Simplified: Sioux Falls Simplified is teaming up with the Sioux Falls League of Women Voters, Sioux Falls Live, The Dakota Scout and a whole bunch of community groups, nonprofits and neighborhood associations to host a public debate between mayoral run-off candidates Christine Erickson and Jamie Smith on Friday, June 12. Here's what you need to know.

Why it matters

  • The debate – which will take place at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Carnegie Town Hall – is going to be the only truly public debate between the two run-off candidates. Other forums are limited to specific membership groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Rotary.
  • The goal is to ask candidates specific, policy-related questions compiled with the help of a wide group of community stakeholders. More than a dozen groups contributed questions, which journalists will then refine and consolidate to fit the time allotted.
  • For folks who can't make it in-person, the debate will also be shared online, including being broadcast on the City of Sioux Falls' CityLink TV channel. You can also catch a replay on Sioux Falls Simplified's YouTube channel, or follow Sioux Falls Live for a livestream (those folks really live up to their name!) I'll also have written summaries of the candidate's responses to share in next week's newsletter.

Tell me more about the community partners

The goal of involving so many different community groups is to ensure the questions candidates are asked represent the concerns of actual people who live here – not just the questions a journalist like me could come up with.

  • That's not a knock on journalists, by the way. Any one person is going to have their own curiosity and biases, so by having a whole bunch of people from various walks of life, sides of town and industries, we'll ultimately have a better slate of questions. That's more helpful to the public as you all decide who will lead our city through the next four to eight years.

The list of community partners includes:

  • The League of Women Voters (co-host)
  • Sioux Falls Simplified (co-host)
  • Sioux Falls Live (co-host)
  • The Dakota Scout (co-host)
  • Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc.
  • South Dakota Voices for Peace
  • Startup Sioux Falls
  • Sioux Falls Arts Council
  • A former member of the mayor's youth council
  • Whittier, All Saints, Southern Hills, Pleasant Ridge and University Heights neighborhood associations,
  • Dakota Rural Action,
  • The Transformation Project,
  • Midwest Street Medicine,
  • South Dakota Urban Indian Health,
  • and NAACP Sioux Falls.

What happens next?

Doors open at 4 p.m. Friday at Carnegie Town Hall, with a 60-minute debate expected to start promptly at 4:30 p.m.

It's free and open to the public, but if you wanna give us a heads up that you're coming, we do have a Facebook event as well.