Candidate for Attorney General and State Senator Lance Russell addressed a group of around 20 Brookings County Republicans yesterday as they met for their monthly meeting:
Lance explained that his primary goal as Attorney General would be public safety and getting it back on track for the state. He cited how Sioux Falls was recently featured in a USA Today story as the #2 City in the nation where Crime is soaring, with an 80.4% jump in violent crime. Russell noted while in the state, Rapid City was once thought to have a higher incidence of violent crime, Sioux Falls has now easily captured that title.
As Attorney General, Russell noted that he will seek the tools to attack violent and drug crimes, and part of that is to be strong on crime, noting that Senate Bill 70 will need to be reformed. (SB 70 was the 2013 measure that established alternative court programs for nonviolent offenders).
Russell also was on the eastern side of the state for an event he held in Sioux Falls Saturday afternoon to draw attention to his candidacy, as noted on Facebook:
With the field of candidates in a state of flux at the moment, watch for the race for Attorney General to grow more intense in the coming weeks!
That looks like the biggest event they’ve had at a pizza ranch meeting room since the stamp enthusiasts club.
Was his Sioux Falls event actually scheduled against all the St. Patricks Day events?
He’s a great candidate for AG!
He and Fitzgerald are headed to a runoff from what I hear.
Is this Mary or Stace posting this? Laughable at best.
Anyone East River supporting Fitzgerald or Russell? Not really.
I would be concerned if I was Ravnsborg with the fewer candidates in the race. I think it hurts him the more concentrated the race is.
I disagree…the danger is not with Ravnsborg, but Russell, by Fitzgerald staying in he is just helping Lance take votes away from Ravnsborg and helping Russell get to a second ballot and convention chaos. Fitz should be the next one to drop out.
Good luck with that prediction. I wouldn’t put any money on that one unless you can afford to lose it. Those two are yesterday’s news; it’s time for new blood in the AG office, and these guys ain’t it.
Better check your hearing aids.
Did he address his censure by the Supreme Court?
I haven’t heard it addressed. Swept under the rug, yes, but not addressed. He’d have to address that in the general if he’d win the primary, but he won’t win the primary, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
Why does he have his hands in his pockets?
Did he mention anything about appointing Stace Nelson as his head of DCI?
I think Lance should stay in the state senate. A new governor is coming a fresh start and he should have a better chance at getting something accomplished.
I just don’t see a path for him to become AG, while he would make it interesting I believe he continues down that path he will lose and be out of office completely.
Fitzgerald needs to drop out of the race and endorse Russell.
But he has almost all of Lawrence county locked up!
Fitz is the only one with the chops to hang with Seiler.
I agree but Lance is a great candidate also.
Fitzgerald and Russell are the only qualified candidates.
Fitzgerald is the safe choice and Russell is a risk. Ravnsborg is looking more like 3rd place the longer this goes.
you are delusional…typical trolling BS
Here is what they said about SF in the article…I just cut and pasted it
Sioux Falls, S.D.
5-yr. violent crime rate change: +80.4%
2011 violent crime rate: 215.1 per 100,000 (total: 497)
2016 violent crime rate: 388.1 per 100,000 (total: 994)
December unemployment rate: 3.1%
Poverty rate: 8.9%
The violent crime rate in Sioux Falls has ticked up nearly every year in the last half decade. Steady year-over-year increases resulted in an 80.4% overall surge in the metro area’s violent crime rate, from 215 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2011 to 388 per 100,000 in 2016. Despite the steep increase in crime, Sioux Falls remains safer than Rapid City, the only other metro area in South Dakota for which the FBI tracks violent crime. There were 495 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in the Rapid City metro area in 2016.
Preliminary reports for 2017 indicate that violent crime may be on its way down in Sioux Falls. However, as is the case in much of the country, drug-related crimes are on the rise in the area.
Yeah. This indicates why a candidate should have some experience prosecuting.
Fitzgerald and Russell will be hard to beat at convention.
Career politicians are what got us into this mess with SB 70…many in the states attorneys association caved…we need a fresh start and a good house cleaning.
Fitzgerald will be more of the same. no thanks.
Ditto
Russell is not a good speaker and while it is good he is getting some practice at events like this I have not seen or heard him getting better. He is one of the most soft spoken speakers I heard speak.
Lance has no path to victory, he should stay where he is at now.
Russell has no path to victory, he is just in here to stir things up….that is what he and Stace Nelson do best…stir things up but don’t accomplish anything.
Looks like Fitz and Lance are the top two going into the final stretch.
if that stretch is a yawn only…Fitz is a distant third…the only thing that changed was he moved from third to last with Charlie’s announcement
By what measure? I don’t know what you would have to back that up. Russell has baggage with his past censure and Fitzgerald hasn’t run much of anything.
