Group shut down on demands to remove most of Butte County Commission over medical marijuana

@SoDakCampaigns

If you ever thought the meetings of your local board of elected officials was the most dysfunctional in the state, I think Butte County might have you beat.

A local group, the “CONCERNED CITIZENS OF BUTTE COUNTY,” a self-anointed group of crusaders has taken it on themselves to go after various elected officials and has devoted much of their attention on the Butte County Commission, as they have demanded the removal of a majority of the members, as noted in below unsigned complaint which accompanied several petitions:

A number of signatures were turned in, which prompted the following letter from the complainants as the State’s Attorney reviewed and researched their demands. Unlike the first letter of demand, it appears that they claim to have a desk now, as evidenced by their new letterhead with their continued demands, this time adding a threat to go to the attorney general, the governor, and the press:

“If we have not received a report on the status of your investigation or prosecution.. we will take said measures.”  They were threatening to whine to the press, and cry to people that are regularly attacked through their related facebook page?  I’m sure that moved mountains.   Regardless, the State’s Attorney did reply this past week, as noted in the story from KELOland news:

The complaint, itself unsigned, was accompanied by four pages of 120 signatures on petitions circulated by Dale Simanton, of Newell, Travis Ismay, also of Newell, and Katie Hoffmann, of Belle Fourche.

and..

The complaints, listed below in bold italics, were categorically rejected by State’s Attorney McCartney, who found no cause to remove the commissioners.

and..

“In this meeting, there were several speakers, including one who threatened to “kick the ass” of the Commission Chair, causing upset and disruption,” wrote McCartney. “It is unsurprising that the Commission Chair did not turn on the timer or properly note the time to limit remarks for the subsequent speaker.”

While McCartney said that not limiting time for the speaker was a mistake, she said it did not rise to the level of demonstrable gross partiality, adding that at following meetings, citizens with anti-marijuana views had been allowed to speak for longer than the allotted time.

and..

In summary, McCartney found within CCBC’s complaints no reasonable cause to remove the named members of the commission.

Read the entire story (and the full complaint response) here.

Literally, part of their complaint was regarding the disruption of a county commission meeting, including threats of violence… so they wanted commissioners removed?  As you can read in the story, the State’s Attorney shut the group down hard.

What’s the next step?  According to a comment under a Facebook post from Katie Hoffmann on the topic, Travis Ismay notes that he is now going to go to the Attorney General.

I have the sneaking suspicion that the Attorney General’s office uses the same lawbook that the State’s Attorney does, and the result will be the same.

12 thoughts on “Group shut down on demands to remove most of Butte County Commission over medical marijuana”

  1. 14 marijuana establishments in a county with a population just over 10,000?

    might be a good place to invest in a bakery and ice cream shop

  2. Travis Ismay I believe just got a ballot measure approved that would make fake medical which is really just recreational marijuana illegal in South Dakota unless made legal by the federal government. Good for him and supporters! Their group now needs petition signatures to get it on the ballot.

    I watched a few videos and this group of citizens do not lack motivation. That is for sure! It looked like they don’t know the process.

    Good luck to them and hope it gets on the ballot. Many South Dakotans did not know what they were voting for some thought just hemp with the shady high pressure and deceptive tactics used by out of state big marijuana which poured millions into the state. Plenty of complaints about those paid petitioners back then some from out of state and a few wearing ankle bracelets/monitors.

    1. Myself and a majority of South Dakotans look forward to voting no on such tomfoolery if it makes it. The people spoke already, but prohibitionists and big gov tyrants can’t or won’t rest.

      1. We can expect you to sign the petition so you can use your right to vote on it?

  5. Ran this across some customers and neighbors and they all think this ballot measure is reasonable. If the federal government states that this substance is illegal then we should too and for good reason. If things change on the federal level where federally it is legal then we can vote on it again. A number of them volunteered to become petitioners. A reasonable approach.

    2. Oh so what if big daddy fed says that all gas stoves are to be banned, you and your customers ok with that too?

  6. I always suspect the motives of people who get on a campaign for one thing or another, and when it doesn’t go their way, right away, they then admonish and call for the recall of an elected Board. We all need to slow down, and work through the established system of government.

  7. The residents opposing the marijuana farms in Butte County have had very legitimate concerns about water and crime. Marijuana legalization is not a benign topic. Look at the degradation of Denver and other places in the West where marijuana has been legalized. Water use and quality is huge for dry Butte County farms and ranches. A big question is how adequate are the State of SD regulations?

    I voted against legalization and will vote the same as many times as it takes. Grammatical errors are no reason to dismiss legitimate concerns of citizens as unworthy. Isn’t that bordering on Hillary Clinton territory?

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