Apparently Libertarian candidate for Governor Steve Novotny, who refers to himself as ‘air wolf,’ doesn’t like it when people write about him.

Unfortunately, I suspect we’re going to make him mad again.  Because a review of the UJS records associated with his name reveal a troubling trend with several protection orders being taken out against Novotny for stalking:

Temporary Orders of Protection against Novotny protecting against stalking were issued against Novotny in 2004, 2006, and 2015, with the latest order issued by Judge Mark Barnett. An order which expired on 4/23/2015, less than three years ago.

But while that order expired, it was taken up by a higher authority.

This latest protection order against Novotny for Stalking went so far as to involve the United States Attorney’s Office, as noted by Dakota Free Press when Cory Heidelberger pointed out when he wrote about Novotny’s announcement:

Novotny also earned one brief mention in former U.S. Attorney Randy Seiler’s 2015 annual report for the District of South Dakota under “Program Litigation”:

Becky Zirpel vs. Steve Novotny (FSA intervening on behalf of Farm Service Agency)

The USAO assisted with a protection order sought by FSA employee Zirpel against Steve Novotny. It was resolved by a permanent injunction which enjoined and restrained Novotny from coming upon the premises of the FSA property in Winner and Burke, South Dakota [Randolph J. Seiler, U.S. Attorney, District of South Dakota, Annual Report 2015, p. 55].

Read that here.

So while the 2015 protection order issued by Judge Barnett was resolved quickly, it was replaced with a Federal order restraining Novotny from the premises of the Farm Service Agency properties in Winner and Burke.  Seriously, how bad does it have to get to involve the United States Attorney’s office to divert time from prosecuting drug dealers and killers to tell some moron to quit harassing people?

As offensive as he can be at times, a review of UJS records reveals no criminal offenses or protection orders against his opponent for the Libertarian nomination for Governor, Carl Abernathey Jr.

Which coming into this weekend’s Libertarian Party Convention, this leaves party delegates with choosing the lesser of two evils.  Do they choose Abernathey who has railed on about women in the workplace, and plans on burning flags in the parking lot of DCI? Or do they pick the candidate with a history of protection orders, and tries to raise alarm over land being taken from farmers and given to minorities?

I don’t know that there has ever been a statewide candidate for Governor with one, much less three protection orders taken out against them for stalking.  This doesn’t leave Libertarians any attractive option for Governor.

Unless somehow this weekend a new candidate emerges, and they could come up with door number three.

Update: Steve Novotny is apparently responding via facebook and trying to get people forget about the bad things he’s done, such as causing people and the government to take out protection orders against him, by pointing out things he’s done that aren’t bad.

After some long wrenching meditation I have decided to lift the veil of secrecy. Many people have viciously attacked me in the last twelve hrs. Attempting discredit of my name. With those thoughts fresh at mind, I’ve have decided to open up about numerous things of well intent I have done in this town and other ares of the state. The statue pictured is one I anonymously paid for in donation to local church in winner. I am also paying off the altar in same church. When all tolled and done I ‘ll have invested over 23k for enjoyment of others in their place of worship. Reason I’ve done it. Simply as it was right thing to do. Reason I’m opening up now, show the world small glimpse of my true character.

He now feels the need to claim credit for anonymous acts? I’m sure it does show a small glimpse of his character. I’m sure it does.

A couple of interesting points in relation to the Tapio campaign today. As you’ll recall, Neal stated today that he’s put $115,000 of his own money in the campaign so far:

This caused me to remember that I hadn’t posted his financial disclosure to the Clerk of the US House yet, so I went to pull it, but found this curious memo:

So that means that as of March 8, 2018, Neal noted to the Clerk of the US House that he hadn’t raised or spent $5000 in his campaign. But 30 days later, he’s declaring that he’s spent loaned his campaign $115,000. That’s seems like a strong burn rate for 30 days, especially coming off of a period where less than 5k was spent.  (Senator Tapio wished it clarified that while he has loaned that much to his campaign, he may not have spent that yet.)

In about another week, Tapio’s first campaign finance report for the first quarter of the year (1/1 – 3/31) should be due which will further flesh out his campaign finances, and provide some insight as to what he’s spent why he’s loaned his campaign $115,000 on over the course of the past month.

