Transcript 0:00 My grandpa was one of my favorite all-time people growing up. I remember going to the Tulip Festival with him. I remember his blue jacket was always full of Starburst. 0:10 I remember a lot about my grandfather, but I also remember a lot about what he instilled in me and some of the values he dropped along the way. Things like, "I could never afford to buy cheap." 0:22 Now what that means to me is that in the industry that I'm in, mattresses don't last through their warranty, and those big box brands really don't have your best interests in mind. 0:31 They'd rather have you buy a bed and it break down prematurely and you'd have to buy a new bed again. 0:36 But at Juna Sleep Systems, we value our commitment to our customers and their satisfaction long term, which is why we only use the best quality ingredients and we're there for you any time you wanna make a change to the mattress, even per side. 0:48 At Juna, 1950s values are still alive. We're only as good as the quality products we turn out at the end of the day, and our word is our bond. Come on down and check us out today, 41st and Grange in Sioux Falls. 1:00 If you wanna understand what's really happening in South Dakota, start with The Dakota Scout, South Dakota's leading journal of politics and culture. Locally owned and printed in Sioux Falls. 1:13 Founded in 2022 by veteran reporters Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve, the Scout brings more than 40 years of combined experience and a reputation for relentless, fair-minded reporting. 1:25 From Sioux Falls City Hall to the state capital in Pierre, The Dakota Scout delivers breaking news, investigative reporting, and serious political coverage without the spin. 1:35 Its Lewis and Clark inspired logo reflects its mission, charting new territory in a new era of South Dakota journalism. 1:44 Subscribe today for full access to stories delivered straight to your inbox, plus The Scouting Lounge podcast. $7 a month at thedakotascout.com. The Dakota Scout, stay informed. 2:00 Introducing Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, Classic Cola, Cherry Cola, Citrus Soda, and Orange Soda. [soda hisses] You hear that? It's seltzer with the pop of soda. Flavor. All with zero sugar. 2:15 Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, the loudest flavors ever. [soda hisses] Ah. Enjoy responsibly. Anheuser-Busch Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda, IRC Beers, St. Louis, Missouri. 2:27 Distributed by Beal Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2:30 [upbeat rock music] Welcome to The Scouting Lounge, your weekly program of the Dakota Scout Newspaper based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 2:53 I'm Joe Sneve, cracking open Beal Distributed products. Sorry I sprayed you there with spray. All this- It's okay... a little, a little spread. It's okay. A little spread. 3:02 Uh, th- this program is, is sponsored by Beal Distributing and Juna Sleep Systems. Get yourself a Juna. Uh, our special, our very special guest, one of the two Zachs. We're gonna have two guests today. 3:15 Uh, the Zach I've known longest, Zach DeBoer. Hello. Uh, he's a seasoned runoff candidate. [laughs] I, I love it. I can't get enough of being in a runoff election. [laughs] The, uh, uh... 3:27 Welcome in, Zach DeBoer, Central District candidate. Um, you are a man of town, I would say. You, you walk a lot. You're into walking. 3:41 Uh, you are into urban modernization, I guess. Sure. That's... You could say that, for sure. We... I think I know more about why traffic behaves the way it does because of you- [laughs] Good... 3:54 than anybody else, besides maybe Heath Haupt, he's here. All right. Well, that's a good influence to have, I guess. Welcome in. Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Joe. Good to see you, brother. Thank you, Jonathan. Yep. 4:02 Uh, yeah. Yeah, I, uh, I... Those are some of my favorite things to talk about. 4:07 They're not always the most exciting thing to talk about, and you don't get a chance to talk about, like, traffic patterns and, and, and, and congestion and, and, uh, walkability as much on a campaign trail. Uh, so. 4:19 Why not? It's boring. Heels on. It's boring. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, people care about things like cars speeding down the roads. 4:27 I will say that, and that's a thing I talk to people about when I'm door knocking, 'cause almost inevitably people are like, "Yeah, I have cars that come tearing down my street, and I don't want my kids to be... 4:36 You know, I don't want my kids out there- Yeah... without me nearby." 4:40 And so we keep building a, a, a city and we keep making kinda design choices that lead us further and further away from that kind of idyllic town that we all have in our minds where, you know, we know people who's like, "Well, I grew up riding my bike around my neighborhood," and, and doing that. 4:54 But I, I, I'm not gonna let my daughter ride her bike on 18th Street. Is, is that one... Is that like... What... I mean, when you're knocking on doors, what are you hear- what are some of the biggest complaints? 5:03 I mean, is traffic one of them, or? Um, n- I wouldn't say, I wouldn't say traffic is one of them. I would say I hear about, I hear about property taxes. 5:16 Um, unfortunately that's not a thing that a city councilor has a ton of influence all over. Right. 5:21 There are things the city can do to help alleviate certain people or to offer other relief, a- and I think that's maybe where the city can come in when it comes to those things. 5:31 You know, what services are, is the city providing that we could help you save money on in other places? But property taxes is not quite in our realm of control. Um, so I hear about that. Yeah, I'll, I'll hear about... 5:43 Lately I've been hearing about data centers. I mean, I would say that's probably number one. Data centers? Yeah. You ever heard of them? Oh, yeah. 5:49 [laughs] Yeah, the, uh, Chinese communists are peddling a bunch of, uh, social media stuff to get people not to like them, so. Ah, that's definitely the reason. [laughs] That's part of it. 6:00 Well- Uh, here's the thing, though. I think part of it is- Are there gonna be- They're really bad for, uh- Is there ever gonna be a data center in the Central District? No. No. 6:08 [laughs] There won't be in the Central District, thankfully. Although we've got Smithfield open now, so we've got the space for it. Oh, that's true. We've got the space for it. Is that your district? It is, yep. 6:17 Smithfield. Mm-hmm. What do you wanna see there? Are you- Data center. [laughs] Yeah. You're joking, right? I am absolutely joking. Just wanna make sure we clarify that. Yeah. Thank you. A data center farm. Yeah. Right. 