends to be populated by the Who’s Who of upcoming campaign hopefuls, was missing the Secretary of State.

At the same time Shantel skipped the GOP Dinner, congressional hopeful Dusty Johnson had a nice-sized fundraiser immediately prior to the event.

However, as I’d reported earlier, someone was buying up Krebs related websites. So, you never know.

Criminal Prohibition of Direct Conflicts of Interest by Public Officials Passes Full House

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that SB 27, the Attorney General sponsored bill to Prohibit Certain Direct Conflicts of Interest By Public Officials has passed the full House. The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill on Monday, March 6, 2017.

“Public officials that illegally take taxpayer money that has been entrusted to them, violate the public trust and should be held responsible and treated as any other criminal thief. This legislation further removes the presumption for probation that limits the sentencing discretion for both the prosecutors and the courts in EB-5 and GEAR UP type financial cases. It also provides whistleblower protections for employees that report any inappropriate self-dealings and conflicts of interest. We wanted to encourage a state employee or others that see something going wrong like and EB5 or GEAR UP matter to feel confident to report without repercussion,” said Jackley.

SB 27 passed the House on a vote of 58 to  9.

“Thank you to both the Senate and the House for recognizing the importance of addressing the need to strengthen our laws in the interest of protecting taxpayer dollars,” said Jackley.

A public official who commits a criminal conflict of interest would be guilty of theft as set forth under existing law.     Under current theft law, when the value of the theft is

$1,000 or less, it’s a misdemeanor. If the value is greater than $1,000, it is a felony that further increases based up on the amount.

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Former Democrat and Obama man Mike Huether is apparently trying to look more Republican as this Democrat in Indy clothing prepares for a run for statewide office. What that office is, who knows, but he’s looking at something. From the Argus:

Huether still isn’t saying whether or not he plans to run for governor or U.S. House when his time as mayor ends next year, but a change of political affiliation and some recent political stances on a series of national issues make a statewide run looking more likely.

It was in December when Huether held a press conference announcing he was no longer a Democrat and would instead be a registered independent. He used the time to criticize U.S. House Democrats for sticking with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as their minority leader. The party, he said, was moving too far to the left.

and…

“I would assume what he is doing is some sort of posturing,” said Emily Wanless, a political science professor at Augustana University. “A politician acts today in terms of the electorate he or she wants in the future.”

Although municipal offices are supposed to be non-partisan, there was no secret about his affiliation when he first ran for office in 2010. That’s not a winning recipe for South Dakota politicians of late. Wanless said aligning himself with the likes of Sen. John Thune and other notable Republicans on matters like school choice and the air traffic control topic and abandoning the Democratic Party are attempts to overcome any attempts future adversaries make to label him a big city liberal.

Read it here.