Mayoral debate: Loetscher, TenHaken come out swinging on LGBTQ, diversity issues

Two front-runners in the 2018 Sioux Falls mayoral race hashed out some of their differences live on television Monday night.

Jolene Loetscher and Paul TenHaken challenged each other on issues of LGBTQ rights and diversity in local government during a two-hour televised debate hosted by Argus Leader and KSFY News.

Among the topics discussed by five of the six mayoral candidates were Falls Park safety, government transparency and diversity.

The debate also evoked calls for less government from at least one and promises to lead Sioux Falls to new heights in the next four years.

Loetscher and TenHaken continued to push back and forth on one another for comments made in the lead up to next week's 2018 Sioux Falls mayoral election, while Jim Entenman stayed on his own talking points while not specifically answering direct questions posed by moderators.

True to form, Greg Jamison's even-keeled manner revealed itself with answers that fell back on his campaign motto, "Smoother roads ahead" and his time on the Sioux Falls City Council and in the state Legislature.

And embracing his reputation as a dark horse in the race, Mike Gunn used his time to criticize government expansion under Mayor Mike Huether while promising to let the public lead City Hall for the next four years.

Kenny Anderson Jr. was unable to participate due to a family emergency.

Among the most pointed exchanges in the debate came after KSFY's Brian Allen asked Loetscher what she meant by comments made at the Women's March earlier this year when she said the following:

"What we do not deserve is a City Hall or a City Council meeting that looks like a Country Club mixer. We deserve a City Hall and a City Council that looks like us. That sounds like us."

Loetscher defended that statement by saying too many Sioux Falls residents feel like "their voice doesn’t matter or that it’s not being heard," and city government doesn't look like the people it represents. But TenHaken fired back that what she was really implying was too many white men serve in city government.

"I know it’s popular on the national stage to talk about old white men in government, and I think that was part of the implication of that statement, but I will say that if you look across City Hall, it doesn’t reflect that," TenHaken said before adding that the City Council has young members.

In the vein of social issues, specifically LGBTQ protections, all the candidates said they're committed to ensuring City Hall continues to be a welcoming place for residents from all backgrounds and culture groups, with TenHaken pushing back on the notion that his traditional conservative values conflict with embracing some forms of diversity.

"There's no room for lack of tolerance," he said.

Loetscher, though, took a step further and said she's been the only candidate to make LGBTQ protections a pillar of her campaign, and the only one "saying those five letters" during the campaign.

Gunn doubled-down on his anti-establishment reputation, promising to put the public before his own interests at all costs. And his answer to a question about the Village on the River parking ramp project was a prime example.

"I am not for the city. I’m for the people," Gunn said. "And ... they were misrepresented on this whole issue," he said. "If I get in there, I’m a fighter (and) I will do everything in my power to retract this agreement."

In his answers, Entenman tried to shake off the perception that he's in Mayor Mike Huether's camp. While he didn't condemn the parking ramp project like Gunn did, he said he'd have taken more time to vet the developer behind it and get buy-in from the public and City Councilors.

And on the topic of the Premier Center siding settlement, he criticized the mayor for not being as forthright about the details as he could have been.

"Would I have done things differently? You bet I would have," he said. "The settlement was not explained good enough to the people."

But Jamison used more direct language in his assessment of how City Hall handled the event center settlement, saying the way it was presented to the public was dishonest while taking a stand against more confidential contracts between the private sector and city government in the future.

"We were misled, obviously, when it was argued that it was a million dollar settlement, (and) clearly it was only half a million dollars," Jamison said. "What happened in Sioux Falls was poor leadership."

The six candidates will face off in the April 10 election. The top two vote-getters will face off in a run-off election on May 1, and Sioux Falls' next mayor will be sworn in on May 15.