6:27 Well, that's... I suppose, is that what you're talking about? Smithfield and how Central District needs leadership to help the city usher that through, or...? 6:38 Uh, right after that announcement, I gotta talk about it more. 6:41 By now, things have kind of cooled down, the excitement's kind of over, and I think people are realizing, like, a lot of those decisions are about a decade off. Um- Yeah... or at least a lot of the... 6:51 Uh, dirt's not gonna be moving for a long time. Um, we definitely... This next council is definitely gonna be the group that needs to start putting in place, 7:00 uh, what they wanna see or, more specifically, how we're gonna talk to the community about what they wanna see. Um, uh, because I think a lot... 7:09 Right now there is a, a, a feeling that the, uh, council or administration is maybe not listening to people as well, and I think that comes out of that data center vote. Yeah. That's where they feel that the most. 7:23 And, and I understand that too. I mean, even... I, I think on that night where they made the big vote, I'm sure one of you guys was in the crowd maybe. Yeah, I was there. Um, 7:33 it seemed like the obvious move just to go like, "Hey, let's, uh, let's hit pause on, on this for two weeks, and we'll talk about it more." But nope. Yeah. Well- Right on forward... those guys are like, 7:43 "If we could tell... Hit pause and then sit through this again- Right... in two weeks." Yeah. You know? I mean, I'm sure they did that math. But listen, that's the job, you know what I mean? I, I think... I, I always... 7:54 I mean, you know, talk to me in four years after I've been there for four years, maybe I'll say something different. 7:59 But that's the job, unfortunately, is to, is to sit through what the people wanna say, and, and your job is to listen to them. Yeah. You don't always have to vote exactly the way that the 20 people at 8:13 council told you to vote, but you should listen to them. I... As a journalist, maybe it's just... I used to be able to, like, romanticize it. It didn't, like, drive me nuts the way it does now. 8:26 But when you sit through a three-hour meeting and you know how they're gonna vote before it starts, you sit through all these arguments, and nothing changes, and it's the outcome you expected, and they pre-planned or whatever- Mm-hmm... 8:40 that I know feels disenfranchising to the public, uh, if they were to shut it down. But in, in my... Like, it feels like a waste of time. Like, why are we even taking the public input if it's not gonna move any needles? 8:53 Is that just a matter of- Why do, why do the public theater? Yeah. Well, is it just theater, or is that still... Is that okay to have that be part of the process? 9:02 Because then there's still an outlet for the public to feel like they've been heard, and the, the overlords behind the dais can say, "Thank you for your input. We know better." You have to have public input. 9:13 Obv- Like, that... I mean, yes, you have to have public input. Um, y- we e- in... I'll, I'll take fake public input over no in- public input, you know? Uh, I guess, if I had to choose between the two. 9:27 Otherwise, you're having pub- you'll have pitchforks soon. Yeah, exactly. Right? Um- Have a release valve or whatever. Yeah. You, you need to have that. But you need to... It is unfortunate that there... 9:39 Uh, uh, 'cause there's been times where, you know, outside the data center where th- some of those things have happened. 9:45 And then when it comes time for the council to vote, n- yeah, their vote may- maybe didn't change, their decision didn't change. 9:51 But it's when those councilors go to actually maybe speak on that issue afterward, when they kinda give their input or when they have their discussion, if some of the things that have been brought up by the public aren't addressed in that moment- Mm-hmm... 10:05 uh, I think, uh, that's very disappointing to a lot of people. 10:09 Um, because it's one thing, yeah, to, to go against what you've heard maybe some people testify against, but it's another to feel like, "Did you even hear any of the things I said? Can you at least- Ignore... 10:19 counter the thing I am bringing up?" Um, uh, so I, I... You know, that's... That absolutely needs to happen. And then I think it's not... I think this administration definitely does not, uh, love comment, public comment. 10:37 I think that's evident by the fact that they shortened it and moved it to the end of the meeting instead of the front, uh, when 10A kind of took over. Yeah. Um, 10:46 and again, I, I, I understand the frustration, especially from, like, a councilor's point of view who has to, like, be there every week and, and they've been working on an issue for hours, and then going through all those steps, and then, you know, someone comes in and says something different that maybe doesn't sway them. 10:59 But again, the job you signed up for is to represent the people that are there, and so it, it is your responsibility to respond to those things. Who does the best job of that on the council now? Um, for me, I think... 11:14 A- and maybe not just specifically on responding to comment, but I think Rich Mercoris does a really genuine job of being out in the community and showing up to events and making himself available to people. 11:28 Um, someone mentioned something to me recently. They're, they're like, "Watch at the end of meetings which councilors come out into the crowd- Yeah... and interact with people who are there." 11:38 I mean, and even the, even the regulars, the, the, the city council regulars. If you have councilors who come out and will listen to those folks, I think you're dealing with somebody who actually values 11:49 what the public's saying or at the very least values that or understands that they are in a role where that's kinda their gig. 11:55 And, you know, Rich is a pastor, so I think he's maybe a little more used to that sort of, uh, life. But, you know, it's the councilors that kinda disappear after that, where you're like, "Hey, what? Oh, I'm back." 12:05 Right. But, uh- Get out that back door as soon as it's done. Exactly. [laughs] Throw down a smoke bomb, and they're gone. But Rich, I think Rich does a nice job of that You know, you ran in 2018. 