Now, US House Committee on Ethics notes in their manual that:

Individuals are required to file an FD Statement once they “qualify” as a candidate by raising or spending more than $5,000 in a campaign for election to the House of Representatives. If you receive a notice to file a Statement before you have raised or spent more than $5,000 on the campaign, you should notify the Clerk of the House in writing or through the electronic filing system that the campaign has not yet crossed the $5,000 threshold.

and…

Funds loaned to a campaign from any source, including from the candidate, as well as funds expended for state filing fees, count toward the $5,000 threshold.”

Yet, Neal has no disclosure form into the Clerk of the US House at this time, despite his claim of $115k of loans in expenditures.

Hmmm..

Update:  Senator Tapio contacted me this morning and pointed out this passage that indicates that his report is not due until May 5th since he did not enter the race until 2018:

First, a qualifying candidate must file no later than 30 days before any election (including primaries) in which the individual is participating. Thus, if you become a candidate on January 5 in an election year and the primary is on April 22, the report is due by March 23 (no later than 30 days before the election).

Same page 3 as cited above.  So, we have to wait another 3 1/2 weeks for the financial disclosure form, but we should see first quarter campaign finance filings by next week.

Another Update: Senator Tapio wished for me to explicitly clarify that the $115,000 is a loan put into his campaign, and does not reflect his expenditures:

I loaned my campaign over $5,000. The ethics rules indicate that exceeding the $5,000 threshold makes me a candidate, which then requires me to file a financial disclosure. Your correction correctly denotes that I have not violated the financial disclosure rules, as they clearly indicate May 5 as the actual deadline.

However, your continued use of “expenses” terminology is legally troublesome. Loans to campaigns are not an expense. By stating I have $115,000 in expenses or that I have a high burn rate is slander. The $5,000 threshold doesn’t have anything to do with expenses. Therefore, nothing factual leads you to that headline.

If you keep that headline and stand by the claim of loans are expenses, you are proving your ignorance in front of people with whom you work. Failure to correct that important factual issue, can have deleterious affects on your credibility, and can undermine the credibility of those with whom you associate.

A loan to an organization is never classified as an expense. Revenues, such as donations which will not be paid back, and expenses, legitimate expenditures of a campaign, appear on a profit and loss statement. Loans are simply classified as a liability on a balance sheet, and in no way indicate the money was either used or not used for expenditures.

And there you go.

The campaign finance report can come out anytime now. Anytime…..

Libertarians have a “great” couple of candidates to pick from at the upcoming Libertarian convention this next month.

First, we had CJ Abernathey who says “it’s an extreme risk for an owner to hire a woman working around men in today’s society, and I think that women are to blame for that.”

And now we have his opponent possibly being a worse human being than he is.

Steve Novotny, Libertarian Candidate for Governor was on Facebook just a few weeks ago posting an article and using it as warning that it’s “just a matter of time” before someone legalizes blacks stealing farmers land “here in America.”

And in case we didn’t get the point the first time..

And a bonus obsession over white farmers land being seized by people of a different skin color:

This would be the same Libertarian Candidate for Governor who “claims tribes in South Dakota receive “cradle to grave” welfare.”

Libertarians, you certainly have a great line up for your Gubernatorial candidates in 2018. I’m sure it will only set you all back 20 or 30 years in your recruitment efforts in South Dakota.

Unless you’re going for that pointy hat/dressed in sheets crowd.

I’ve been tracking a story over the last couple of days where I had heard that the non-partisan “Ready to Run” group in Sioux Falls is having a big thing to do in Sioux Falls on April 13th and 14th with panels of speakers and everything.  Except that maybe it’s not exactly so non-partisan.

And maybe it doesn’t exactly sound like they had confirmed with at least one of their speakers.  From the e-mail box of the director of the program to the participants:

On Apr 5, 2018, at 4:17 PM, Blaalid, Brooke wrote:

Good Afternoon Lovely Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are incredibly excited to have you as presenters/panelists for our inaugural Ready to Run South Dakota campaign and leadership training on April 13-14^th.  Before the big day arrives, I need a few bits and pieces of information from you.  I have them listed before for your convenience.  I have also attached the program agenda and paper registration form.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or text my cell at 605-660-9721 or email. I am beyond honored and grateful to have all of your support!