I’m for Russell. I live east river. I think he is the best conservative choice. There are no perfect choice but in any election you need to choose the one with the most conservative boxes marked. Now this is SD and Republicans here actually vote for more and higher taxes. Take Noem for example she is actually campaigning on adding taxes for SD. Oh let’s tax the internet. Why don’t Conservatives just vote no on all taxes and cut government programs. That being said as of now even though Noem has voted for every cr and debt limit raise she is going to get my vote. I’d rather vote for her than a guy who thinks all the answers are in on gear up. I don’t swallow that at all.
The inexperienced one is not Ravnsborg, but Russell…a common Alinsky tactic to keep saying it over and over again hoping it will take….if you read the ethics opinion publicly censuring Russell it states:
One of the mitigating factors was “…his relative inexperience in the practice of law, …”
His relative inexperience…and since then it has been shown that he has handled 10 cases. This hardly makes him “experienced” in the eyes of our highest court and he has an ethical black mark on his record that neither Fitzgerald nor Ravnsborg have on their record. I can see the ads already for the democrats…the Republicans sent a man with questionable credentials. Plus it has been shown here both Fitzgerald and Ravnsborg have full case loads, not just a couple cases.
But I am a facts man, read it for yourself–What i quoted was in paragraph 51.
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1564780.html
At least with Fitzgerald I can argue the prosecutor angle, but the career politician does that make it as clean (and he will just focus on prosecuting vs all the other stuff of the office) as with Ravnsborg fresh look at things, strong military background and hard working honest guy who only wants the best for our state plus he understands the office is more than just prosecuting, it is leading. He has lead on fighting ballot issues, carrying gallons of water for the party and is extremely smart, but without coming across as talking down to you. His lectures are always interesting and informative.
I am a strong conservative, but I want someone who has clean hands coming into the job and taking a fresh look at things….to me that is Ravnsborg.
Lots of talk here about picking the right “next” AG, so they can be tough on violent crimes. Based on the USA Today article, it doesn’t appear our “current” AG has been as tough on violent crime as he professes in his campaign rhetoric.
Maybe you should ask Fitz, they gave money to Kristi and are pushing that message against Marty.
Fitzgerald is the best candidate. His wife should stop helping Kristi immediately and just say I’m supporting John.
Why would she publicly support the opponent of the current AG when her husband is running for AG?
Makes no sense. I lean towards john but I also support Marty. It’s a turnoff.
Besides the ethics anchor that he will forever be dragging, Russell is as low-energy candidate. Look at that photo. It screams low-energy. Compare it to the photos of Dusty, Marty and Kristi at the St. Pats parade. Russell lulls audiences to sleep with his low energy monotone voice. The Democrats have a great candidate this year for AG. The Republicans are choosing which mediocre candidate to run. Let’s not go with the unelectable low-energy one.
Sage I agree. I also do not think Russell looks professional in these photos.
Ravnsborg and Fitzgerald are always in suits to these party events when they speak to groups of central committees and such. Respect to your audience.
Prediction.
Fitzgerald vs Russell in the runoff.
Everyone knows Ravnsborg is not electable against Seiler. He got 5th place in the 2014 US Senate primary. 2.7% of people voted for him. He lost to Bosworth and Nelson. He lost to Bosworth. That’s amazing. It is bad. Charles Barkley would say “turible just turible.
After losing that race he thought the best way to an a race was to plant 200 delegates.
It’s a total con job. Yes he’s nice but he’s not qualified or electable. He should take a job as a prosecutor.
Oh, you know what everyone knows? I think Ravnsborg would do just fine against Seiler (note how I’m not trying to speak for everyone). This is a tired ploy by people in the tank for Russell or Fitzgerald. Those two are yesterday’s news with baggage.
Prediction: you will eat your words.
Russell and Fitzgerald are the better candidates. It’s not close. They are both experienced. It’s more of a personality or style thing.
I’d be happy with either. Fitzgerald’s wife needs to stop promoting Kristi.
Fitzgerald is ok, but he leaves me cold. Does not come off as personable. Lance has a lot of baggage including his friend from Fulton.
Ravnsborg is just fine with me. He can’t be too much of a slouch to have Judge Rusch and the sheriffs endorsing him. Anyone saying otherwise probably is involved with the opponent campaigns
I would like to state the following:
1. I like Kristi Noem, Marty Jackley, Terry Lafleur and Lora Hubbel. I have
given money to Kristi and Marty, I have known the both of them for years. I
went to public school with Lora Hubbel. She is a friend.
2. I like Shantel, Dusty and Neal.
3. I like ALL the AG candidates.
But most importantly I am not a candidate. To whomever writes about me, I would ask that you stop. Be respectful of the candidates family. To treat a candidate’s wife, child, grandparent, parent etc in any ill manner should not be tolerated on this website.
Respectfully submitted, Mary Fitzgerald.
Thank you, Mary.
It’s a misreading of the stats to say that SF violent crime rate is higher than RC. It’s not. In fact the RATE in RC is still 25-30 percent higher than SF. The story was about the INCREASE over five years. So even with an 80 percent increase, SF still 25 percent lower than RC overall. And 300 percent lower than Monroe, LA.