12:17 Uh, you ended up in a runoff then. It was a five-candidate field. Yes. And, uh, I th- Kurt Sale edged you. I mean, it's a little bit different, 'cause you're the old man now. I, yeah. 12:31 Kurt, no offense to Kurt, he was the old man in the race. He's the elder on the council- Mm-hmm... on his way out. He's done, he's done two terms. You could have ran two, four years ago, and you chose not to. 12:42 Uh, were you always eyeing this, and then w- w- when you found out you were gonna face four other candidates again, were you like, "Shit." [laughs] Can't get your break. 12:54 Listen, I wasn't pumped, but you know, Central District is always the most popular race. 12:58 Central District, I mean, for whatever reason, um, we just are more politically inclined here than maybe the southeast or southwest, who have sometimes run unopposed. Uh, which for a city our size is wild. 13:11 Get me in those districts, please. Um- [laughs] Man, uh, we got councilors serving right now who were not elected, really. [laughs] You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, but yeah. 13:22 You know, I, I, I ran against Kurt that first time, and yeah, I was 28, I think, when, uh, I ran. Uh, my daughter wasn't quite born yet. Yeah. 13:32 So, uh, and yeah, Kurt was a, a more established guy, had connections to the firefighters' union, and, um, you know, he'd kinda been around for a little while. But yeah, now there, now I am not the youngest guy there. 13:42 Zach, uh, Acquaah is, is, I think he's maybe 30. I'd have to ask him. But, um, I'm 37. We, we will. You will. Get to the bottom of it. He's old enough, he's old enough to drink. Oof, you're right. 13:54 [laughs] Uh- But you know, it, I, it was, uh, yeah. I saw, you know, I r- I got the most votes on that first election. Um, and it was myself, Kurt, Tom Hurlbert, uh, Thor Barden, and Scott Bartlett. 14:10 And, uh- Those are the names from the best... those are the names from the fast, right? 14:14 Um, those, those, uh, two last guys, um, w- were maybe not as public, uh, didn't receive a ton of votes, and so it was really the three of us. 14:22 And our, our, the difference between myself, Tom, and Kurt was each maybe 2% or 3%. Yeah. 14:28 Um, so it was a lot closer than what this one just was, where Zach finished with 38, I finished with 30, uh, and then Bob Trozenko was in third place with something like 17. 14:40 17, yeah, like- But then we had a guy, like Matthew McKinley, who I never even met. Yeah. Uh, I think he came to one, one thing maybe, and I wasn't there that day. 14:50 Uh, and, and he ended up getting 15%, which is, is kinda wild to me. Yeah. I think, uh- Sleepwalk your way to 15%. I, I think, I mean, I don't know the intricacies of it all, and I'm just from a very high level, I think. 15:04 Well, when a runoff happens, you always kind of try to vote count, right? Like who didn't make the runoff and where it's, where their supporters are gonna go. Mm-hmm. Uh, I feel like, 15:17 uh, your opponent in the runoff is maybe a less known commodity than your s- than you, even though you came in second. I think that could be a product of Bob being in the race. Uh, and I would tend to think 15:33 Bob's supporters are naturally gonna go to you. Uh, I know Zach, your opponent, has worked his ass off. I mean, he's been out there sorta meeting and greeting and schmoozing, kissing babies for over a year, right? Yeah. 15:47 So I, I wasn't surprised to see how he performed. Uh, but I wonder if that's his ceiling, and I don't know if, if, if you feel confident. I mean, how are you feeling going into this- Mm... and is my... 16:00 I know you don't wanna count your- Eggs?... you know, eggs before they're, you know, the chickens before they're hatched, but am I assessing this fairly? Uh, who knows? You know? 16:11 I, I mean, that's maybe some of the math we're doing too, that, that we're, we're, uh, definitely hoping for. 16:17 Um, you know, I think Bob and I probably shared a lot more common background, a lot more common, uh, work that we've done in the past. Bob's a big historic preservation guy. 16:28 Uh, he's done work with his neighborhood, uh, the Lincoln Commons, and things like that. So we, we overlap a lot more there. And so yeah, that is the hope, that, that Bob's voters, uh, will come out for me as well. 16:41 And then, you know, when you s- but then when you start going, "Okay, well, you know, there's no governor's race this time. 16:46 There's no school board this time," so there's, I mean, obviously there'll be less people, and there'll be less Republicans voting, assumably. It's nonpartisan, I get it. Um, but you know, it all, it all... 16:58 So there's a ton of variables in there, and so it, it really comes... I, I think it's truly either one of our race- Yeah... um, at this point. 17:06 Uh, and so yeah, we're just b- [laughs] I'm, I assume we're both just hustling our butts off right now. 17:10 Yeah, at this point I think it's just about matter of knocking on the doors, and that's the, the old Kermit Staggers waved- Mm... getting elected, uh, knocking on doors. Former endorser of mine, Kermit Staggers. 17:20 The, the, the late, great Kermit Staggers. The late, great, yeah. Pour one out for my homie. I literally did. Carpet. Uh. [laughs] Hey, it's cheap carpet. I put it in myself. 17:29 [laughs] So it's not the worst thing that ever been spilled on this carpet. [laughs] No comment? All right. Uh, anyway, so what, I, you are, like, the godfather of the mural in Sioux Falls. 17:43 Uh, you know, when we f- one of the first times I talked to you, I think, was around a story, uh, I might just be making this up, but, uh, it has to do with the mama- Mama's Little... Or, uh, not Mama's Little Spot... 17:56 Mommy And Me Elegant Mommy. Elegant Mommy. Yes. Like they, they painted a picture of a, of a woman on the side of their building. It was very artistic. Well, that conflicted against advertising. It was a signage- Yeah... 18:09 issue. And so- You can only have so many square footage of signage, if, if it matches your business. So they could have, they could have, uh-... painted a, a motorcycle on the side of their building. 18:20 It has nothing to do with what they're selling, so that would've been okay. But an artistic picture of a wall. 18:25 I mean, that, I mean, if you don't see all these sort of things and v- end up a lowercase L libertarian, what, what- Yeah. What, what were you, what, what- [laughs] I'm just thinking, what bullshit. Yeah. 18:34 [laughs] So- Well, here's the deal, guys. I'm not a lowercase L, and, and that is exactly how I felt about it. 18:39 So yeah, so Elegant Mommy, uh, Elegant Mommy had post- you know, they, they'd painted the side of their building. 