1. Please check your name and credentials on the agenda to make sure we have it spelled correctly.  We also made a few adjustments to the agenda.  If for some reason, you are unable to make your session, please let me know ASAP.
2. Please send me a bio of yourself that is no more than 2 paragraphs, single spaced. Things to include would be education, elected office, positions you have held in terms of leadership/stakeholders, etc. If you are struggling with this, please let me know and we can work together! Send this to me no later than April 12.
3. As a presenter, you are invited to our networking reception on Friday, April 13 from 5:30-7.  Feel free to bring your significant other or a friend who would enjoy the networking and social gathering.  Please RSVP by next Monday, April 9^th if you are available to attend the social and the number of quests attending.
4. If  you would like to participate in the training session and attend the training beyond your session, you are welcomed and encouraged. Please fill out the attached registration form that is a fillable PDF.  As a presenter, you cost of the training is FREE.
5. Lastly, If you know of any women (or men) who are interested in running for office or becoming more involved in community leadership, we encourage you to share this information with them. You can also find additional information at our website www.readytorunsd.org  You can also share on Facebook, twitter, Instagram as well!

Thank you again for all of your time, energy, and support!

Brooke
Brooke Blaalid, MSW, PhD Candidate

Director, Ready to Run: SD
Master of Social Work Program
University of South Dakota
Health Sciences Center; Rm 367
1400 W 22nd Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57105

Okay.. that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Except that one of the listed presenters, Karon Gubbrud, hadn’t exactly been asked if she would be a speaker (I’ve cut this response down a bit, btw..-PP):

From: Karon Gubbrud
Sent: Sunday, April 8, 2018 6:00 PM
To: Blaalid, Brooke
Subject: Re: Presenter Info Needed

Dear Brooke,

I have put much thought, and some prayers, in to my reaction, and my response, to this.

Several months ago, you had Sara Lindquist invite me to join the two of you, at your home, for a glass of wine and conversation.  You wanted to meet me.  You also knew I was involved in politics; and you wanted to tell me about this new group you were bringing in to Sioux Falls.  You were very excited about this new group.  That was very clear.

and…

Then last Thursday, I get this e-mail from you, announcing what you hope will be a big event, and seeing my name on the agenda/program, as part of a panel over lunch.   That day, at your home, you and I had spoken, quite briefly, actually, about the possibility of me serving on some sort of a panel at an event or meeting you were planning…..an event that was well down the calendar road at that time. You did not have many details at all at that time.  You asked me if I would suggest other women to serve on this panel you were assembling.  I told you I would not offer anyone else to you without speaking to them first. Then I never heard anything more from you.

You did tell me you were “thinking about” having Stephanie Herseth Sandlin as your featured speaker.  I strongly discouraged you from that, since you had told me, repeatedly, during our conversation that this group of yours was “strictly non-partisan”.   Stephanie is known state-wide as a big time, very liberal, Democrat.  I highly encouraged you to invite someone whose political leanings are a less well known, as your featured speaker, if you wanted to demonstrate your non-partisan nature as an organization. You did seem quite determined to have Stephanie be your featured speaker, though.

Last Thursday, at 4:30 PM, when I returned  home from a day of teaching, I found this e-mail of yours.  Quite honestly, I was shocked by it!  Suddenly, I was listed on a panel for this event, which I gather, you hope will be quite large. I had not heard a word from you in months, and suddenly, with just one week’s notice, I am listed as a guest panelist!  Really?!?

At a class that night, a woman came up to me and asked me “how long I had been involved with Ready to Run”!!  “Involved with”!!  She and several legislators and their wives had received information about this event, with me listed as being on this panel a full week before that!! But, I did not get this e-mail,about it until last Thursday!?!  That is appalling, and quite honestly, insulting!!

Brooke, I cannot possibly participate in this!  On top of this late notice, there is nothing “non-partisan” about it!!  Your featured speaker is a well know, very liberal Democrat.  You have, not just one, but two speakers from LEAD SD, which is well recognized as a very liberal, Left leaning, basically Democratic, organization. You have Paula Hawks, another raging liberal Democrat!  You have three or four others listed as presenters, who are well known in all political circles, as being very liberal Democrats. You have a couple who claim to be Republicans, so they can actually get elected; but their voting records, and many things they say and do, tell a whole different story!

and…

I wish you well. I hope that your event is well attended, and turns out to be all that you hoped it would be.  I am sure you have put  much time and effort in to planning it.  But I cannot participate.

Karon Gubbrud

Oh.. that’s not good.

