HUMAN BEINGS FIRST

Welcome to this issue of Elevate, where we’re looking at all the Mayoral candidates as people, not as politicians. You’ll get so much of the political stuff in the next few months, we decided to take a different approach. Yes, we’re here to remind you to get out and vote on June 6th for Mayor, City Council, and School Board. And that elections matter. But we’ve also decided to play to our strengths, to do what we have always done, and to tell stories. Hopefully, when you’ve finished this issue, you’ll get a better sense of who these candidates are as human beings.

We’re also remembering current Mayor Steve Allender, which reminds me, if I’m ever going to say something about my time working with the mayor, it’s now. So here we go.

Steve Allender is not going to win a national award for Feel-ood Mayor of the Year. He’s not going to make a top-10 list for most empathetic politicians. In fact, Mayor Steve Allender might be the least political politician you’ve ever met.

He’s blunt. He’s brutally honest. He says things that aren’t politically correct.

Sometimes he ruffles feathers. Sometimes he makes people (or a group of people) mad. His picture is not next to the word “tact” in the dictionary.

He’s not looking for a higher office. He’s not seeking re-election. He hasn’t promised anything to any special interest group. My favorite conspiracy theory about Mayor Steve Allender is that he wanted a City Administrator form of government so that he could make himself de facto Mayor for Life. If you know Steve Allender for more than a minute, you know the thought of being a lifelong politician makes him wretch.

In another few months, none of this will matter. For Steve Allender, the Mayor of Rapid City for the last eight years and former police chief and beat cop for thirty years more, the future will look like it does for every other citizen, for you and for me. He’ll be relaxing in retirement and probably being stopped less at the grocery store. And he’ll be just fine with that.

Elevate is a monthly publication produced by Elevate Rapid City. It is the premier business magazine for the Black Hills region telling the stories that make our area unique and vibrant.