6 days ago
TenHaken talks time as mayor, future plans
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Paul TenHaken has been leading Sioux Falls for seven years, but he plans to take time away from politics after his final year as mayor.
'There's a lot of people announcing for different offices, so, it's coming up a lot in conversations. And, for the sake of that, I wanted to get it out there and let people know, hey, I'm not running for governor. I'm not running for Congress. Senate. I just want to focus on this last year in office, and finish well,' said Paul TenHaken, mayor of Sioux Falls.
TenHaken says he plans to bring his focus back to entrepreneurship. But he doesn't have anything specific planned yet.
'It's really buttoning things up. You're really not starting anything new. You're landing the plane. And I use that analogy a lot,' said TenHaken. 'You know, we're going to be opening the Jacobson Plazas of the world for projects like that, where you have a lot of big infrastructure projects that we're working on, and we're going to finally break ground on the 85th and I-29.'
As his mayoral chapter comes to a close, TenHaken has a lot of accomplishments to look back on.
'During the last seven years, I think one of the things I'm most proud of, and this is going to seem really nebulous, is really just keeping the wheels on the bus during a time when the world was kind of falling apart,' said TenHaken.
And despite the unknown timing of the next election, TenHaken is looking ahead to what the city's next leader will bring to the table.
'Keeping up with housing, dealing with the challenges of homelessness, ensuring crime stays manageable as we grow. Those are very real challenges. And so, the next mayor is going to have to be a leader, a consensus builder, someone who's run large organizations, large leadership teams, and can unite a community that's increasingly diverse,' said TenHaken.
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