Usually most of the time panelists actually know they are panelists within more than a week of the event being held.  The organizer of the Ready to Lead event did offer her apologies. Kind of:

From: “Blaalid, Brooke”
Date: April 9, 2018 at 9:35:40 AM CDT
To: Karon Gubbrud
Subject: RE: Presenter Info Needed

Good Morning Karon,

I am very sorry that I have made you feel this way. I am deeply sadden by this news.  I was under the impression with our conversations that you were willing to discuss your involvement with working on political campaigns as you have been instrumental in helping republican candidates.   I am not exactly sure what Sara is referring to as I had to told her that I sent you a follow-up email and we spoke at the cracker barrel.  I too have been dealing with some health issues and haven’t had as much time to connect with individuals as I wanted to, especially you.

Ready to Run South Dakota is nonpartisan and will continue to be. While President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is our keynote and we do have panelists from LEAD, we also have many great republican women on our panels such as Anne Hajek, Casey Murschel, Carol Twedt, and Georgia Hansen.  Unfortunately, both Carol and Georgia won’t be able to attend due to having unplanned family events this weekend.  Additionally, we have had many great republican men and women give us their support in terms of financial donations and connecting us with potential speakers as they already had planned vacations during this time.

One of the things that we decided when putting our panelist together was that we would not have any individual who was actively running a campaign to sit our panels.  This has been a struggle for us as several amazing women from both sides of the isle are running this year.  I would have loved to have Shantel Krebs as one of our speakers along with Deb Peterson, Deb Sohl, Kristine Erickson, etc.

Again, I am very sorry for the confusion and that you wont be able to join us this weekend.  I am more than willing to continue to have meetings and conversations with you and find ways that your voice and the voice of other republican women can be heard.

All my best,

Brooke Blaalid, MSW, PhD Candidate
Director, Ready to Run: SD

It’s good that Brooke recognizes that the GOP has many amazing women on our side of the aisle. Or at least she sort of recognizes it when she mentions “Deb Peterson, Deb Sohl, Kristine Erickson, etc.”  We might have even believed her if she’d actually gotten any of their names right. (Deb Peters, Deb Soholt, & Christine Erickson).

The Ready to Run SD conference is April 13 and 14, 2018, at the Downtown Holiday Inn City Centre in Sioux Falls.   Maybe Republicans are invited. But they probably won’t get your name right.

Or you might find yourself on a panel.

Here’s a bit of cognitive dissonance between Steve Novotny, the new Libertarian Candidate for Governor, and the expressed views of his party.

From 2016.. The Libertarian Party’s platform position on farm subsidies:

2.7 Marketplace Freedom

Libertarians support free markets. We defend the right of individuals to form corporations, cooperatives and other types of entities based on voluntary association. We oppose all forms of government subs dies and bailouts to business, labor, or any other special interest. Government should not compete with private enterprise.

Read that here.

And Steve Novotny’s position on farm subsidies?:

 

Jackley Announces Workforce Development Initiative

PIERRE, SD: In a new policy initiative that builds upon his vision for the future of South Dakota’s economy, Attorney General Marty Jackley announced his plan to expand workforce development.

“We’ve taken our Hometown South Dakota tour to every corner of the state, and this Workforce Development Initiative is the result of those conversations,” Jackley said. “The input from mayors, county commissioners, business leaders, educators and hardworking families helped us refine a message that harnesses South Dakota’s strengths and addresses our challenges head-on.”

Jackley’s plan for workforce development calls for the following:

• Transform unemployment insurance to increase accountability.
• Prepare young people for 21st century work by keeping higher education affordable.
• Adapt to the changing needs of employers by aligning education offerings with state workforce needs.
• Emphasize dual credit, stackable credits and workforce-ready skills.
• Support and grow existing workforce programs like SD WINS, Dakota Roots and Career Launch.
• Connect South Dakota youth to employers through Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), apprenticeships and public-private partnerships.
• Tie scholarships and other incentives to in-state placement.
• Build hometown jobs with REDI Fund investment.

Read the full Jackley Workforce Development Initiative here

Dusty Johnson Raises $100k for 6^th Consecutive Quarter
Continues to Set Records in Congressional Bid

MITCHELL, SD – The Dusty Johnson for Congress campaign announced today that they received over $100,000 in contributions during the first quarter of this year. This is the sixth quarter in a row that Dusty Johnson’s campaign has accomplished this feat, raising their overall fundraising to a record-breaking $700,000. This amount is more than any previous challenger or open seat candidate has raised for a congressional primary in South Dakota history.