18:44 Uh, there's a, a couple different things on there, but one of the images was, like, a, a kind of like geographic, like, uh, uh, uh, woman who was, like, breastfeeding. Um, uh, it was very safe for work. Uh, but 18:58 they were, yeah, being, uh, told by the city that that counted as signage because they sold products r- Ugh... related to it. I mean, they didn't sell breastfeeding inside the store. 19:09 [laughs] The problem is, is that, you know, so, like, that happened, but if you even think further back, uh, uh, Black Sheep Coffee. Oh, yeah. 19:17 Their mural that they used to have on the side of their building, it was a huge controversy with, uh, uh, it was a mural by IAB, uh, Merrib? 19:25 I, I forget his last name, but amazing artist, used to live here, um, did a, did a, an interpretation of a Picasso painting. But it was, like, uh, musicians. 19:35 And the city was trying to get them to paint over it because sometimes Black Sheep had live music. And so therefore, this was a sign now. And I, a- and so I, I knew that story. 19:45 But by the time, uh, the Elegant Mommy situation came out, I was on the Visual Arts Commission. Uh, and I, I mean, I thought that was a ridiculous thing to do. And I was looking at our signage ordinance. 19:57 We didn't have a mural ordinance. We didn't have any rules for murals or anything like that. And, and murals and art were kind of weirdly tucked into the signage ordinance. Mm-hmm. And so I, I really pushed, and our, 20:10 the Visual Arts Commission, we wrote a mural ordinance that separated that from that. And one of the places that we kind of also used in that that maybe wasn't brought up was, um, Matt Staubs, uh, uh, had a- Yeah... 20:24 his, his, his shop. North Bay. Yeah, North Bay. North Bay. Had this big mural. The Dakota Scouts there. Yeah. Yeah. He had a big mural of a, you know, of a fish. 20:32 And, and, and, you know, I saw that and I was talking at a Visual Arts Commission. I'm like, "Listen, that is, you know, related to his business, but why should we not be encouraging this to happen as well? 20:43 People like this. This is good." Right. Um, and so we should be bogged down with this sort of ridiculous, "Is that a sign? Is it art or sign?" And so, uh, we were able to get that changed. 20:54 We got that mural ordinance written. Um, there's parts of that mural ordinance I would like to change, but you know, sometimes things get away from you. Um, 21:04 and now, uh, since we wrote that, there's been a huge uptick in murals. And I think the city better for it. Absolutely. I, well, I mean, there's just, it's cool to see art while you're sitting at a stop. 21:16 Who'd have thunk it? Ask for forgiveness than his permission. I've painted, I don't know, how many murals downtown, and I never got questioned once. What, who are you? What's your name? [laughs] Who is this guy? 21:25 This is bad. This is, uh- All that stuff that's in that, um, you know, the 8th and Railroad, I did all those paintings on that building. I did a bunch in the back that- Oh, really?... down and some of them covered. 21:36 I even did the words that say The Frank on the next building, and I've never- Never... asked permission. I did it, and that was 15 years ago. So- Sometimes that's the way to go. Yeah. 21:46 Forgiveness instead of permission, right? Well, uh, but if you're a Central District voter- Mm-hmm... and you care not about art- Mm-hmm... or walkability- Mm-hmm... the things that you're passionate about- Right... 22:01 why should they still vote for you? Here's your pitch. Perfect. Uh, I, I guess two reasons, I guess, reasons why maybe I stand out from Zach to other Zach, Zach with a K. Um, uh, one, I'm a teacher. 22:16 I've worked in education for 15 years. Uh, I've taught kindergarten all the way through college. Uh, and I've taught at, at, at, uh, a retirement home. So I understand, 22:30 one, the, obviously the importance of education, but also I work with people from drastically different backgrounds, um, economic backgrounds, different things going on in their family. 22:41 So it gives me a perspective onto what people are actually like, and especially what the next generation is like, uh, the things that they need and the things that are happening in their lives. 22:51 Um, so there's that, but there's also just 15 years' worth of community engagement and community work. 22:58 I mean, uh, you know, I served on the Visual Arts Commission for six years, but I, I, I don't even know, hundreds of community meetings I've attended. You know, you don't get paid for those things. 23:08 There's no benefit to going to those things other than you show up because you care, and I really care about this stuff. This is my, this is my stuff. Some people like sports. I like city stuff. The, you were not among 23:22 the candidates pursuing office in 20... Well, it was either in 2018. Mm-hmm. 23:29 I wonder if I did the story where I would, like, pull the voting participation records and see if you, if these candidates have actually participated- Oh, I love that. I always love that... in a municipal election. 23:38 Because a lot of these folks see these lower offices as just, like, a stepping stone. Like, oh, they've, they finally, they're watching national or partisan politics. They decide, "I wanna be involved. 23:49 I wanna get involved in politics," rather than- It's the easiest barrier for entry. Yeah. So then they run for council, and you're like, "Well, have you ever voted in a municipal election?" "Well, no." 23:59 Uh, you can't say that about you. No. I have voted in every single election, even the boring ones, uh, I think since I turned 18. You've been carrying bricks for a while. 24:09 [laughs] That's a good, that's a nice way to put it. Oh. That's a working-class way to put it. Yeah. Uh, yeah. 24:14 I mean, listen, like, uh- The proof is out there that, you know, I've been there, w- that I've showed up to these meetings, that I show up to do these things, that I'm not afraid to roll up my sleeves and do the work. 24:24 I mean, I'm, I've literally been out there painting lines in the street, you know? I, I've, I've been- Yeah. Literally... 24:31 putting out my own safety cones, buying my own paint, and investing my own money on literally making the city better. These are things I've done in the past. And so I, I, I love Sioux Falls. 