I couldn’t believe that Sarah Trustem was not re-elected as a Dickinson City Commissioner on June 9, 2020.  Sarah was probably the most well-liked City Commissioner, even more so than the Mayor Scott Decker.  I didn’t even think that she needed to campaign, everyone liked her.

The reasons why Sarah Trustem was seemingly universally liked are as follows:  She was even-tempered, mild-mannered, friendly, pleasant, approachable, willing to talk to anyone and answer their questions, moderate, didn’t hold grudges, good intentioned, knowledgeable, well-informed, and she did not appear to have any ulterior motives.

Sarah seemed to have a calming effect on the City Commission.  She was a voice of reason, and I think that she influenced the Mayor and the other City Commissioners to not go off-track or in the wrong direction, kind of like a border collie.

When I first read about Sarah Trustem a couple of years ago, I was suspicious of her for several reasons.  She was the Director of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce, and that group of people are some of the biggest deceivers in Dickinson, they will constantly talk Dickinson up no matter what is happening, and not tell the truth.

Another reason why I didn’t trust Sarah Trustem was because she graduated from the University of Mary in Bismarck, and you can’t trust Catholics.  The third reason why I didn’t trust Sarah Trustem was because she had been a bartender at Maverick’s Saloon in Dickinson.

Looking back on this, Sarah didn’t have a lot of money, going to the University of Mary, working as a bartender, accepting a job as the Director of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce, she did what she had to do in order to support herself and her daughter.  In spite of all the evil that Sarah was surrounded by, she didn’t turn out evil herself, she was able to put all of this behind her, and become an ethical person.

The final turn away and departure from evil was when Sarah resigned as Director of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce and accepted a job as some kind of community liaison for the Dickinson Public Schools.  From that point on, Sarah seemed to make decisions based on doing the right thing, being moral, fair, and ethical.

However, doing the right thing, being moral, fair, and ethical was not what the puppet masters in Dickinson wanted from the City Commissioners.  Sarah Trustem had to go.  The fix was in.

Who is Suzi Sobolik?  You mean Suzi “Steffes” Sobolik?  I am fifty years old, I have lived in seven states, and I have never seen in any election, not even for governor of a state, the amount of people clamoring to make an “endorsement”, like they did for Suzi Sobolik.  In half of these endorsements, I have never seen people in these types of positions make such an endorsement, I thought that some of these types of positions were restricted from making political endorsements.

I looked at Suzi Sobolik’s Facebook campaign page, and here is a sampling of her endorsements:

• John Suzukida, Co-Lead Board Director Steffes Company
• Rhonda Dukhart, former City Commissioner
• Guy Moos, Baker Boy President
• Shirley Dukart, former City Commissioner
• Zach Keller, Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
• Jen Grosz, Owner and VP Ebeltoft Sickler Law Firm
• Steve Glasser, President Trinity Catholic Schools
• Michelle Orton, Dickinson Public School Board member
• Dennis Johnson, former Mayor of Dickinson
• DeAn Scheeler, Director of Mission Advancement at Trinity Catholic Schools

Like I just said, I thought that some of these people in the positions that they are in, they are prohibited from making political endorsements for a number of different reasons, such as incorrectly appearing to be speaking on behalf of their organization, or appearing to have a political bias or favoritism in an organization or agency that is supposed to be or legally required to be politically neutral.

In the endorsements for Suzi Sobolik, there are three common themes that either the endorser brings up themselves, or sets it up so that Suzi can respond in line with these three themes:  Suzi and her family have been here longer;  Suzi and her family have more money; therefore with more money, more invested here, more experience with money, Suzi is better for business and prosperity.

Here are some of the common code words and phrases, which mean that Suzi Sobolik and her family have been in Dickinson longer:

• “I have known her and her family for many years.”
• “I’ve known Suzi for decades and I’m thoroughly impressed with how well she has evolved into a wonderful community leader.”
• “Her ties in the Dickinson community run deep, and she is heavily invested in improving the future of all.”
• “I have known Suzi both personally and professionally for over 8 years. In that time, I have witnessed her dedication to her family, to her profession, and to the city of Dickinson.”
• “I have known Suzi since grade school…”
• Suzi’s response to an endorsement, “What an honor, a man who helped shape me as my teacher and coach is endorsing me for City Commission!”

Here are some of the common code words and phrases, which mean that Suzi Sobolik and her family have more money, are more experienced with money, are more invested in Dickinson, and will be better for business and prosperity:

• “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Suzi Sobolik in her role as Steffes Company’s Owner Representative…”
• “Suzi has strong leadership skills and understands the critical difference between management and governance.  Suzi possesses extensive business knowledge…”
• “Suzi’s experience and wealth of knowledge in the business sector…”
• “Suzi has dedicated herself to many projects/causes with the sole purpose of being an agent for prosperity and growth in the community.”
• “Her understanding of business and …..will make Suzi an ideal addition to our City Commission.”
• “Her ties in the Dickinson community run deep, and she is heavily invested in improving the future for all.”
• The Dickinson Press headline, “Business leader Suzi Sobolik runs for Dickinson City Commission”

When I go to the website LinkedIn, where people post their own resume and experience, Suzi Sobolik’s resume says:  “Physical Therapist/Rehab Director at RehabVisions”  2005-present.  How does this make Suzi Sobolik a “Business Leader”, and Sarah Trustem is just nothing?  Is Suzi Sobolik a “Business Leader” because her family has more money?

Sarah Trustem has a Bachelors in Political Science, a Masters in Public Administration, was the director of the Dickinson Chamber of Commerce for four years, was a City Commissioner, was on the Stark County Planning and Zoning Board, as well as the Stark County Development Corporation Board, so how is it that Sarah is so naive about business in comparison to Suzi Sobolik who was a physical therapist for the past fifteen years?

I am fearful that there was this extreme coordinated effort by certain business people in Dickinson to get Sarah Trustem replaced by Suzi Sobolik because there is some agenda that they want achieved that they could not accomplish with Sarah in the way trying to do the right things in a moral, fair, and ethical way.  What is it that they want, that a normal, moral, fair, and ethical City Commissioner would not support?  This should scare most people in Dickinson.

When is the Dickinson mayoral election?