“Running a successful statewide campaign takes time, resources and money,” said Dusty Johnson. “Our team is humbled by the willingness of South Dakotans to enthusiastically step up and support our efforts. Because of their hard work we have consistently outperformed our opponents on every metric: grassroots support, fundraising, and the issues. The support we’re seeing across South Dakota is so tremendous that we were able to be the first campaign for congress to get our ads in the newspaper and on the air. Thanks to our volunteers and supporters I know that we can keep building momentum, win this race, and make the conservative reforms in Congress that America needs.”

Dusty Johnson grew up in a working-class family in Central South Dakota and graduated from USD Vermillion. A former policy staff member for Governor Mike Rounds, Dusty learned early on he had a passion for public service. After serving on the Public Utilities Commission, Dusty became Governor Daugaard’s Chief of Staff and helped lead the state out of a $127 million deficit. Dusty currently works as Vice President at Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell where he helps telecommunications companies deploy fiber and broadband into rural communities.

###

I just heard a bit of a wild tale.

Remember this letter from the other day from Janet Brekke for Sioux Falls City Council that hit mailboxes last week?

This is a physical photograph of the hard copy of the letter that arrived in mailboxes. Which if you recall, I pointed out it’s awfulness, and disbelief it came out from a campaign because of glaring grammatical errors, etcetera.

After the letter hit the streets, I started hearing word of another letter and people were said to be unhappy because the above letter that went out might not be the letter that they’d agreed to sign.   I’ve been scouting around for that letter, and I was just able to get my hands on a screenshot of what, allegedly, people had been asked to sign at an early stage:

Now, the second letter has substantial similarities to the first one, including the line about sending Janet to help Theresa Stehly and Pat Starr. But there’s a glaring addition to the early letter that was a bit more explosive than the first edit: The line about there being a “culture of secrecy” and “the allegations of doctoring/tampering with public documents” was not part of the above letter that had been circulated around for signatures… but it was sure in the letter that had been mailed out.

Clearly, what I’m told was the original letter was a bit long and needed some trimming and minor edits. But what it was replaced with took a sharp enough turn from the original that people would have wanted to know what their names were on, and should have been cleared with them all before it went out.

Sometimes in the heat of campaigns, people make snap decisions to expedite things. But it’s a good lesson that when other people are putting their names on the line, you should probably get their explicit say-so first.

Previously committing to spend $300,000 of his own money on his campaign effort, Congressional Candidate Neal Tapio is looking to supplement his campaign pocketbook after spending a self-reported $115,000, as per his post on Facebook today asking for donations:

From my mailbox, looks like the Libertarians are going to have a showdown for Governor:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Steve Novotny

WINNER, S.D. — Steve Novotny, Winner, announced today he will seek the South Dakota Libertarian Party’s nomination for Governor.

Novotny, 61, is married to his wife of 42 years, Denise. The couple have two daughters, two sons in law, and four grandchildren. In addition to being a third-generation farmer on a century-old homestead, he also runs an aerial application business, utilizing helicopters in agricultural spraying. Novotny has also been a huge supporter of military veterans, he’s flown in parades and memorials, and has dedicated a lot of his time and energy helping people who have served the country.

Known by the nickname “Air Wolf”, Novotny says he knows the trials and tribulations of hard work and the dedication it takes to make a business succeed. He hopes to take his lifetime of experience to the Governor’s office in 2019.

In a release dated Monday, Novotny said it was time for the people to take back control from corrupt career politicians and make the state more prosperous and people-friendly.

“With years of corruption under the two-party government’s lack of leadership, it’s time to clean up South Dakota’s image,” Novotny said. “The trail of tears and corpses littered across this state must end, and non-politicians must take the controls to navigate South Dakota into the future.”

Novotny will seek nomination at the LPSD’s state convention in Sioux Falls on Saturday, April 14. If successful, he will go on to the general election on November 6 and face Democrat Billie Sutton and the winner of the Republican primary between Attorney General Marty Jackley and U.S. Representative Kristi Noem.

###

My voter database shows Novotny was registered as a Republican up until recently, but unlike his opponent CJ Abernathey, actually changed to Libertarian before the campaign began, which I confirmed through the Secretary of State.

Moving on…