Mayor shaw fought the law and.... guess who won?

The Rapid City Journal is reporting this morning that Mayor Jim Shaw pled guilty, despite the fact he originally said he would fight his arrest for disorderly conduct at the Iowa State Fair:

Mayor Jim Shaw said Wednesday that he has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine to settle an incident in which he was involved on Aug. 11 at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.

and...

After returning to Rapid City, Shaw conducted a news conference in which he said he didn’t believe he did anything wrong and that he would plead not guilty to the charges and likely go to trial.

But on Wednesday, he said, “By going to trial, I would have had to make at least two trips of several days each to Des Moines. Although I personally would have preferred to have my day in court, because Iowa officials dismissed one ticket completely and reduced the other to the lowest level possible, I believe my acceptance of their settlement offer was the best action for me to take. I did not ask for, nor was I given, any preferential treatment because of my elected position.”

Shaw said he accepted the settlement offer from the Polk County (Iowa) Attorney’s Office to plead guilty by mail to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and pay the standard $100 fine.

“I now consider the entire matter settled and finished,” Shaw said in the news release. “I wish to thank the dozens and dozens of people from Iowa who have contacted me to express their disappointment and embarrassment with the way this matter was handled by the Iowa State Fair and their private security force.”


Read it all here.

Whoa. Sorry. I was getting dizzy from all of that spin. Should we translate for the less politically asute?

I think what we can infer is that after initially puffing up his chest, I'm guessing he wanted this to go away without ever having sworn testimony offered by the arresting officer and the witnesses. A misdemeanor disorderly conduct ticket is one thing, but sworn testimony which would be dissected by the media over a period of weeks would be like a stake through a politicians heart.

Comments

Anonymous said…
typical of Shaw. Disrespect for Iowa, disrespect for Law Enforcement and disrespect for his constituents. Why would he care if defending himself took a few trips to Des Moines? He uses his taxpayer funded vehicle whereever he goes.
Anonymous said…
People, where is your South Dakota Machismo?
I say we should all go down to Des Moines and kick some righteous butt. Shaw may be an a*sh*ole, but he's our a*sh*ole. Come on, wouldja?
Anonymous said…
"I did not ask for, nor was I given, any preferential treatment because of my elected position.”

Well at least he did one smart thing because people in a neighboring state don't care if he's a mayor somewhere in South Dakota. That might carry a little weight in his home state, but no one else gives a hoot.

As for the dozens and dozens of Iowans who expressed their disappointment and embarrassment: if they knew him and did business with him, maybe....

But he said he was going to plead not guilty too.
Anonymous said…
You know, when $100 fine to a petty offense can save you $200 in gas money, $100 hotel cost, $2,500+ in attorney fees, and at least 2 days of your time, I'd plead too.

The Iowa prosecutor reduced the charge to the extent it was no longer worth the time, effort or cost to fight.

I don't blame Shaw for reevaluating his options under these circumstances. If you're being honest with yourselves, you know you'd pay the $100 to save $3,000 too.
Anonymous said…
I'm hoping santa goes away after christmas.
Anonymous said…
The fact that he even thinks he could have gotten "preferential treatment" because he's the Mayor of Rapid, tells a lot about the fantasy world he lives in all by itself.

The political clout of being Mayor of Rapid City is about the same as being president of the Class of '07 in Wall High School.
Anonymous said…
anon 11:18

I agree that it doesn't make since for the average person to spend alot of money fighting a $100 ticket. But Shaw is an elected offical, the Mayor of the second largest city in SD.

If shaw thought he could bet this, he would have gone to court and fought.

Instead, he makes a public announcement that he was sure that he could beat the charges if he wanted to. But instead decided to plead quilty, for the sake of the citizens of Rapid City.

Give me a break!

Shaw knew that he screwed up and is now trying to spin it.
Anonymous said…
it's another example of Shaw's corrupt behavior. Did you know he is NEVER actually at city hall?
Anonymous said…
I hear that Tom Johnson is going to run. He has a good chance of beating Shaw.
Anonymous said…
951 anon. I wonder who that person in Wall would be?
Anonymous said…
rapid city needs a new mayor.
Anonymous said…
perhaps shaw could sell the city's wastewater treatment plant to pay for his fine
Anonymous said…
Jim Shaw will enter history as one of the most corrupt and sneaky Mayors in South Dakota history.
Anonymous said…
Can someone tell me how Shaw keeps getting elected?
Anonymous said…
Same town that elected Adelstein, McLaughlin, Katus, Duniphan, etc. We shouldn't be surprised.
Anonymous said…
SAM, Stop it, haha

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