Today was not the day for supporters of State Rep. Sue Peterson to check their mailbox. Because there was a letter that went out that hit her hard as an opening salvo in the District 13 Primary.
Former State Representative Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson, who once represented the area alongside Peterson, sent a letter advocating for State Rep. Richard Thomason, and just blasted Peterson for being “not a supporter of public education,” for being against the Sioux Falls Chamber, and for missing votes.
Whoof.
It looks like it is game on in D13.
Good to see mark put aside his hatred of the governor to begin hating on another conservative lawmaker 👍🏼
Sue might be in big trouble. Her huge fundraising list will be interesting to see this time around. Do people bale on her?
Is this the same Mark Mickelson who voted for South Dakota’s largest tax increases in back to back years after heavy handed tactics like putting a tax bill in Appropriations instead of the Taxation committee?
Is this the same Mark Mickelson who couldn’t manage the House body and instead had to deal with public select committees on suspension/expulsion?
Is this the same Mark Mickelson who had countless votes against Second Amendment bills?
Do we care what this kind of Republican thinks or who this kind or Republican supports?
And used his speakership to advance his own business interests in cafo’s?
BINGO
She is AWFUL.l, GMM is right about that. I hate he LITERALLY invokes Country Club Republican. It would be better to bring back Kelly Sullivan than elect Sue.
It reeked of elitism.
A legislator refusing to meet with the president of their local school board? The largest taxing and spending entity in her district? An entity that has to deal daily with the largest union in the state? An entity that has to deal with every bone-headed leftist mandate the Feds can come up with? Legislators should be in constant contact with their constituent schools, either making sure they don’t favor, or having their backs fighting, Big Education.
Automatic no vote.
How does she respond to that? Cynthia should at least have been given time to meet or a response. That is the worst constituent service.
Even though I agree with Sue more than G. Mark politically, she should have met with her constituent.
That gives me major pause. She isn’t even that busy. I’d also knock her for always being late to legislative committees and skipping votes. Her conservative colleagues point her tardiness out frequently.
Unfortunately there is a lot of mud to be thrown here. Bottom line, what is said about Sue is correct, she is a pariah who seems to align herself at times with the wacky right of the party. Will Thomason be Mark’s mini-me? Puppeteering seems to bode well in Pierre, so….. There were quite a few of the party faithful who thought Sue was a great fit when she first ran. She said all the right things and actually voted like a normal, clear headed, legislator. A year later that all went to the wayside. She has been a disappointment. Yet, I don’t know if you will get anything better in this race.
So..vote for this guy (who has done nothing) because Mark doesn’t like this legislator? So weak…and typical.
“Not a supporter of public education”? How about supporting students? Rep Peterson is certainly a supporter of them.
She fought the terrible SD social studies teaching standards that were filled with all kinds of leftist political causes.
She’s also pushed for good legislation to protect students from having political bias imposed on them. Both in K-12 and higher ed. Some state U’s are filled with radicals preaching leftist politics to students all day long. Do you think that’s going to have no effect on the future of the state? It will. Just give it time.
I for one would like someone in Pierre who understands these issues and is willing to do something about them. Peterson has been out in front on these issues for years. She has my vote.
The only thing Sue supports is the crap ALEC gives her to push, and she can’t even coherently articulate why she’s put out several of their bills this past session.
How would Rep Sue Peterson have voted if she was there—which she was not —on the resolution against Gov Noem’s handling of the daughter appraisal scandal?
A missed vote where I want to know her position pro or con.
No comment I guess.
No proxy servers, please.
Mark’s assertion that I refuse to meet with Cynthia is a flat out lie. In fact, Cynthia and I were texting with each other just 5 days before this letter was sent. Cynthia and I are not strangers. We communicate.
As Pat mentioned in his original post, Mark sent this letter as a political smear to my donors to try to hurt my ability to fundraise in this primary election. The only place he could have gotten my donor list is on the Secretary of State’s campaign finance reporting system . Using this information is illegal under SDCL 12-27-33.
Here is what SDCL 12-27-33 says for anyone who wants to read it:
‘No information copied, or otherwise obtained, from any statement or report, or copy, reproduction, or publication thereof, filed with the secretary of state, county auditor, or other person in charge of conducting the election under this chapter may be sold or utilized by any person for any commercial purpose or for the purpose of soliciting contributions. Any violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. A subsequent offense within a calendar year is a Class 1 misdemeanor.’
And now just throwing baseless accusations without evidence.
Classy.
You are a disgrace to Sioux Falls.
Sue, you’re an awful Representative and you’d be well served by finding a new line of work. You haven’t shown up to work and have done a half-assed job when you were there.
Happy to donate and work to keep you out of office. Also, don’t you think MM might have donor lists from him time in office? I doubt the rolodex for those with a Mickelson have changed that much over the years. Grow up.
*Just a point of clarification, before I get drug into this, I’m just pointing out that Sue’s supporters won’t like the message, and am not insinuating anything with regards to the origin of the list. – pp
Votes against the SF Chamber? That’s a plus in my book. They have gone woke and have so many positions that are anti business it’s embarrassing.
And yet Sioux Falls succeeds. Trying to paint all commissioners with the exact same brush seems a little hasty.
I do think it is fair to ask ANY legislator how they would have voted if they were excused from a vote that made it to them. if it died in the other chamber…I don’t care…but I am aware with COVID people are sick or stuck in committees or meetings and miss a vote here and there..but should be fair game to ask how they would have voted if they miss one.
Another extremist elected official being a product of a broken political system. Anti-business, Anti-economic development, anti-public education, anti-public health who promotes conspiracy theories, discrimination and scapegoating. Good move by the former Speaker of the House!
I am really not impressed by Mark Mickelson on this one.
Representative Peterson has been working for years to prevent liberal indoctrination in SD’s schools and universities. This is a difficult but vital task that she’s taken the lead on. South Dakota NEEDS her.
Who are the people (other than those on the far left) who oppose her important work? I’d like to know what they’re legitimately doing to protect students from the national trend to politicize K-12 and universities.
This tells me Mark recognizes what I believe to be true: Thomason is likely the be the one left behind in a 3-way primary. If I had to put money on it, I’d place my bet on Tony and Sue making it out of the primary. Mark is trying to give Richard a hand up.
If anyone wonders about the how and why the SD House body was brought into the 21st Century with new electronic voting during a time we “SD” were basically broke thank Mark Mickelson and Deb Peters who corralled State funds for fixing an outdated and nearly dead system which only one person knew how to keep running now sadly gone. Credit always needs giving to those who deserve it.