Sioux Falls Mayoral Race: Partisan Shifts Create Local Pre-Election Quiet

The day preceding an election brings a distinctive quiet to the news industry.

Very few actions can be taken at this advanced stage of the political cycle.

Consequently, it represents an ideal window to spend a few hours at a preferred downtown establishment finalizing logistics for election day.

Responsibilities must be assigned, candidate schedules tracked, and counting efficiencies evaluated for Minnehaha County regarding the mayoral race and three City Council seats before midnight.

The outcome remains entirely unpredictable, though public resources remain at stake.

Thus, an arrival materialized outside the Orion Pub, with a bicycle laden with journalism equipment, on a cloudy Monday evening.

The preferred seating location remained unoccupied.

The bartender prepared the requested beverage prior to entry being fully completed.

The Minnesota Twins hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers on the main television screen.

Conditions were improving.

A search through a gear bag for a specific charging cable was interrupted by a physical tap on the shoulder.

The internal reaction mirrored a cinematic suspense sequence where a protagonist senses a plot shift, experiencing sudden dread regarding the identity of the individual standing directly behind them.

In this specific environment, the individual was an acquaintance named Ol’ Pete, recognizable by a weathered face and a worn Miller High Life trucker hat.

He initiated conversation without waiting for a turnaround.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere else, you know, working?” he asked.

The search through the backpack continued.

“I don’t appreciate your tone, Ol’ Pete. I am working.”

“Well take a break and have a beer with me.”

“I guess I can spare a few minutes.”

Straightening up followed, and the bag was pushed into the corner, removing immediate concern regarding the missing cable.

The bartender had already provided an additional beverage, prompting a walk to the counter to collect them.

Ol’ Pete moved into the seating area.

A beverage container was handed over before sitting down, waiting as he consumed a significant portion, following his usual pattern.

“Slainte,” was stated while elevating the beverage container to eye level.

“Cheers,” he answered, bringing the containers together in a manner suited for aluminum rather than formal glassware.

“Well,” was asked, “what’s up?”

“I was serious, why aren’t you out there somewhere talking to people.”

“There’s nothing to do really.”

“We’re picking a mayor tomorrow, seems like that’s a big deal.”

“It is. It’s just that I came up in the newspaper world where you don’t run stories the day before an election, other than where to vote and a reminder of who’s on the ballot, that sort of thing.”

Ol’ Pete paused to reflect, seemingly verifying historical practices against his own memory.

“Besides, what more could we tell people? Nothing left but the voting and a lot of people have done that already.”

Ol’ Pete adjusted his grey, unrefined beard.

“Alea iacta est,” he stated.

For a brief moment, it felt as though speech comprehension had failed entirely, or perhaps the background audio from a Bob Dylan track altered auditory perception.

“It’s Latin, Julius Caesar as a matter of fact.”

“You’re going to make me ask aren’t you?”

Ol’ Pete smiled slightly, clearly finding enjoyment in the intellectual exchange.

“The die is cast. It’s what Caesar said when he crossed the Rubicon and started the Roman Civil War.”

“Interesting. Did he also say, ‘the hay is in the barn?’”

“Now you’re just being insolent.”

“Sorry. That’s what I’m saying, though. There’s nothing substantive that hasn’t been said or written on the day before an election. It’s all just keyboard warriors pounding away and getting-out-the-vote efforts.”

“Yeah, people online, on social media, throwing around all kinds of accusations and insults. It always devolves into chaos.”

“I don’t do social media.”

“It worries me, though. We’re supposed to be picking a mayor to lead the… what is it again?”

“Best Little City in America.”

“Yeah, that. We’re supposed to be choosing who is going to make decisions every day that affect people who live here every day, and it seems like things have gone off the rails with Toby and Larry getting involved and people saying I’m voting for Christine because she’s a Republican and Jamie because he’s a Democrat.”

“It’s been weird, that’s for sure.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass which party they are from. I’m not in a party and I don’t care who is.”

“Many people share that position.”

“It changes things. It ascribes intent based on nothing. It makes assumptions about what a person will do, the decisions they will make, based on what some di… person… in Washington or Pierre says. The two things don’t have anything to do with each other. This is Sioux Falls. We have Sioux Falls problems.”

“Agreed,” was stated, avoiding any disruption to Ol’ Pete’s necessary venting session.

“What happens on Wednesday?”

“What happens after all this partisan nonsense? What happens when everybody has to go back to the blocking and tackling of government? Does it all just go away?”

“That’s the hope, I guess.”

“That’s my hope,” was clarified. “That’s what should happen, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

“I’ve spent my whole life here. I like it here and I worry that when the tentacles of partisanship wind their way into the process that there’s no getting rid of them.”

“It doesn’t feel good. It doesn’t feel right.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Keep talking, keep writing,” was answered. “There’s not much else I can do.”

“Well, who can do something?”

“The Legislature. At some measure they created this problem by mandating that local and state elections have to happen on the same day.”

“Good god. All hope is lost.”

Ol’ Pete smiled once more, recognizing the comedy within his own exaggerated statement, a trait he rarely exhibits.

A laugh followed his brief moment of sarcasm, and the bartender was asked for additional beverages.

Ol’ Pete and his companion possessed ample time to utilize.

History of Local Election Scheduling

The intersection of local municipal administration and partisan politics has historically been resisted in South Dakota municipal structures. Local charters traditionally separated city leadership choices from broader state and national partisan contests to maintain focus on community infrastructure, budgeting, and essential services.

However, recent legislative interventions from the state capital in Pierre altered this dynamic. By aligning the calendar dates of local municipal balloting with broader state primary contests, the structural barrier separating local management from partisan mobilization was lowered, exposing municipal candidate races to national ideological frameworks.

FAQs

Why do news organizations limit coverage the day before an election?

Journalistic tradition dictates that media outlets restrict new coverage on the eve of an election to basic polling logistics and candidate overviews. This prevents unverified last-minute allegations from unfairly influencing voters before candidates can formally respond.

What positions are on the ballot in the Sioux Falls election?

The municipal ballot features the mayoral race alongside contests for three open seats within the Sioux Falls City Council.

How did state legislation impact the municipal election framework?

The state legislature implemented mandates requiring local municipal elections to occur concurrently with state election dates. This structural alignment has increased the influence of major political parties in historically non-partisan local races.