Remember back in September what Initiated Measure 22’s author Slick Rick Weiland had this to say about why we needed initiated Measure 22?
When our state consistently ranks in the top five of states most at risk of corruption; when scandals like EB-5 and Gear-Up destroy confidence in our elected leaders and government by squandering hundreds of millions of dollars; when sweetheart government contracts, suicides, murders, lawsuits and felony charges dominate our daily news and coffee talk, then it is time for reform.
Well, former Democrat legislator and IM 22 spokesman Darrell Solberg just debunked that Weiland theory:
Darrell Solberg, co-chairman of South Dakotans for Integrity, said Initiated Measure 22 is a bipartisan, government accountability and anti-corruption act.
It would increase transparency and oversight in state government while reducing corruption, he said.
and…
The law would not prevent incidents like EB-5, Gear Up, no-bid contracts or pay to play, but it would provide a deterrent, he said.
So, while Weiland claims we need Initiated Measure 22 to stop problems with the Eb-5 and Gear-up programs – when pressed, his measure’s own spokesman has to begrudgingly admit the measure does nothing to address it.
And doing nothing about problems – all it leaves is a program that takes millions of dollars of tax money away from schools and roads to fund political candidates.
It has been a bad week for Slick Rick and his ilk. First, Dana Ferguson exposed their claim that corruption costs South Dakotans $1,350 a year as a falsehood. Then Darrell Solberg was forced to admit that the proponents’ claim that we need IM 22 to prevent scandals like those with the EB-5 and Gear Up programs was such.
Most of these ballot measures are deceptive….you can’t expect to pass a 34 page law like this through the IM process…it is way too long and technical for the average voter to digest.
They should at least try to take it to the legislature first, even if it doesn’t pass it will at least have some debate.
22 is too long; 23 is too short and I would argue the most deceptive of them all….The V people also have had a bad week….Burning an American flag in their ad; admitting it was not only paid for by out of state people but written by them also…..not the way to make laws…NO on all of these measures.