24:40 I think we can make it even better. I think we have, like, an amazing city, uh, that has a ton of potential to be even better. I think we have a lot of the ingredients that really cool cities have. 24:54 And if we have the right people leading, I'd say we can accomplish really amazing stuff. So, uh, uh, the things that I've been able to do as just a citizen 25:05 in my spare time when I can afford to be engaged in those things, I think are maybe proof of what I could do if it were truly my job. Mm-hmm. Well, uh, nobody could say you don't care. 25:19 Uh, I apprec- I appreciate you coming in. I'd like to keep you here longer, but we have, we have print day today. And I'm not rude. I, I've been texting once in a while. 25:29 It's 'cause we're proofing pages while we're doing this. Look at me. Interns and multitask. We interviewed some intern candidates today. Mm. We have two podcast interviews, producing a paper. It's- You're a busy man... 25:41 bitch. It's gonna require more Beal Distributing products. [laughs] So I'm gonna be sleeping good on my Juna Sleep System tonight. [laughs] So thanks for coming in. I wish you well. 25:48 June 23rd, where can people learn more about you? Uh, ZachForCityCouncil.com. 25:53 You can find me on Facebook or you can just go to ZachDeBoer.com if you wanna just look at all my cool projects I've done for the city or the state even. Uh, I, I, I'm very Google-able. 26:02 You can find out all about me that way. Come on along, head for the mountains of Bush beer. Head for the mountains, it's cold and it's smooth, and it's waiting for you. Come on, head for the mountains of Bush beer. 26:20 Head for the mountains of Bush. Head for the mountains of Bush light beer. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2022. Ms Bush Bush and Bush Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Beal Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 26:35 We could've saved the three bears a lot of time. Just right mattresses built by mattress nerds with a lifetime comfort commitment. We build them by hand and deliver with love. 26:46 Juna Sleep Systems in Sioux Falls and online at junasleep.com. Thanks again to Juna Sleep Systems and Beal Distributing. We are joined by Zach, another Zach. Yeah. Thanks to Zach DeBoer- And thanks-... for coming in. 27:01 Yep, Zach DeBoer, and thank you Zach Akwe for coming in. Thank you guys for having me. The f- the leader, the top vote getter. No, no, I wouldn't say that. You prideful about nothing. No, you got 37%. You could have... 27:12 The, the, the numbers don't lie. If you were running for governor, you'd be the governor. Yeah, you would've, could've- Or you'd, you'd be in the general. [laughs] Yeah, you'd be. 27:19 You'd clear the 35er that they needed to clear. Yeah. No, I'm just... Uh, I'm, I'm humbled by, by the results. Uh, but that doesn't, that doesn't prove anything, right? 27:29 I have to get back out there and, and continue working hard. Um, and continue to, you know, just d- demonstrates to my constituent in the, in the central district that I am the right candidate. 27:41 Um, just coming into this race, I, I had no name recognition. Um, you know, a- and I was able to, to do well, and I'm very thankful for that. Um, and I have to prove that one more time. So tell us about yourself. 27:56 You're the youngest person in the race. Mm. Weren't you not? How old are you? I, I'm 31 right now, so, so- 30... You look so young, man. [laughs] No, no, I'm up in age. I'm, I'm old- See... uh, g- gray hair. 28:08 You got a little gray coming through there. Yeah. [laughs] Little gray. I got a lot of gray. [laughs] At least you didn't call me bald. Yeah, right. [laughs] The, uh, the inside joke. Yeah. The, uh... 28:19 So you're, uh, you're in the healthcare- Yeah... industry by trade? Yeah, yep. Uh, I'm a nurse, um, at, at Sanford currently, so, um... And I love my job. A merse. People call you merse- [laughs]... 'cause you're a man. 28:31 A merse. A merse, a ma- a male nurse. Oh, I've never been called that, but, uh, but I've heard [laughs] that word get tossed around a few times. Hey, I think it's, it's kind of a... 28:44 It's too old-fashioned of a thinking to think that nurses are female, because y- you guys gotta, like, lift patients and, like, it's a physically demanding... It's a physically demanding word. Oh, absolutely. 28:59 Um, a- and my floor currently, I think about t- 20% of the nurses are, are males. Okay. Uh, and the rest are females, but we're beginning to see a lot more, and, um, I think that's a good thing, you know? 29:10 Um- You from Sioux Falls originally? Born and raised? I was raised here in Sioux Falls, but, uh, o- originally from South Sudan. Okay. Um, came to the States a- a- as a South Sudanese refugee. 29:23 Uh, there was a war back there. Um, I was too young to understand, you know, just the, the, the nature of the conflict and why. Um, but blessed, bl- blessed to be here. Uh, blessed to be in, in America. 29:37 Blessed to, to be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Um, you know, this, this, um- How, what... You must've been pretty young when you, when you got here. Yeah, yep. 29:47 So, um, uh, I, I was nine when we came, but I was a refugee in Egypt for a little while, uh, for about three years- Okay... um, prior to coming, uh, over, so, um... But yeah, um- So you've seen some shit. 30:02 Uh, I wouldn't say that. [laughs] Maybe, maybe my parents did. Uh, but, you know, when, when you're young, when you're a kid, you just don't, you don't absorb that. You don't understand what's going on around you. Yeah. 30:12 Um, but- You know, but- We, we sent a, when we were at the Argus Leader, we sent a reporter to South Sudan because obviously there was a big immigration, uh, population here that had come from Sioux Falls, and so there was a lot of interest in that. 30:24 We sent Steve Young there- Yeah... and he, he, uh, I think a couple weeks there, but he, he saw some shit- Well-... when he was there. 30:30 I mean, because, you know, the, the, the, the region had s- had stabilized somewhat at that point in time when Steve went, but now it's back in kind of a, in a, in a, not in a great place right now, so. But you don't, 30:42 you haven't le- like, sometimes in politics people lead with, like, their identity, the stuff that they're- Mm-hmm... you have no control over, you're born with fingernails, you know? 30:52 Like, like, you haven't led with that in the way you, you politic at all. Is that on purpose? But I wanted to also ask you, we do have a large... 