Category: Uncategorized

 

Marquardt Seeks District 18 House Seat

YANKTON–Yankton County Commission Chairman John Marquardt announced today he is running for Legislature to represent District 18 in the State House of Representatives.

“When I first ran for county commission, I promised to work tirelessly for the citizens of Yankton County, and that is my commitment to our region as the district’s next House member,” said Marquardt. “I’m excited to bring my experience on the commission, family farm, and family business to the House. In Pierre, I’m going to fight for District 18, especially low taxes, public safety, education, and agriculture.”

As a member of the Yankton County Commission, Commissioner Marquardt has advocated for law enforcement, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and economic opportunities for all. In the Legislature, he will lean on his conservative principles to advocate for the Yankton area at the state level.

Born and raised on a family rural farm with his 11 siblings, John learned at a young age about hard work and customer service–honesty, kindness, and fairness–at a small country general store. John works at his family business–Marquardt Transportation. As head of special projects, he helps oversee maintenance, dispatch, hiring, safety, and logistics. John is the former president of St. John’s Lutheran Church of Yankton, former general manager at Upper Midwest Grain Elevators, and is the current Southeastern Area USA Softball Umpire in Chief.

Marquardt’s call to public service is tied to keeping South Dakota a wonderful place for his family and his neighbors. John and his wife, Gale, have three adult children and one granddaughter.

“I believe we can continue as a close, deeply rooted community that we value generation after generation without the sacrifice of forwarding progress,” said Marquardt. “We will make our community strong together. It’s for us to own, it’s for us to preserve.”

The Republican primary election is Tuesday, June 4, and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. District 18 covers Yankton County and portions of western Clay County.

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The Minnehaha County Republican Party arose from their slumber long enough in the past few days to roll out announcements for a couple events, as they promote health freedom and homeschooling events on their website. But more interesting is their event calendar where they seem to be rebranding themselves with McGOP as a shorthand among the events promoting discussions over Convention of States and promoting Tonchi Weaver.

So, they’re having McGOP events and McGOP luncheons?  Looking at the events, you can’t help but notice that one thing they aren’t really promoting are actual Republican officeholders or candidates, opting instead for programs that don’t appeal to a broad base, but are all pet causes for the hard, hard right.

How how do you expand the base when you go to your next door neighbor, out watching kids in the yard, and say “Howdy Republican neighbor, would you like to hear more about the convention of states?”  You don’t.  Up here in my county, our Republican group is hearing from our legislators about session on Saturday, and our Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen is speaking to the group on Monday at a local eatery. Which group might stand a chance of getting people in who might be more casual voters?

Pushing harder to the right to expand the fringe.  The new McGOP? I’m not lovin’ it.

 

REED SEEKS RE-ELECTION TO DISTRICT 7 SENATE SEAT

Tim Reed announced today his intention to seek re-election to the South Dakota Senate in Legislative District 7.

Reed stated: “It has been an honor to serve District 7 in the South Dakota House State Senate. I have enjoyed advocating for the citizens of District 7 and if re-elected. I will continue my work to positively affect policies for all citizens of South Dakota.”

After serving six years in the State House of Representatives, Reed is completing his first term in the State Senate. During those eights years he has served on multiple standing committees including Judiciary, Taxation, Energy and Commerce, Health and Human Services, Education and Local Government. For the past two sessions he served as chair of the Senate Local Government Committee.

In 2019, Reed was appointed to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Legislative Advisory Committee. Tim has served as the Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment. Reed represents South Dakota on the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board and served as President in 2023. The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board works with members of the business community, state legislatures, and tax administrators to simplify and modernize the sales and use tax systems throughout the country to help make the collection of remote taxes as simple and burden-free as possible, while at the same time protecting state sovereignty.

Over the past eight years Reed was active with city and county government, South Dakota State University, economic development, mental healthcare, sex trafficking, and sexual assault victim assistance bills. He sponsored and successfully passed bills modifying courtroom practices to help child victims face their abuser, allowing school, city and county governing boards to go into executive session to discuss security plans, funding for a bio-products institute at the Research Park at SDSU, and publishing public notices on the internet.

