Dan Gustafson has been a popular topic for me the last few months. In addition to the usual barrage of Burnsville related posts which mention Gustafson and his poor decision making, there have been posts solely about him and his poor personal business decisions and how those personal problems may play a part in how he acts as a Burnsville City Council member.
We have covered how Mr. Gustafson was accused of not paying an employee of his at a Burnsville council meeting which he did not attend, a related post about a Thisweek Letter to the Editor which mentioned that Dan Gustafson was not doing what he should have been doing when he didn’t pay his employee, or when Burnsville City Council member Dan Gustafson lied and said he was ill but was seen at a local restaurant, and most recently when I asked whether Gustafson should be able to lead the city on economic related matters when he’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. You would like to think that a Burnsville City Council member would jump at the chance to explain how and why they are worthy of their council seat but according to one Burnsville resident, that’s hardly the case with Dan Gustafson.
Beginning back on March 10th, the same day I asked what Burnsville residents thought about Dan Gustafson’s serious personal financial problems and how they may impact his work as president of the Burnsville Economic Development Authority as well as his general duties as a City Council member, one Burnsville resident contacted Mr. Gustafson directly asking for his side of the story. This resident was also interested in his thoughts on, “why these issues should not be a factor in your ability to participate in, and/or lead City economic matters.”
Three more e-mails went to Burnsville City Councilmember Dan Gustafson on March 17th, March 29th, and April 5th. The fourth and final e-mail was carbon copied to Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz as well as members of the local media. Within an hour and a half Dan Gustafson replied that he would be more than happy to speak with the resident over coffee. Another e-mail from the resident to Mr. Gustafson has gone unanswered for more than two weeks.
This most certainly proves that Dan Gustafson is literally, “out of touch.” Now, I understand the unfortunate position Mr. Gustafson has placed himself in here. It is very likely that he does not want to discuss his own financial hardships with the people who voted for him to handle the city’s own financial issues but ignoring 4 out of 5 e-mails over the course of more than a month seems downright disgusting to me. Does it really take carbon copying local media and the mayor in order for Dan Gustafson to speak to his constituents? What kind of public leader acts like that except one that has something to hide?
What do you think about Dan Gustafson’s general disdain for his constituents? Is it right for a resident to have to send more than one or two e-mails and carbon copy other city council members and the media for a response to be provided? Does Dan Gustafson owe Burnsville residents a public apology for the way he has treated this particular individual or is this to be expected when you are a public official? Should the local media, being that they were carbon copied, have interviewed Councilmember Gustafson about these issues or are they so weak that they cannot possibly ask the tough questions like traditional media should?
Whatever you have to say about Burnsville City Councilmember Dan Gustafson’s lack of communication with residents about problems which may have a direct effect on city business go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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April 22nd, 2010 at 11:00 am
I give people three opportunities to reply back to email correspondence. The first two are generally within a week of each other (when 24-48 hours, or 1-2 business days is far more than enough time for anyone to at least acknowledge the message)
With the third email I send, I CC: the persons superior or leader. If there is still no response, I go right up the ladder to find the response I desire.
Lack of communication via email, for anyone that uses it, especially a public figure is downright rude, inconsiderate and stupid. Even if you don’t have the time to devote to composing an educated response, at least take 2 minutes to say “Hey, I got your email, I’ve got XYZ on my plate, but will be back to you by DATE 123″
While we’re on the topic of bitching about being inconsiderate with email replies, how about that ‘Out of Office’ tool. If you leave the office, and won’t be responding to email, USE YOUR OUT OF OFFICE!
Few things are worse than trying to contact someone for a week, and find out they were out of the office. No notification, no back-up to contact..
While I realize there are always some extenuating circumstances, a period of over a month is just unacceptable.
In short, no matter who you are, if you use email, and rely on it for communication, acknowledge each response, and address it in a timely manner.
April 22nd, 2010 at 1:47 pm
As a Burnsville resident, I’m bothered by the mounting evidence, both anecdotal and documented of Gustafson’s evasiveness, involvement/influence in failing business ventures — including in Burnsville, and his apparent non-concern for his financial responsibilities. Again, I notice that he is recently listed as a defendant (along with his wife, Kraemer’s Catering, Applewood, Nathan Bode, etc.) in a judgment action by Satia Pacotti, formerly the Operations Manager for Applewood, in addition to the several six-figure judgments Bill has noted in other communities. I would be interested to hear her story, to hear whatever became of Mary Jo Germscheid’s issue, to hear what Brenda Laird and her colleagues were able to accomplish in getting paid the money they were owed.
His pattern of evasiveness applies to me in an “ordinary citizen” capacity as well. After the vote that punched the MVHS’s ticket to a neighboring town, I wrote a note to each Burnsville Councilperson either thanking them for their support or respectfully expressing my disappointment at their vote to deny the variance to allow them to move to the MaxSun space. I received several prompt and thoughtful replies, including a lengthy back-and-forth with Mary Sherry (even though she was one of the votes differing from my stance). My e-mail to Gustafson was ignored. This is not the only time I have made futile attempts to correspond to him.