31:03 You would be the first Sudanese, uh, to se- you know, uh, background to be, to hold office. Is that important to you, or is that really neither here nor there? Uh, you know, I always wanna be a good role model, right? 31:21 Um, wh- whether to, to someone who from South Sudan, um, someone from the Pine Ridge Reservation, someone from Kadoka, South Dakota, someone from the west side of Sioux Falls, 31:35 um, if they can look at me as a role model, right, um, uh, I, I'm grateful for that. Um, and y- y- you know, I th- I think it's very important just to, to, to demonstrate work ethic, you know? 31:49 Um, and you're, yes, you're absolutely right, we have a very diverse community. Um, so, um, uh, you know, I'm not, I'm not sure how that's gonna play out. Um- Well, I, I personally don't think it should matter. Yeah. 32:03 Right. Yeah. You, you, uh, uh, obviously Smithfield is in your district. Yes, it is. And you, you were s- you, you spoke for the workers, uh, while some of this was going on. Yeah. 32:15 Tell, tell m- tell m- tell us, like, where, where that came from and when, when they were, when they were talking about moving s- Smithfield. Yeah. Um, y- y- you know, um, I worked at Smithfield actually when I was 18. 32:29 Sure. It was actually, like, my, my, one of my first jobs out of high school and... You know, so I'm very familiar with that plant. Um, and just... 32:39 So, so yeah, w- w- we do need a plant, and, um, I think a lot of the workers there just, they, they just don't understand that, the, the, the whole int- They don't understand what, what's coming, right? 32:51 Um, a- and it, it might be a tough transition, um, because, um, from, from what I'm hearing, right, it's gonna be highly automized. Um, we're, we're probably gonna lose a third of the jobs. 33:04 Um, and I'm just curious, um, do they have to reapply for a new job? Um, are, are they guaranteed a job? Are they guaranteed the same pay? 33:13 Um, because i- i- if there's any sort of instability, uh, for those 3,200 workers, right- Mm... um, that's gonna spill over into other areas. 33:23 Um, it's, it's gonna spill over into their families, um, which will spill over into the school district- Yeah... um, you know, which cau- may cause some behavioral issues with the kids. 33:33 Um, maybe even, you know, cause them to, you know, do things that would lead them i- in trouble. So i- it's gonna be a really tough transition, and it's something that we really have to pay attention to as a city. Um, 33:48 and y- you know, I'm just like, uh, uh... And I'm just curious, are, are we paying attention to that? Mm-hmm. 33:56 Um, a- and what, what are we gonna do, right, to, to help those families, uh, and to, and to help with a very successful transition to, to that new plant? Um... 34:06 So y- y- I, I f- it made it sound like you, you wanted the new plant, but you're also, like, there because it's a f- gonna be a modern facility for workers, but it's also, but you're also realizing there is, there is gonna be some trade-offs with that. 34:18 Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I think, um, I, I think it's, it's, it's gonna be a win-win transition if, if it's done correctly, right? Um, and, uh, you know, I, I, I have, I have confidence in the leaders of this city, um, 34:34 that it will be a successful transition, and I'm, and I'm willing to help out with that, so. Well, so we couldn't afford... 34:42 It would be too much of a disruption to lose the employment base, period, from the community- Yeah... I think was a point you made- Oh... at the meeting, right? Like, we can't afford that. Yeah. 34:52 'Cause people at the meeting were bitching about the TIF, and, like, they- Right. Yeah... if, if, if they won't stay without a tax break, then let them go. But that's- Yeah... that's not your position. 35:01 Oh, a- absolutely not. I, I think Smithfield has served a- as the base o- of Sioux Falls e- e- economy for generations, right? 35:10 Um, I, and I think if we lose that, um, i- it's gonna impact other industries, whether it's banking, healthcare, um, the service industry. Uh, so, so, so we need that there. 35:22 Um, um, but n- now that they're moving, you know, that, that kind of opens up that area for redevelopment. Uh, but we should always take it a step at a time. 35:32 Um, l- let, let's make sure w- we take care of this first, and then let's start thinking and dreaming big, uh, a- on what can go into the, um, the new Sanford, uh, district. Yeah. 35:43 If you, uh, if you get elected to the council, you'll be making decisions at some point in four years, and certainly if you won reelection, making decisions about what's ha- what's gonna go there. 35:54 What, what are you hearing? Like, you're knocking on doors. We asked, we asked Zach this too. Like, what are you hearing from people that, that they want about Smithfield or, you know, other issues I guess? 36:04 Uh, we'll kind of pigeon tail o- it, o- off that, but I mean, what are you hearing about Smithfield, and what are, what are some of the other i- issues people are talking to you about? Yeah. 36:12 So e- every door I knock on, you know, I, I always ask, "What are some of your top concerns, and, and how can I best advocate for you?" 36:21 And I'll say maybe 60% of the time s- some issue about property tax comes up, you know, and, and I'm just like, you know, there, there's really not much that the city can do. 36:32 Maybe we can, we can spend less and be fiscally responsible and that can help out. Uh, but, but it's mainly property tax, property tax, property tax. Um, uh, o- overall in, in terms of, you know, 36:46 crimes, I, I think a lot of, um, uh, the, the residents, they have confidence in our police department and in our police chief. Um, so something that I'm very proud to, to, to hear about. 36:59 Um, another thing is just, um, responsible growth, right? 37:02 They're, they're beginning to see that, that, that traffic is becoming a concern and, um, uh, they just want, you know, the, the city to make the right decision as we continue to grow. Um, mm-hmm. Why, 37:16 why'd you decide to run? Like it's b- you're probably busy being a nurse. You come home tired. Yeah. But you got enough energy, like, "I think I'll go be a civic leader too." [laughs] That's a great question, Joe. 37:29 Um, yeah, sometimes, you know, um, the, the, um... Yeah, um, to, to- You just want power. [laughs] The, the s- the great- the greatest power from the Central District, right? All right. [laughs] Yeah. 37:46 Um- [laughs] No, no, it has nothing to do, um, with that. But, um- [laughs] I'll say, um, 37:54 y- y- you know, a, a lot of mayoral candidates and, and, you know, and city council candidates, they, they always say we're at a crossroads, right? A- and we, we truly are. 38:05 I, I think the, the next 48 years, uh, will, will shape the future of this city for the next 20 to 30. Um, a- a- and I always, uh, I'll, I'll br- bring up this example, right, uh, of the school district. 