Well, that was an awful idea. Sen. Curd appoints Amendment V’s Rick Knobe to Board of Elections.

Pat Powers

I have to admit, I was taken aback a bit to see the announcement of today’s appointment of Rick Knobe to the State Board of Elections:

New Board of Elections Members Appointed

Pierre, SD – Secretary of State Shantel Krebs is looking forward to working with two new board appointees on the 7 member bipartisan Board of Elections. The new members are Rick Knobe of Sioux Falls and Clay County Auditor Carri Crum of Vermillion. Secretary Krebs said, “I value the dedication the board members bring to the table while we work together to ensure South Dakota elections remain fair and transparent. Both Rick and Carri will bring new enthusiasm and a great work ethic to the bipartisan board.”

Auditor Crum was selected by Speaker of the House G. Mark Mickelson to replace Codington County Auditor Cindy Brugman and Mr. Knobe was selected by Senate Majority Blake Curd to replace Drew Duncan. Auditor Crum said, “Serving on the Board of Elections is a great honor. I am humbled to have been chosen, and I am also very excited to see what the next four years will bring for South Dakota.”

Former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe will be the first registered Independent voter to serve on the bipartisan board. “This is going to be a grand adventure! Working to ensure election laws are fair to all, ballot access is open, and our procedures use the best techniques and technology available is important. I am eager to join the ongoing effort,” stated former mayor Rick Knobe.

To put it delicately, WTF?

Didn’t people on either side of the aisle just spend the last year and tens of thousands of dollars fighting Slick Rick Weiland, Rick Knobe, the Daschle/Johnson Machine and a load of out-of-state money on Amendment V, because we didn’t want to see California’s systems of elections implemented in South Dakota?

On top of that, the Anti-Amendment V side believed that Knobe’s group supporting Amendment V played fast and loose with campaign finance laws, and accused the group of taking illegal donations.

And now, just a few months later, Senate Majority Leader Curd appoints the person who wanted to completely up-end our elections, and shutting independents out of the process, to the State Board of Elections?  After the State Republican Party went all-in to stop it, the Republican Leader in the Senate does this?

I might be speaking for myself, but today’s appointment? Well, that was an awful idea.

31 thoughts on “Well, that was an awful idea. Sen. Curd appoints Amendment V’s Rick Knobe to Board of Elections.”

  1. Maybe Rick Knobe can help find those three million illegal votes that were cast in the 2016 election? Did Clinton win by 6 million votes instead of three? Whoa!

    I have wanted to type that “WTF” more than a few times this year myself.

  2. Ever hear about the “Moose-Turd Pie” rule?

    The first person to complain about the camp food will be assigned to do ALL the cooking.

  3. I agree with Pat, WTF!!

    That just shifted the balance of the vote on the Board of election to the liberals…

    I can think of many people that fought those ballot measures and were involved in that would have been a better choice.

    I’d sure like to hear his reasoning….

    1. Trading a professional lobbyist in Drew Duncan in favor of an independent seems like a good way to go. Well done majority leader Curd!

          1. I disagree with give him a chance! Knobe made a commercial in support of amendment V with slick Rick. Shantel should have known better than to have her business partner appointed to a board she takes direction from.

      2. Trading a conservative attorney with experience in election law for a liberal hack business partner of the SOS who will vote with the Democrats seems like a bad way to go. What were you thinking majority leader Curd?

  4. Knobe is a liberal…he is clearly out of the mainstream…you should have heard him in the debates of ballot measures last year….

    1. I know he is a liberal. I am not arguing that.

      I am saying that I would be more worried about the leader of the free world conjuring up election conspiracy theories on a grand scale (too large to be remotely true) than a local politician being appointed to a state Board of Elections. One is merely irritating but the other is dangerous and irresponsible.

      Just sayin.

  5. PP, you should know it’s not what you know, but who you know.

    Knobe was Krebs’ business partner in a buffalo operation after her shoe store went belly up.

    If you don’t think it didn’t have anything to do with him being appointed to the board of elections under the Secretary of State, I have a bridge to sell you.

      1. Just more crony capitalism in Pierre not a big surprise that Krebs got her former business partner appointed to her board. All Pierre politicians are corrupt.

  6. The shoe store went belly up? Probably like when the owner of the iced cream stand eats all the iced cream.

    1. It’s an interesting call. Why did he make it and did the other Republican legislators agree to it? I don’t know. But it is a bipartisan appointment. Definitely interesting considering it’s an independent and not a Republican or Democrat.

    2. Give me a break you know Krebs lobbied Curd to make this appointment. South Dakota needs an ethics board to stop this crap.

  8. I don’t agree with Knobe on his amendment V BS but I like that he is a supporter of ethics and reforming state government.

  9. This is a slap in the face to Republican voters. A liberal like Knobe in this spot? Really!?!? I don’t know where to start….

    1. You can start with asking Krebs if she had anything to do with this? He was a former business partner.

  10. Problem with “playing” politics is that it is an us versus them game instead of what is best for the people of South Dakota. Let’s evaluate Mr. Knobe on his actions and not someone’s opinion.

  12. Knobe is the worst possible pick, Curd will have a primary and hopefully get beat by a real Republican I will be sure to donate to that candidate.

  13. All you have to do is read the minutes of one of their meetings to figure out that being appointed to that board is what a person deserves for complaining about the election process.

  14. I can’t believe that he appointed her former business partner and the fact that he’s an independent that lead the charge on amendment V. I think Krebs has made her first big mistake.

  15. I don’t blame Curd i’m sure Krebs specifically requested that this turncoat be appointed to the board that oversees her. As mentioned above this crony capitalism has to stop!

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