Ward 2 race in a Wing-nutshell

In his race against Sam Kooiker, Mayor Alan Hanks sent a now-famous "wing-nut" brochure slamming Sam Kooiker for having conservative friends. He recently endorsed Ward 2 incumbent Deb Hadcock saying Rapid City NEEDS conservatives on the council and Deb is the most conservative candidate in Ward 2. So, who's the wing-nut? I'm confused.

DEB HADCOCK, Incumbent
Deb Hadcock's Rapid City Journal profile is here. It is safe to say that Deb does not like me. And, that's okay with me.

Deb has her GED and graduated from Black Hills Beauty College. She has her own salon. Her husband is a developer. I suspect she's had to make a payroll, but I'm not sure. She does know the challenges of owning a business in Rapid City.

Hadcock says she's a good "multi-tasker." Is that a noun? Okay, a command of the language and communication are not among her shortcomings. "In the bigger picture, that means helping a lot of people." She sounds like a nice lady, doesn't she? Hadcock says economic development and jobs promotion are key issues for her, as is maintaining and improving city infrastructure.

She says she longs to help teach her constituents how to negotiate the bureaucracy and red tape at city hall. She says nothing about changing the bureaucracy. She loves the status quo. And she loves the status. Remember when she said she deserved to travel to vacation resorts because the taxpayers owed her some "perks?" One wonders if there are other perks she takes advantage of.

I urge everyone in Ward 2 to remind themselves of the Real Deb Hadcock and read the this Journal editorial.  Here's a little quote from that extraordinary editorial.

"The mayor's double standard hit a low point when he gave in to bullying councilor Deb Hadcock who was insistent on grandstanding in order to take her pound of flesh from her fellow Ward 2 representative."

RITCHIE NORDSTROM
His Journal profile is here. Ritchie is probably the reason Mayor Hanks made the remark about Hadcock being a conservative. Ritchie's pretty liberal. Okay, he's really liberal.

Nordstrom brings to the campaign the revelation that "the city needs a different approach to project allocation, particularly repairs and improvements in essential infrastructure...It should be more open, free from too many executive sessions and aimed at distributing resources fairly across the city." He thinks neighborhoods plagued by water line breaks and unrepaired potholes should be on top of the "resource list."

Now someone who is a fiscal conservative, like myself, believes it is better to do preventative maintenance and make small repairs before they become big repairs. So the above is pretty lucid conservative thought in my book.

Ritchie is a retired city employee. I don't think he's ever held a job in the private sector and I'm pretty sure he's never made a payroll.

STEVE LAURENTI
His Journal profile is here. Steve Laurenti is the only guy in the Ward 2 race with a college education. Mind you, I don't think a college degree is a must-have qualification to be an effective councilman. But "paper training" as I call it, can be a help.

I'm particularly intrigued that Laurenti's degree is in Business Marketing. He's currently a civilian employee of the United States Air Force. He's an Army veteran. And, he's got 13 years of management experience with a background in finance and budgeting. He's a family man with a wife and three kids to support.

Laurenti ran against Hadcock four years ago and lost to Hadcock. He's smarter about campaigning now, and Hadcock has more baggage than she's ever had before.

Laurenti is running hard on opening up the governmental process. He's "blown away" by how often the council goes into executive session to do the city's business in secret. Me too.

If I were a Ward 2 voter, I would not be voting for someone other than Deb Hadcock. I would be voting for ANYONE other than Hadcock.