The Sioux Falls Mayoral race is heating up with South Dakota’s two major political parties choosing up sides in the contest, with Republicans backing former GOP Legislator, City Councilwoman, and Statewide association director Christine Erickson, and Democrats getting behind their Joe Biden supporter, former Dem Gubernatorial candidate Jamie Smith:
South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Jim Eschenbaum said the party’s executive board discussed the race and decided to endorse and back Erickson.
“If that’s the Democrats’ attempt to gain a foothold in the state of South Dakota, by electing a mayor of the largest city, I guess they can attempt to,” Eschenbaum said. “But the Republican Party is going to back the Republican in that race, even though it’s a nonpartisan election. We’re still going to back the Republican principles and ideals.”
and..
(Dan Ahlers) told South Dakota Searchlight recently it would mean “a lot” to have Sioux Falls led by a Democrat. He said a Smith victory would bring more balance to South Dakota politics and create an opportunity to show that Democrats can work across party lines and deliver results for everyone.
“So, I think having a person like that, with that kind of experience, is also incredibly important,” Ahlers said of Smith.
Two very different approaches. Remember last time Jamie Smith ran for a big office…
The ad plays two statements from Smith, with one immediately following the other: “I’m advocating for taxes on new things” and “We need more things to tax.” The ad is paid for by Kristi For Governor. The video comes from a Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary event on Monday; only Smith accepted the invitation for what was meant to be a debate between all three gubernatorial candidates.
and..
Smith did say “I’m advocating for taxes on new things.” And he did say “We need more things to tax.” But he did not make these statements one after the other, as the ad implies. He made the comments several minutes apart on Monday.
Well, good luck Sioux Falls..
I suppose since this is suppose to be non-partisan and clearly it’s not. Maybe it’s time for the SD Legislature to draft a bill next year going requiring party affiliation be included in all elections whether it’s city, county, state, or federal elections.
it’s never been non-partisan.