If you missed this story from South Dakota News Watch last week, there’s an item in it that’s somewhat concerning regarding Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson.
Anderson advocated for petition circulators to be banned from the entrance of the Minnehaha County Courthouse, and pushed into designated petition zones in the parking lot, much like the maligned free speech zones of college campuses. And that they have to check into her office before exercising their free speech.. sorry, exercising their petitioning.
But the really bad part of this is the fact that Anderson appears to have skin in the game.
Anderson not just worked for one of the primary organizers of petition opponents at one time, but she donated money to the petition opponents, according to campaign finance reports:
Verbal skirmishes between the groups, and what some county employees and customers characterize as increasingly aggressive behavior from circulators, led the Minnehaha County Commission to adopt a new policy for petition gathering on May 2. It was based upon the recommendation of county auditor Leah Anderson, who was elected in November and sworn in on March 5.
The new policy would restrict petition circulation to two designated rectangular areas: one about 50 feet from the main entrance to the administration building, in the parking lot off Minnesota Avenue, and the other southeast of the main entrance to the courthouse.
The policy mandated that circulators check in at Anderson’s office prior to conducting political activity “to permit the placement of safety markers and to verify space availability within the designated areas.”
and..
Anderson, who proposed the rule changes, is a former secretary and treasurer for the Alpha Center, the Sioux Falls pregnancy resource center founded by Leslee Unruh, a leader of the state’s anti-abortion movement who also co-chairs the Life Defense Fund. Anderson’s campaign PAC, Leah for Minnehaha Auditor, donated $200 to the Life Defense Fund, according to campaign finance reports.
In court, though, Anderson testified that her motivation to change the policy was based on conversations with county staffers who observed an increase in aggressive behavior from petition circulators that made entering and exiting the administration building burdensome, including petitioners who stationed themselves inside the main entrance.
Read the entire story here at SD News Watch.
If Republicans oppose free speech zones on University campuses, they probably need to examine whether they should take the same position for free speech zones at the Minnehaha County Courthouse.
Ms. Anderson appears to follow the “rules for thee but not me” credo.
They should have designated locations for petition takers in downtown Sioux Falls. Currently they aggressively pursue signatures at multiple places. It can definitely be a negative to the downtown experience. Many people do not want to be bothered. I believe it is illegal for panhandlers to verbally approach. Why then can petition seekers aggressively approach? It would be much more civil to set up a spot where petitioners could set up a booth , display a banner with their cause and allow citizens to choose to seek more information.
It’s legal for petitioners because they are engaged in active political speech. Pretty easy distinction between that and panhandling.
I think democrat petitioners could be considered panhandlers.
That’s just dumb and not even the slightest bit rooted in constitutional thought or principals.
But true nonetheless.
Not true at all. In fact, some of the biggest panhandle are Republicans like Trump. Just wait until you see how many more repubs run in the presidential primary, not because they have a chance, but because they will never let a fundraising opportunity go to waste. Fleecing republican supporters had become a job for them. Now, go donate to the Trump defense fund.