38:22 Um, y- y- you see a nearly 50% poverty rate. Um, and y- y- one has to wonder, right, h- how is that gonna transition into the broader community? 38:34 Um, if you have 6 to, to 800 students, uh, who, who are not pursuing any post-secondary, um, uh, uh, like schooling or, or training, um, I think o- over time, right, um, y- you're, you're gonna have a lot of people graduating high school but, but not having 38:56 th- the right skills, right, uh, to, to really be competitive in the workforce. Um, and, and data tells us, you know, um, i- if a- all you have is a high school diploma, um, y- you're, you're gonna be impoverished. Um, 39:11 m- m- more than likely, um, uh, that y- y- you know, um, you're, maybe you're gonna have a child out of wedlock, you know. Um, more than likely you're gonna run into trouble with the law. 39:27 Um, and, and that's what data t- uh, tells us. So w- w- what can we do right now, um, you know, h- how can we be proactive right now, uh, to, to, to minimize that, um, in the next, let's say 15 to 20 years? 39:45 Um, and f- for somebody who comes from a place of very little resources and background, was able to, 39:52 you know, go to college, graduate, you know, find a good job, find some form of success, um, I, I think I can just through my lived experience, right, I can, um, I have something to offer there. 40:07 Um, a- and with an increase in poverty, uh, there's a lot of things that can come out of that, right? N- neglected neighborhoods, um, uh, may- maybe, you know, a rise in substance abuse, um, underperforming schools. 40:24 And as a city, w- w- we don't wanna get to a position where we're chasing our, our tail, right, just because we didn't fix the little things, and 15 to 20 years from now on they be- they become big things and, and we could never get ahold of them. 40:38 So the type of leadership that I wanna bring into city council is very proactive, right? All right, well, there's a problem here, l- let's fix it. Um, so I don't, I don't know if that answers your question. 40:52 [laughs] Well, the, uh, you, you were encouraged to run too. You have, like, mentors and, and, um, I guess confidantes that you look to, that you talked about this. I mean, a name that- Jim Schmidt- Yeah... 41:06 speaks highly of you. He's very well revered- Yeah... um, public official in the area. Yeah. Um, I mean, was it you had a goal to do this and then- Yeah... figured out who you needed to know- Yeah... 41:20 or was it you were getting encouraged to do this or how did that come about? Y- you know, when I first announced, like after a few months, there, there were several people who reached out to me. Um, 41:34 a- a- and Jim Schmidt, yeah, he is, he is a huge mentor and supporter of mine. Um, just offered me a lot of amazing advice, and I don't think I'd be where I'm at right now if, if it wasn't for Jim. 41:47 Um, Dee Knudsen is another person. Um, but I, I, I get advice from, f- from people from all sides of the aisle, right? Um, whether it's Erin Haley, Eric Mucke. Um, 42:01 so I- I'm just very thankful, right, that, that I, I receive support from both Democrats, Republicans to, to really, you know, find like a m- m- middle of the aisle solution, right? 42:13 And not to be far right, far left, um, and just to try to, t- to be solution-focused. Yeah. Um, that, that's what I care about. Um, I don't, I don't like getting into partisan issues. Yeah. 42:27 Um, uh, it's sometimes it just doesn't help, especially with the current political climate in this country, right? Is it's either [laughs] you're on- That's right... this side or that side. [laughs] Right. 42:38 How do you s- describe your politics? Are you c- d- conservative? Uh, progressive? You maybe hear- Yeah... a lot of people say they're fiscal conservatives, but social- Yeah... liberals. I don't know. 42:52 How do you, when, when people ask, what are you? Uh, my, my philos- uh, my political philosophy is still developing. I'm, I'm still learning. Um, you know, I try to surround myself, uh, with people from 43:06 r- w- you know, just from a diverse background, right? Whether it's conservatives, you know, moderates, um, liberals, um, I, I try to be around all these people just so I could, 43:20 you know, just so I could approach it i- in, in a manner that's, um, how would you say? In a j- just in a, in a right way, right? In, in my way, in a very unique way. 43:31 Um, I, I, I don't wanna be stuck in any, any box at all. Yeah. Um... Well, I'll say no party or ideology has a monopoly on good ideas. Right. Yeah. Right? 43:42 Well, I will say getting away from the politics side of it, you guys had, uh, the probably the most, one of the most energetic floats during the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Oh, yeah. [laughs] You guys- Yeah. 43:52 [laughs] You guys were having fun. Yeah. [laughs] Yeah. Yeah. Do you got... I mean, it looked like you got a, a lot of good, uh, interaction from that, from that parade. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 44:02 I don't know, um, w- who, whose idea it was. He said, "Hey, are you, you gonna come out to this parade?" I'm like, "Yeah, why not?" You know? And invited a few of my friends and yeah, we, we had a lot of fun. You did. 44:14 Yeah. So did I. Yeah. [laughs] What did I miss? [laughs] Yeah. Where were you? I was in India. Oh, yeah. [laughs] Yeah. That's right. So what were you guys doing? Like shooting, uh, T-shirt cannon? [laughs] No. No. 44:25 Just, just a little good interaction. It was- Just... Yeah. It was a, uh... It was a, just a, the, the weather was okay, you know, it wasn't terrible, and, uh, just a lot of good interaction with the crowd and- Yeah... 44:36 you know, there might've been some beer distributed products, at least not in my float, but- [laughs] Yeah. Well... So, uh- Uh- Why should people vote for you over Zach DeBoer? The... And w- Yeah... 44:47 are you worried people will forget which Zach they wanna vote for? No. No, [laughs] I'm not, I'm not really worried about that, you know? I think those who voted for me knew they were voting for me. Um, 44:59 and I'm very thankful for that. Um, why should people vote over, o- over me, for me over Zach DeBoer? I mean, Z- Zach DeBoer i- is a phenomenal young man. Um, he has a g- great heart. 