If you recall yesterday, I posted on Sioux Falls City Councilwoman Theresa Stehly’s campaign finance report, which reported no income, and no expenditures. Despite the fact Stehly had purchased advertising in the form of the robocalls, Stehly Report tabloids, and Stehly Report ads in the Sioux Falls Shopping News.
I wrote about it, because it’s highly unusual that someone with as much advertising between elections as Stehly has claimed zero in expenditures on her report. None. Nothing.
No claim of any paid advertisement. Not any in-kind advertising.. even from herself. Despite the presence of a Sioux Falls city ordinance on campaign finance reporting that notes:
§ 38.005 PERSONS AND ENTITIES REQUIRED TO SUBMIT CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURES; TIME FOR SUBMISSION.
(a) A campaign finance disclosure whose contents are specified by state law shall be signed and submitted to the city clerk’s office by the treasurer of every municipal candidate or candidate campaign committee, municipal or nonmunicipal political action committee, municipal ballot question committee, and municipal public office holder pertaining to city elections. Any statement pursuant to this section shall be consecutive and shall cover contributions and expenditures since the last statement submitted.
If it applies as written, the existence of that ordinance would give the appearance that contributions and expenditures since her last statement should have been disclosed.
After my post, predictably, Theresa’s minions seem to be doing a lot of ad hominem attacking of messengers. But not really refuting the contention that there has been a complete lack of disclosure on Councilwoman Stehly’s part on all the paid advertising she places.
Today, I had a note from someone who pointed out there’s another recent Stehly campaign expenditure which seems to have taken place, but wasn’t mentioned on her report. 
So, it looks like Stehly fired her old campaign website back up. And interestingly, it looks to have happened a few weeks (2/11/2020) before that same financial report that claimed zero expenditures:
Granted, URL Registration and web space isn’t expensive at all.. In fact all together, it might be below $100. But again, here’s another example of an expenditure (disclaimed on the website as Paid for by Theresa Stehly for City Council) that didn’t show up on her campaign finance report.
For someone who grouses as much as Stehly does about the propriety of donations and campaign finance, you would think she would err towards open government and disclosure.
Yet, looking at her campaign finance report versus all the paid advertising she does to put her name in the public eye, it looks as if the opposite might be true.
**Update – Looks like Joe Sneve of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader did a story on the whole situation today as well, and also caught Theresa “Non-Disclosure” Stehly failing to report the website expenditure:
Stehly, though, told the Argus Leader Monday that her 2016 campaign website was renewed on her behalf by Sioux Falls resident and political ally Bruce Danielson. She said she would file an amendment to her campaign disclosure report showing an in-kind contribution of $29.98, the price Danielson paid on Feb. 11.
But she has no intention of listing those other expenses because they weren’t related to her campaign, she said.
and…
Sioux Falls City Clerk Tom Greco declined to say whether or not Stehly is in violation of campaign finance rules, and said that it’s the territory of the City Attorney’s Office to investigate if violations are suspected.
Now that Stehly admitted to the Argus Leader that she had made unreported political expenditures, I have to wonder what else is waiting to be discovered?
She could save herself a lot of trouble and demonstrate her commitment to transparency by just publishing what she’s spent on all of these Stehly report mailings, shopping news ads, robocalls, mailings to constituents, etc.
Stehly is as transparent as they come. She has always kept the voters informed through mailings, coffee shops , Benson Fee market, public gatherings. Nothing new. She is just doing her job as a public servant. Nice to hear she has decided to run for re-election.
Typical politician
Always for thee but never for me.
If the Staley report isn’t for politics what’s it for?
Did she have a Staley report before she entered politics?
If it’s to inform the public of what’s happening in city government from her perspective isn’t that political?
Who’s paying for it?
Who’s writing and publishing it?
She screams for disclosure but fails miserably.
Here it is…https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/03/04/stehly-wants-ethics-board-decide-if-she-broke-rules/4953805002/?fbclid=IwAR03opXwu_wQxoI_F4uQH5aM8MI9AH3A_yQgcLWMhBzWJXTegM6VT0mf83U
She appears to be missing the primary point of campaign finance disclosures.
The expenditure disclosure is mostly a disclosure and accountability to donors the money is well spent. In general, the voters aren’t going to care how much she spends on direct mail vs. radio ads.
But, the donor disclosure is for the voters to know who supports the candidate financially and to allow a discernment of conflicts, etc.
When she won’t disclose the other expenditures, she is hiding the donors. Why is the “herald for transparency” being so secretive on something so basic?
She lives a very modest, conservative lifestyle. It makes sense that she spent her own money. Just check out her track record. She’s not the type to take large sums of money from special interests. That’s not her style. It’s the working class that is drawn to her.
ok, maybe I am missing something but, IF you spend your OWN money on things that Teresa has over the years, you have to disclose that? I thought the whole point was to disclose money given to you and how you spent it. I know this sounds stupid but, if you spend you own money on anything why I do have to jot it all down.