Runoff victories send Oppenheimer, Pankonin, Okuwe to Sioux Falls City Council
Trio that secured most votes in June 2 election prevailed Tuesday
All three first-place-finishing city council candidates in the Sioux Falls municipal election earlier this month won their runoffs Tuesday.
That means At-Large candidate James Oppenheimer, Central District candidate Sara Pankonin and Southeast District candidate Zak Okuwe will be seated on the eight-member City Council that leads South Dakota’s largest city.
At-Large A
Oppenheimer, CEO of the Sioux Falls Family YMCA, beat entrepreneur Vince Danh with 18,692 to 11,990 votes.
Southeast
With 45.81 percent of the vote, Pankonin, an engineer, topped Michael Crane, who came up short with 4,245 votes to Pankonin’s 5,027. Crane is a former school board member and property developer.
Central
Nurse and nonprofit founder Okuwe edged artist and teacher Zach DeBoer with 3,313 votes to 2,822. Okuwe received 49.40 percent of the vote. Okuwe emphasized his varied professional background in health care and construction during the Central District race.
At-Large B
Council Chairman Rich Merkouris retained his seat outright in the June 2 election, avoiding a runoff by earning a majority of voters’ support against Samantha Scarlatta. The clergyman secured 60 percent. Scarlatta, a vocal opponent of data center development in Sioux Falls, earned 40 percent of the ballots cast.
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THANK YOU to everyone who stepped up to run for office. We need engaged citizens who care about the future of our city and who are willing to step up to lead. It's not easy to run for office. Too many negative people love to take punches at those who may have differences of opinions but it is important that all voices are heard and our city is stronger for the diversity of voices and experiences. To those who didn't get as many votes - you all should be proud of the races you ran and I hope you try again!