45:14 Um, j- just, just an amazing person overall. Um, but, but I, I think at the same time, you know, um, as we look into the future, I think we have to think bigger. Um, and, 45:28 you know, um, j- j- just the versatility that I have. Um, a strong background in, in healthcare. 45:35 Uh, I, I started a nonprofit, um, that focuses on education and helping the youth develop that foundation they need to, to succeed in that next phase of their academic journey. 45:46 Um, I have n- nearly a decade, um, working in construction. 45:51 Um, and also just a- a- as a, as a f- uh, as an immigrant and a former refugee, right, i- in a city that's growing in diversity, I can bring a very unique perspective into our city council. 46:03 Um, and that's something that's been missing for, for, for a really long time. And just my work ethic also. Uh, like I said, I c- I came into this race with no name recognition, um, but I was able to work extremely hard, 46:17 get out, meet residents, listen to them, understand their concerns, um, a- and, and just advocate based on that. Um, you know, I love art, I love street safety, um, and, 46:33 y- you know, and I mean, I'm gonna advocate for those things, too. Uh, but I think, um, just some of my top priorities is, right, public safety, right? Responsible growth, affordability. 46:46 And, and, and when I talk about sa- public safety, it's, it's way more than just policing, right? It's, uh, it's prevention, it's building trust, um, and it's building opportunities, and I've been out doing that, right? 47:00 Uh, so, but- Tell, tell us about your nonprofit. Uh, i- it's, it's called STEM THE GAP. Yeah. So as in, like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 47:09 And, uh, you know, just through my struggles in college, I went back to college in my mid-20s, uh, you know, barely got through chemistry. Um, had to take college algebra twice. [laughs] Um, a- and I, and I- Me there... 47:25 [laughs] and I struggle. Yeah, you guys understand that, you know? 47:29 So I think it's very important to just, uh, give young students that strong foundation they need so they don't have to struggle and, and give up on their dreams, you know, um, once they get to that phase in, in, in, in, in their education, so. 47:44 So you, you worked at, out of high school at Smithfield, and then you didn't go to college immediately. You worked for a while and- Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Uh, worked at Smithville for about a year. 47:54 Uh, things didn't work out there. Um, and then had several jobs, and then I worked for a small construction company called Rensberger Property. 48:02 Um, and we, we did everything, you know, from, from drywall to, to concrete, uh, to framing. Um, yeah, y- y- you name it. Mm. Um, and I don't know, I was just able to... 48:16 Y- you know, a- after a while, I'm just like, "Ah, something is missing," you know? Like I needed, you know, 48:23 s- some education, just something to help me develop- Um, so, so I started taking class part-time at USD Sioux Falls, and after a while I just got, got tired of construction, you know. 48:35 You know, I'm like, "Hey, you know, um, let me, let me, let me go into healthcare." Did that. Cool. Um, so yeah. Yeah. I, I, I had a non-traditional past and all that myself, but, uh... 48:51 So you had a five-candidate field- Mm... right? So, uh, are you... What are you doing to try to make sure those three other candidates, like, their supporters come to you- Mm... and not your opponent in the runoff? 49:05 And you were the top vote getter, uh, but you still need to gather some of those other voters. You know? 49:14 Um, I'm just gonna continue doing what I've always been doing, you know, just getting out there and, and, and meeting, um, constituents where they're at. Um, knocking on their door. 49:24 Um, you know, just, um, telling them why I'm running, um, what I'm gonna do, um, and, and why they should vote for me. Um, and just, uh, do it at a higher scale than in a very short amount of time. [laughs] Right. 49:38 Um, but- Do you go to those other candidates that didn't make the runoff and, like, court their support, public endorsement, things like that? Uh, or- Yeah. [laughs] Uh, I haven't had the opportunity to yet. 49:50 I did reach out to a few and said, "Hey, c- congratulations." Um, you know, and if- You lost. Congratulations. [laughs] No. [laughs] Um- Congratulations on a, on an honorable campaign. Yeah. 50:05 [laughs] No, I think what, o- out of all five candidates, I think our, our values, um, it aligns on most things, right? Yeah. Um, 50:12 so I think who- whoever becomes the next city councilor for the central district, I think, we'll, we'll, we'll just have good candidates. Cool. Well- Uh... best of luck to you. You know, got what? About two weeks? 50:25 Two- Two and some change... 12 days. 12... Oh, yeah. It's not even... Yeah, it's- 12 days. Yeah. Okay. Well- Nice ad, by the way. Nice ad on the dakotascout.com. Good job. Oh, I haven't seen it yet. 50:37 I gotta take a look at it. [laughs] Yeah, yeah. It was up, and then I saw it, and I'm like, "This doesn't say paid for by on it," so we had to take it down and, and put the paid for by. Oh. 50:47 [laughs] Gotta comply with the- Yeah... the legal team. The governments. Not that, that anybody couldn't figure it out. [laughs] Right? Like, but- Where, uh, people wanna learn more about you, where can they go? Yeah. 50:59 Uh, uh, zachforsiouxfalls.com. Um, it has my contacts on there. Um, they could reach out. I'd be more than willing to, to hop on a phone call, meet for coffee. Um, so yeah, uh, please don't hesitate to reach out. 51:14 Um, I love hearing about your concerns. Um, you know, just love learning more about you. Uh, so yeah. Please reach out. Cool. Well- All right... it's been a week, hasn't it? Yeah. 51:26 BL Distributing and Juna Sleep Systems, thank you for sponsoring this program. Support them, because they support local, independent South Dakota journalism. Make sure if you're a city voter, uh... Actually, what is it? 51:41 12 days, so I think the registration deadline's passed, hasn't it for that? Y- yeah, I think so. Yeah. But if you're registered to vote, make sure to mark your calendar June 23rd. Vote for Zach. McClay. McClay. 51:55 [laughs] En- endorsement's been made. Zach with a K. [laughs] Yeah, Zach with a K. [laughs] News tips welcome. Thanks. 52:02 [upbeat rock music]