I imagine if I emailed him now offering to post ads for the Chameleon Theater or Art and All that Jazz at my office, I would have an email or a phone call within a matter of minutes. If it benefits him, he’s on board.
It seems that rather than recognizing that he chose to run for a position of PUBLIC SERVICE and that he is accountable to the citizens of Burnsville whether they align with his interests or not, he has taken it upon himself to use his Council seat to further his own interests.
In every situation, I appreciate hearing the other side of the story. I have no agenda for or against Dan Gustafson. That said, I would appreciate information, or even a sign that he recognizes the appearance of a problem, that would restore my basic confidence in him as my elected official.
Otherwise I *will* have an agenda which will include doing what I can to ensure he is not re-elected to represent me in City Hall.
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Come on Bill and MSPD, leave the guy alone.
He did make a generous donation of a tobacco-stained key piano to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center that he cast the deciding vote to build at the expense of the tax payers of Burnsville for generations to enjoy.
I just wanted to point out the contributions that Gustafson has made to the community that went unsaid above to provide some balance.
April 22nd, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Thought Leader, I know you’re speaking tongue-in-cheek, but based on their track record, I would bet that a healthy personal tax deduction is somehow a byproduct of their donating the piano to the PAC.
April 22nd, 2010 at 3:06 pm
I would not be surprised to find out that they sent a bill to the city for the donated piano.
The above posts sum up my feelings very well. In my opinion, its very clue that he is using the elected office only for his own gain, and trying to ring out whatever benefit he can before he is kicked to the curb. He should resign, or be removed, and the sooner the better.
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:43 pm
TL, you forgot to list his generous vote “in favor” of building the PAC which the Burnsville taxpayers are most grateful for….. in fact we are looking forward to our 11% increase in city taxes to pay for the DAM thing.
April 22nd, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Speaking of pianos, I see that the City of Burnsville is a “Baby Grand” level sponsor for Dan Gustafson’s “Art & All That Jazz” event in August. To the tune of $5,000.
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Urrrgh, the city of Burnsville is a $5,000 sponsor to this event and they can not even fund the canine unit. I just do not get it, eveyone on the City Council should step down in light of these spending decisions. This is embarrasing and a serious conflict of interest for Dan Gustafson.
Apparently the Proposed Code of Conduct being applied to the BPAC Advisory Board does not apply to Burnsville City Council Members!!
Proposed Code of Conduct for BPAC Board Members
- The Advisory Board commits itself and its members to ethical, businesslike, and lawful conduct, including proper use of authority and professional decorum when acting as Advisory Board members.
- In their capacity as Advisory Board members they must demonstrate un-conflicted loyalty to the interests of the ownership of The BPAC.
- Advisory Board members must avoid conflicts of interest with respect to their fiduciary responsibility.
a) Members will annually disclose their involvement with other organizations, vendors, or any other associations that currently do business or may do business with The BPAC.
b) Annually, all members will sign a full disclosure and conflict of interest statement.
c) Information exclusive to The BPAC shall not be used by Advisory Board members for personal gain or the gain of a family member or associate.
d) It is the Advisory Board member’s obligation to immediately disclose to the Advisory Board any and all impending conflict of interest. That member shall absent herself or himself without comment from both the deliberation and final decision-making.
3 e) Advisory Board members must not use their positions to obtain employment or special considerations at the The BPAC or agencies with whom the The BPAC has formal contracts for themselves, family members or close associates. If an Advisory Board member desires employment at the The BPAC, he or she must first resign from the Advisory Board.
f) There will be no self-dealing or any conduct of private business or personal services between any Advisory Board member and The BPAC or Burnsville City Council Members. Once procedures are established by the Advisory Board, then an exception may apply for arrangements which meet established procedures for openness, competitive opportunity, and equal access to inside information.
- Members will respect the confidentiality appropriate to issues of a sensitive nature.
- Advisory Board members are expected to attend every regularly scheduled meeting. A member with more than two (3) consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled meetings is automatically dismissed from the Advisory Board; however, the Advisory Board may consider to recommend to the City Council reinstatement.recommending to the CityCouncil that the member be reinstated
April 22nd, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Wow, that whole list would pretty much disqualify Gustafson.
Nice touch though, give them a piano, they give you 5,000.00!
April 23rd, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Ha! Allow me to make a slight correction: They give him $5,000 for his event PLUS a nice tax deduction/effusive press for the piano donation.
April 25th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
I saw that This Week’s local media hound John Gessner paid for copies of documents associated with the Dan Gustafson creditor/debtor lawsuit (you can see payment/receipt details on the civil court website). I wonder why there hasn’t been a story about it in our local paper?
April 25th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Plenty of times I’ve requested information, and even paid for it, and not posted anything about it for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the same thing is happening with Mr. Gessner. Although I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the simple fact that he doesn’t want to burn any bridges with the man–you know because his articles really need quotes from city council members when they’re little more than a city press release anyway.
April 26th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Or, just as likely, Gessner asked Gustafson to talk about it and Dan told him ok but never got back to him…
October 27th, 2011 at 7:02 am
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