In case you have not heard, Mitchell citizens saw through the deception of Focus 2020 lead by Mark Buche and Senator Mike Vehle and overwhelmingly voted down their idea of an unelected city manager:
Mitchell voters resoundingly defeated a proposal to add a city manager to the city staff Tuesday.
The initiated measure was defeated 1,486 to 782, a 65.52 to 34.48 percent margin. It was brought to the ballot by a petition drive that collected 1,707 names but received less than half that many votes. Voter turnout Tuesday was 23.4 percent.
Vehle and Buche tried to make it sound like all 1,707 of the petition signers were in favor of a city manager, but I learned last weekend while going door to door that most who signed were not in favor. This is just one of the many deceptions used by the ruling elite of Mitchell to gain further control over the citizens by fooling them into voting for an anti-American form of governmment.
Buche, who was the leader of Focus 2020, still is not in focus:
Mark Buche, chairman of Focus 2020, said the defeat was a major surprise.
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” Buche said. “I thought we’d done all the right things to get this accomplished.”
He felt getting current and former city officials to endorse the plan, holding forums and providing information to voters was the path to success.
“Obviously, we’re missing something,” Buche said. “I’m sitting here scratching my head. It’s obviously not something the community wants.”
You think? Buche does not have a clue on what the people want. Mel Olson does have the people clearly in focus:
Councilman Mel Olson, who led the opposition to the proposal, said he felt he represented the views of most voters.
“I think there’s something to listening to the common people and not just the elites and the movers and shakers,” Olson said.
“It’s not me that needs congratulating, it’s the people of Mitchell. I just really think people like having an executive who is responsible to people, and I think the other side glossed that over.”
Olson said he was encouraged by people he saw after he began speaking against the city manager concept.
“I heard people say, flat out, ‘We don’t need it,’ ” he said.
Olson said voters were concerned about the accountability of a city manager, the large salary, the at-times rapid turnover in city managers and other issues.
“If you’re going to spend your $100,000, spend it on Sanborn Street or something else,” Olson said people told him.
He said the landslide against adding a city manager, which closely mirrors the result of a Mitchell vote on a city manager in 1948, may mean the end of such a proposed change in city government.
“Well, I hope so,” Olson said. “I think it would have buried the issue if we had had a higher turnout.”
Yeah, I don't think Mike Vehle, who votes wrong regardless of what his constituents say, confirms Olson's suspicion:
Another proponent, state Sen. Mike Vehle, said the defeat was tough to take but he accepted the will of the voters.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed,” Vehle said when he stopped by The Daily Republic after the results were known.
He said the turnout was especially disheartening.
“Less than 25 percent of the voters came out,” Vehle said. “That’s truly the disappointing part.
“But I want to thank all the people that put this together,” he said. “I want to thank the voters that came out, that studied the issue and made the decision.”
Vehle said other initiatives proposed by Focus 2020 still deserve serious discussion and possible implementation. This election doesn’t mean the effort was wasted, he said.
“I would hope not,” Vehle said. “We’ve got a whole lot of civic-minded people that came together and want to push this community forward.”
So the New World agenda of the Focus 2020 ruling elite will continue, even though they don't have a clue on what the citizens care or want. Their use of deception in order to fool the people into accepting their tyrannical ideas is truly troubling. The only success they have is due to their money and control of the media, whose survival depends advertising revenues from the ruling elite's money.
And let us not forget that the Governor's chief of staff, Dusty Johnson, was also part of the city manager agenda.
Having a city manager turned sour for the great citizens of Sturgis, SD.
Keep fighting for our rights to a republic Sibby!
Posted by: Thad Wasson | June 08, 2011 at 10:00 PM