In 2023 Reed was the prime sponsor for SB91, an act that brought justice to rape victims that did not consent to sexual activity. In 2024 he was the prime sponsor for SB98, an act that allows evidence of the perpetrator’s previous child molestation activity in court cases, making sure that sexual predators are put in jail and will not be able to reoffend. For his work bringing sexual predators to justice, Tim was awarded the 2024 Law & Order Legislative Award from the South Dakota State’s Attorneys Association.

Reed, a Republican, has served District 7 for eight legislative sessions. Before serving in the legislature, he served in Brookings City Government for 13 years including three terms as Mayor. He is a graduate of SDSU with a degree in Commercial Economics. After graduation, Tim worked in Supply Chain Planning, Information Technology, and College Development. Tim currently serves as the CEO for the Brookings Economic Development Company.

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Here’s a candidate filing I didn’t think I would see. And actually, I’m kind of shocked.

Filing this afternoon as a candidate for State Representative in District 12 is Manny Steele.  Manny Steele, previously served in the State House, representing Sioux Falls from 2007-2014, and then a single term starting in 2019.   And, I hate to bring it up, but he might literally be one of the oldest candidates that I’ve seen at 84 years old.

The only one who was older that I can immediately think of was Dorothy Kellogg, who ran as a placeholder for Watertown Democrats in 2012 at the age of 94 from the assisted living center, but didn’t get her withdrawal paperwork in on time.

Not saying he’s of advanced age, but Manny was born before polio vaccine, polyester suits and President Joe Biden (b.1942, at 81 years old).   If people think Biden is too old to be President, and that’s one of the arguments that might be coming from our side of the aisle, 84 might be kind of a tough sell.

If elections are about our future, maybe an argument can be made that Manny is a person with a vision of South Dakota 20 years from now? Maybe.  Steele is slated to be in a District 12 House Republican Primary against State Representatives Amber Arlint and Greg Jamison (Jamison has not filed petitions as of just yet).

But given that in his last term of office, he brought 1 bill.. and it was about establishing “certain requirements regarding funeral processions..” he’s going to have to come up with a better argument than his last stint in office resulting in declaring a right of way for vehicles escorting dead people.

Johnson Votes YES, Calling on TikTok to Divest From the Chinese Communist Party

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) voted to pass legislation requiring TikTok to divest from ByteDance, which answers to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or risk losing access to American markets. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would remove CCP-backed ByteDance apps, including TikTok, from American app stores and web hosting services unless the application severs ties to entities like ByteDance that are subject to control of a foreign adversary.

“TikTok has an important decision to make: remain beholden to the Chinese Communist Party, or retain their user base in America,” said Johnson. “The decision should be simple, yet TikTok’s pushback to the bill gives credence to the thought the platform cares more about the influence of the CCP than operating a safe app in the U.S. I hope the Senate considers the bill soon. In the meantime, millions of Americans will continue to be influenced by the destructive goals of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Johnson recently co-sponsored the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Johnson has long been a critic of TikTok and ByteDance. In 2022, he introduced the Block the Tok Act to remove TikTok from federal government devices. Later that year, he voted to ban it on federal government devices.

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Rounds Holds Congressional Charter Signing Ceremony for National American Indian Veterans

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Committees on Indian Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs, today held a ceremony in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the granting of a congressional charter to the National American Indian Veterans (NAIV).

Rounds first introduced this legislation in 2020 during the 116th Congress and again in the 117th and 118th Congress with Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.). This legislation was co-sponsored by 40 bipartisan senators. The NAIV Congressional Charter was signed into law in December last year as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

“The NAIV was originally established as a result of a request by Senators Akaka, Inouye and Nighthorse Campbell during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing in 2004,” said Rounds in his remarks at today’s event. “At that time, no Native American veterans organization had ever received a congressional charter. I am proud to say that 20 years later, your hard work has paid off and the charter is a reality.”

