Gov. Daugaard To Appoint David Lust To District 34 State House Seat (Told you so)

(What was that I was saying last week?   -PP)

daugaardheader daugaard2Gov. Daugaard To Appoint
David Lust To District 34 S
tate House Seat

PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced today that he will appoint former state Rep. David Lust of Rapid City to the vacant seat in the state House representing District 34.

Lust will succeed Rep. Dan Dryden, who passed away last month. Rep. Dryden’s current term began in January 2015 and ends in early January 2017, prior to the next legislative session. Lust will serve until the end of that term.

“Rep. Dryden’s passing left a real void, and I appreciate David Lust’s willingness to return,” said Gov. Daugaard. “District 34 voters elected David Lust four times to represent them, and he was an excellent legislator.”

Lust is an attorney and a partner at Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore in Rapid City. He previously served from 2007 to 2015 in the state House, and was House Majority Leader from 2011 to 2015. Since leaving the Legislature, Lust has served on the Ellsworth Development Authority and on the State Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners.

“It was very meaningful to me that Judy Dryden asked me to apply to complete Dan’s term, and I thank the Governor for this opportunity,” said Lust. “Dan was a good friend and a great person, and it means a lot to be able to complete his term and fulfill his commitment to the people of District 34 and the state of South Dakota.”

Rep. Dryden was also a candidate for reelection to the state House this fall. Under South Dakota law, Dryden’s name will remain on the November ballot. If Dryden is reelected, it will create a vacancy for the term that begins in January 2017, which would also be filled by gubernatorial appointment. Gov. Daugaard would plan to appoint Lust to fill that vacancy as well.

District 34 includes western Rapid City, generally including the areas west of Mt. Rushmore Road, Dinosaur Hill, and “the gap” on West Main Street, and including sites such as Camp Rapid, Canyon Lake, the Sioux San Hospital, West Middle School, and Southwest Middle School.

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13 thoughts on “Gov. Daugaard To Appoint David Lust To District 34 State House Seat (Told you so)”

  1. An audible groan was heard from conservatives across SD.

    Wouldn’t it be nice to just once have actual conservatives in office, instead of Democrat light?

    1. I just realized that if Lust becomes majority leader it will be the second leadership race Daugaard has meddled in. He swung the senate pro tempore last year.

      Qualm will have to work. Lust is a great guy.

  2. David was my first Whip Leader first year in the House, 2009. He told me the truth when I certainly didn’t think it was slowly garnering huge respect and admiration from me. Everything he did was the Right thing to do such as the first bill I watched him as Prime Sponsor bring to the House Ed committee forming school administrative districts assumed to save hundreds of thousands in cost to districts in close proximity to one another. Ed McLaughlin gave him one Yay vote from the committee. Change is hard. Lust was never afraid of hard work as his two terms of House Majority Leader proved. Great choice Governor Duagaard!!

  3. District 34 has a number of qualified candidates that most likely made the Governor’s decision a challenging endeavor. His decision for David Lust honors the voice of the people that have voted for David numerous times who know that David will be an excellent leader for the District and the State, again.

  4. http://my605.com/pierrereview/

    The article above concerns Lust’s appointment and how that could benefit Daugaard when it comes to his desire to have Medicaid expansion in the state. If this is the reason for this appointment, it is very disappointing. It seems that Daugaard is dead set on getting Medicaid expansion done, whether or not it is what the majority of people in SD want and whether or not it will end up costing SD taxpayer dollars (which of course it will as thinking that the feds will ever cover all those expenses by changing IHS is pie in the sky).

  5. Meanwhile, climate change denier Republican Governor Denny Daugaard is presiding over an exodus of educators fleeing the failed red state. He has virtually hand-picked a compliant extremist legislature.

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