Jensen, Stehly spar over money raised, communication ahead of next week's Sioux Falls City Council election

Joe Sneve
Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Alex Jensen on Tuesday morning pushed back on accusations from Theresa Stehly that he's in the pockets of special interest.

Since early 2020, Stehly, the incumbent in the race for the at-large city council spot up for grabs in next week's municipal election, has honed in on the amount of campaign donations brought in by Jensen's camp to insinuate that he has the support of the Sioux Falls establishment and wouldn't have the best interests of ordinary citizens in mind if elected.

He took issue with that when it came up during a debate with Stehly in the Argus Leader newsroom Tuesday morning. 

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"I am no one's yes man, and I am not going to be beholden to anyone that has contributed to my campaign, and I guarantee it," Jensen said. "I'll never be bought and paid for like my opponent thinks I am, and I think that's a terrible thing to say about someone."

Jensen has raised more than $85,000 since announcing his candidacy in May 2019. Stehly, who jumped in the race just ahead of the late February filing deadline, has raised $15,000.

She didn't specifically answer a question about whether she'd be beholden to her campaign donors, but said her campaign donations are coming from people she doesn't personally know and tend to be amounts less than $100.

"I haven't taken any money from developers or big business entities," she said.

Opening the pools

Last week, Mayor Paul TenHaken said the city's public pools would remain closed for the remainder of 2020, something both Jensen and Stehly said they were disappointed to see.

Each voiced support for exploring the possibility of opening at least one outdoor pool for this summer, but Jensen said he could more effectively work with the mayor to make that happen because of his ability to cultivate positive relationships.

"You have to build trust with the administration. I can communicate effectively with the mayor and not spread misinformation around," he said, referring specifically to claims Stehly made last year when she said utility bills could skyrocket by up to $300 to pay for the ongoing sanitary sewer project. "That's the kind of misinformation that really goes away from trusting one another and communicating openly and effectively."

Stehly said she only sounded the alarm on the sewer project because she wasn't satisfied with rate projections being shared with her by the Public Works Department.

"I ran on keeping affordable living for our citizens, I know we need sewer and water things met but I don't want to get into something we can't afford down the road," she said.

Replay the full debate in the video feed above.