The ceremony also included keynote remarks from Senator Luján and Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough; a Presentation of Colors and Ceremony Drum Group by Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society, Kiowa Women Warriors, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache (KCA) Veterans Organization, Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Drum Society; and a presentation of NAIV Charter documents to NAIV National Commander Don Loudner. Don is a Korean War Era veteran and a member of the Hunkpati Sioux Tribe based in South Dakota.

Also in attendance were Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Jaime Pinkham, Army Major General Patrick Gaydon, Coalition of Large Tribes (C.O.L.T), C.O.L.T Chairman Marvin Weatherwax, Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Association and others.

Download a video of the ceremony for television use HERE. Download photos from the event HERE. Please credit photos with ‘Official U.S. Senate photo by Ryan Donnell’ when publishing.

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Interesting e-mail that went out to Legislative candidates last night from Jordan Mason, who seems to apparently be trying to figure out exactly how many sketchy groups he can make money off of.

Mason has been involved with the South Dakota Freedumb Caucus, but the page noting that in the State Freedom Caucus network seems to have been taken down, so I can’t say for any certainty if that association remains. And now Jordan has popped up as the “Legislative Affairs & Elections Manager” for “Students for Life Action,” which blasted out this e-mail last night with his name and contact information on it.

One candidate wondered to me “why the hell is Jordan Mason the one sending this out?”  And while the e-mail says “We have new opportunities to protect life,” another person with actual ties to the pro-life movement in the state noted that they assume he’s sending it out because he’s making money, and noting that their “elections manager” has never done anything to support the pro-life cause in South Dakota.

Tip for Candidates: The only survey regarding abortion that Republican candidates should consider, if they are so inclined, is the one that comes from SD Right to Life. I’ve had GOP legislators counsel new candidates that the only two surveys they should consider bothering with are the NRA Survey, and the one from SDRTL. Anything else is going to come back on them and/or provide information they can use in opposition research.

Considering the source, this appears to be the latter; a survey from which someone will mine information to use in primaries against candidates. I suspect it’s a case that anything you say can and will be used against you. And anything you don’t say will also be used against you.

Darned if you do, and darned if you don’t. Best advice from me for candidates on this survey is to spike it, and spike it hard. Because if no one is talking to this group, it takes the wind out of their sails for being taken seriously when the attack cards come.

I notice we’re getting down to less than 2 weeks before the deadline, so I’m rehashing one of those posts that I do every election, because invariably, SOMEONE SCREWS THIS UP.

In 35 years of helping candidates run for office, someone will be a cautionary tale because they make the fatal mistake of listening to a teenage clerk of some after-hours postal desk at a supermarket. Or worse yet, they assume a clerk at a real post office knows South Dakota election law. They don’t.  And when asked, almost all of these tell people that certified mail is the best way to verify that it was delivered. 

Do not listen to these people. The best way is the way prescribed in state law. SEND PETITIONS REGISTERED MAIL ONLY.

It’s not just newby candidates that do this. This is a trap that has foiled seasoned veterans. And then they have to run as an independent, which is embarrassing. It has happened before. It will happen again.

If you can’t drive yourself to Pierre and show up at the Secretary of State’s office before Tuesday March 26th at 5pm, we’re approaching the point.. and I’m guessing it’s in about a week or so … where if you mail your election petitions into the Secretary of State (Secretary of State, Attn: Elections, 500 E. Capitol, Pierre, SD 57501), they might not show up by the deadline on Tuesday March 26th.  No matter what any clerk at a postal desk tries to talk you into, there’s only ONE proper way to mail those petitions into the Secretary of State’s office, and I can’t admonish candidates strongly enough, hence the caps and bold type.

Send those petitions in via REGISTERED mail, not certified.

