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Circuit Court Denies Marijuana Measure on 2016 General Election Ballot

Pat Powers

jackleyheader2Marty JackleyCircuit Court Denies Marijuana Measure on 2016 General Election Ballot

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today that Circuit Court Judge Mark Barnett has denied Melissa Mentele ‘s request to place an initiated measure involving marijuana on the November 2016 general election ballot based upon an insufficient number of valid signatures.

“Today’s decision affirms the hard work Secretary of State Shantel Krebs and her Office put into ensuring the integrity of our election process,” said Jackley.

South Dakota Secretary of State previously rejected the measure for lack of valid signatures. Mentele, as a primary sponsor of the measure, asserted that she did not receive proper notification from the Secretary of State of the rejection and requested the measure be placed on the ballot. In denying her request, the Circuit Court found that she did receive proper notification from the Secretary of State and that she had not proven that the petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures to be placed on the November 2016 general election ballot.

Should Townsquare Media provide to equal time to those against Amendment V?

Pat Powers

From KSOO Radio & Townsquare Media, Amendment V spokesman and KSOO announcer Rick Knobe is apparently going to use his bully pulpit today to promote the anti-transparency measure, Amendment V, which will hide party labels on the ballot.

Not all Republicans are against allowing full ballot access as proposed in Amendment V(for Voters). Listen to Viewpoint University, Tuesday Aug. 9, as three respected Republicans go against the party establishment.

Republicans Dave Volk, former State Treasurer, Casey Murschel, former Legislator and Sioux Falls City Council Member, and Joe Kirby, one of the creators of Sioux Falls Home Rule Charter, will discuss their support for Amendment V(for Voters) Tuesday Aug. 9 during Viewpoint University.

Read it here.

So, the spokesman for a ballot measure who is a radio announcer is going to be giving his measure free time?  Under the FCC doctrine of equal time, some would argue that it brings up a big question of exactly how much time KSOO radio is going to be providing for free to the opponents of Amendment V.

As you might recall from when presidential candidates took the stage on Saturday Night Live –

The head of the Federal Communications Commission promised Thursday to enforce his agency’s regulations requiring television stations to give political candidates equal opportunities for airtime.

“The rules are pretty clear. Rules are rules,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler told reporters. “I hope that we have developed a reputation as folks who enforce the rules.”

Read it here.

The problem is that the Equal Time doctrine only applies to candidates – in this case, the Fairness Doctrine would apply, since it involves issues.  And as of 2011, there’s no such thing anymore as Fairness Doctrine rules:

In June 2011, the Chairman and a subcommittee chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, both Republicans, said that the FCC, in response to their requests, had set a target date of August 2011 for removing the Fairness Doctrine and other “outdated” regulations from the FCC’s rulebook.

On August 22, 2011, the FCC formally voted to repeal the language that implemented the Fairness Doctrine, along with removal of more than eighty other rules and regulations, from the Federal Register following a President Obama White House executive order directing a “government-wide review of regulations already on the books”, to eliminate unnecessary regulations.

Read that here.

So, will KSOO Radio be required to provide free advertising every time Rick Knobe spouts off about needing to hide party labels on the ballot, and providing them a half-hour of free informercial? Not unless Townsquare Media decides they’re going to make it happen.

However, in the interest of fairness, if Knobe is going to continue to be the spokesman for a ballot measure, do you think they need to provide equal time?  Sound off on twitter and tag Townquare Media at @townsquaremedia, or visit their facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TownsquareMedia

The Replacements take the field.

Pat Powers

Replacement candidates for the candidates who have withdrawn from the ballot are due today at the Secretary of State’s office, and they already trickling in, as you might have noticed from last evening’s replacement of Assistant House Majority Leader Steve Westra with former SDGOP Vice Chair Sue Peterson.

What have we seen so far?

  • As noted earlier – John Mills of Volga has replaced Fred Deutsch as the GOP Candidate in the D4 House Race.
  • Anti-Death Penalty activist Leona Weiland has replaced Democrat Mary Claus in the D11 House race.
  • Liberal activist Susan Randall, who lost by nearly 400 votes in the last election, has replaced Democrat Betsy Lang in the D12 House race.
  • In D13 House on the GOP Side, as noted, Sue Peterson has replaced Steve Westra.
  • As noted earlier, Democrat Tony Pier was replaced by JR LaPlante in D14 House.
  • Marijuana activist Melissa Mentele is going to bring her politics to the District 19 House race, replacing Democrat Ardon Wek who withdrew. Interestingly enough, the only other Democrat running in that District, Russell Graeff was recently arrested for DUI.   Wonder how that’s going to play with the church folk in that area, eh?
  • Democrat Eric Bliss is replacing Democrat State Senate Candidate Chuck Groth in D22 Senate.

….and that’s all I’ve got so far.    I’ll update this should any more replacements come in.

Any thoughts or comments?

Argus chaos was the topic at hand on 100 eyes today.

Pat Powers

I didn’t catch it until the rerun but as I skimmed through Argus Leader’s “100 Eyes on Politics” podcast today, they spoke a lot less about politics, and more about the rumors that have been floating around about the chaos in the Argus newsroom.

I lost count of how many times Patrick Lalley tried to explain it away by characterizing it as “just him yelling,” although I think I caught Jon Ellis poking at me a bit, erroneously claiming I’m paid to write the SDWC.  Which, if I’m being paid, please, someone please show me the money.  I’d be overjoyed to get paid. (Hawking advertising is a bit of a chore).

But, given that they spent most of their broadcast talking about the rumors of newsroom unrest, it makes you wonder if there’s actually something to the story. At least more than they’re telling us.

Or, maybe they’re just yelling. Maybe.

 

Sue Peterson to replace Westra on the Ballot

Pat Powers

Republican activist and former State party Vice Chair Sue Peterson was selected to replace Steve Westra on the ballot tonight in a three way race between her, State Rep. Alex Jensen, and City Councilor Rex Rolfing, who had not been terribly active in Party politics.

Peterson was vice chair during Karl Adam’s tenure as chair back in the mid-2000’s, and will probably be a bit harder right than her predecessor, State Representative Steve Westra.

Sue is married to former State Legislator Bill Peterson, who was House Majority Leader from 2000-2004.

Thank you to all who ran, and congratulations to Sue, the SDGOP’s newest candidate for State House.