There’s a good reason for it. It’s the law.  If they show up after the deadline, that’s the only way they will take them.  As I have noted every election over nearly a decade, under South Dakota Election law, it expressly notes “Registered mail,” and that does not include certified mail. And more specifically:

12-6-4.  Except as provided by § 12-5-4 and as may be otherwise provided in chapter 12-9, no candidate for any office to be filled, or nomination to be made, at either or both the primary or general election, other than a presidential election, may have that person’s name printed upon the official primary election ballot of that person’s party, unless a petition has been filed on that person’s behalf after December thirty-first and by the last Tuesday of March at five p.m. local time before the date of the primary election. If the petition is mailed by registered mail by the last Tuesday of March at five p.m. local time before the primary election, the petition shall be considered timely submitted. A nominating petition for national convention delegates and alternates as provided in § 12-5-3.11 shall be filed in accordance with the provisions of this section. Nominating petitions for all party and public offices except legislative and judicial offices shall be filed in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the person is a candidate. Nominating petitions for legislative and judicial office whether elected in one or more counties, and all other party and public offices to be voted on in more than one county shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State.

Read the law for yourself here.

REGISTERED MAIL. Period.

For those who are asking “why registered mail?” there is a very specific reason.

Registered mail has a clear chain of custody that is recorded by the post office before being sent and at each point along its route to safeguard against loss, theft, or damage. It is very specifically time-stamped as well.  Chain of custody and time stamp was important to those who wrote the law, and well. The law is the law.  If you have trouble with following the law, it’s not a good reflection on your path as a lawmaker.

Every year there are people who let themselves get talked into sending it certified by someone who doesn’t know South Dakota Election Law.. and they find themselves out of luck. Don’t be this year’s cautionary tale.

Petitions are like a lot of things – they are best done early. Because if you do them early and screw them up, you have an opportunity to go back and fix them.  It’s hard to do when you’re running it down to the wire.

And even harder if you mail them the wrong way.

In case you’re trying to track how the political races are shaping up, the 2024 Candidate list is being updated at least a couple times a day, and we’re far enough along that I’m tagging the likely primary elections that have popped up; 22 GOP Primaries in the legislative races so far, 1 Democrat Primary (in D11 Senate), and another likely GOP primary is possible if one of the Republicans who have announced get their petitions filed in D15 Senate.

You can keep track of the elections here, as I monitor both petition filings, reports from the field and candidate announcements, and statements of organization, which give a good indication that petitions are going to be forthcoming.

** Couple of new updates: Matt Wagner, who had suspended his campaign, has apparently unsuspended his campaign, and filed petitions for D8 House, triggering a primary in that contest against a couple of former Sheriffs. And Senator Jim Mehlhaff has filed his petitions to return to D24 Senate.

Keep watching for further updates. We have 12 days until the deadline – so now we’re in a mad sprint to get petitions in.  And candidates remember SEND THEM REGISTERED MAIL.  NOT CERTIFIED.

Mark Willadsen to run for District 9 State Senate seat.

Mark Willadsen announced his candidacy today for the South Dakota State Senate representing District 9.  Willadsen, a Republican, is a retired insurance agent, and has a long history of civic service in the Sioux Falls community, including 15 years in  the State House of Representatives.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to serve the people of Minnehaha County in the South Dakota Senate” Willadsen noted.

Over the years, Willadsen has been a leading voice in Pierre for legislation to improve the lives of South Dakotans. One of the signature pieces of legislation he authored in recent years (HB 1091, 2016) was to change South Dakota insurance laws so ride share services such as UBER and LYFT could come and operate in our state.  “This was a great example of business, insurers, regulators, and South Dakotans coming together to keep pace with the changing times and to open up more opportunities in a changing economy.”  Willadsen was also instrumental in passing legislation to expand the Dakota State University Applied Research Lab enabling South Dakota students to be at the forefront of this expanding industry, with good paying jobs right here in our state. (SB 130, 2022).  Willadsen said “My Legislative career has been about opening doors and fixing laws that don’t make sense.  I’m a big proponent in opening our state up for business, and making sure we keep pace with tomorrow’s economy.”

Willadsen is a graduate of Leadership Sioux Falls, past president of the Sioux Falls Morning Optimist Club, Crime Stoppers of the Sioux Empire, and the Sioux Falls Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.  He is a past Chairman of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Tax Council.

Willadsen and his wife Suzanne of 47 years have 3 grown children and 12 grandchildren, all living in the Sioux Falls area.