Pierre School Board race might be most lopsided of night

Pat Powers

The Pierre School Board had an election this evening for one of its school board seats, the one currently held by former Jefferson school elementary principal Dan Cronin.

And if the numbers are at all telling, it appears Cronin may be enjoying the most lopsided victory in tonight’s elections across the state.

With a gap of just under 900 votes between incumbent Cronin and his challenger, newcomer Jason Muldoon, who was supported by the local chapter of “Moms for Liberty” (and married to the vice-chair of the group) failed to pull even 20% against Cronin who dominated with over 79%.

This war by proxy by the Moms for Liberty against Cronin forgot what the most important thing in a campaign is.. first and foremost, name ID.  While they waged war against reading scores, and tried to point a finger against incumbents in general for it, they offered someone nobody in town knew against Dan Cronin – someone EVERYONE in Pierre knows (and likes).

Sometimes you need to read the room.

And name ID matters.

38 thoughts on “Pierre School Board race might be most lopsided of night”

  1. 283 votes? Shouldn’t they have been able to get 283 votes by using a highlighter and going through the voter list? What were they doing?

    The SD GOP even weighed in and sent a postcard backing Mouldoon.

    Siedel has shown she is as effective as Taffy Howard.

    1. Maggie has a beef with the school board. She decided to increase the temp of the race to 1,000 degrees and turned a community against her and her cause.

      There is a reason she is not in the govs office anymore. She doesn’t win and no one wants to fight all the time.

      2. Lol. Because the Gov has been so effective since Seidel left. COVID response was on Seidel’s watch. The numerous slights to the conservative base were after she left. Hmm…

        1. I thought Haugaard was responsible? Now Seidel was?

          Can’t the gov get any credit?

  4. You are right Pat. I don’t know anyone who knows Mouldoon.

    I voted for him because he knocked on my door. Nice guy. Mothers for liberty are not wrong to have high education standards but attacking a long time education professional is not a winning strategy.

    Hopefully the Pierre SB can look into their concerns.

  6. The Pierre School District is well run with a lot of quality educators. I do think it’s OK to push them outside their comfort zone on reading, as it tends to drop off from elementary to high school in the district. But geez… run a new guy to Pierre against a long-time educator? C’mon, learn something about timing. And think about showing up in the community over time and putting the leg work in… not just showing up to school board meetings. Maybe the Moms for Liberty ought to show up to the schools and actually help kids read. The way Maggie and crew are approaching this just seems like a bunch of grandstanding.

    1. Maggie just attacks. She has read books on campaigns but never actually ran a campaign. Big difference.

      1. Pretty positive this is the dumbest assessment ever. she’s laughing all the way to the bank. She ran guvs office extremely well (look at the rest of her admin) and then got a massive dc job again.

        1. Sidel didn’t run anything in the govs office. She sent emails bashing the press and then advised the gov on policy. Venhuizen ran that office and came in to right the ship following Meth. Mccaulley has always been Noem’s main advisor. Just the way it is. Siedel was there for a short time.

          1. This is hilarious. The two clowns who peddle the chamber crap??? Definitely not the reason she is a star.

    2. “Maybe the Moms for Liberty ought to show up to the schools and actually help kids read.”

      They volunteered to do exactly that at one of the school board meetings.

    2. That ought to tell you something. At some point we are going to find out our schools have been teaching CRT, or have been transitioning kids without their parents’ knowledge, or similar, and everyone is going to act all shocked and ask “how could that happen here?”

      And the answer will be that the teachers union and its allies on the school board have successfully stonewalled any meaningful oversight. Just like they did yesterday. And it’s happening in every school district in the state.

      1. School board Elections coinciding with legislative elections needs to happen.

        Time to increase voter participation.

  8. SDGOP shouldn’t be getting into school board elections. Especially when both candidates are Republicans.

    People don’t want to politicize schools. It’s why these candidates keep losing.

  9. Conservatives would win more if they were nice instead of self rightious cranks.

    1. I didn’t realize that drawing attention to a failing system and holding elected officials accountable was now being a self righteous crank..

  11. Voter participation – just 12.5% of registered voters – is a low turnout. Even so, 19% for a “newcomer” and “someone nobody in town knew” is a great showing in any election. Muldoon should feel good about the fact that it was his message that resonated with conscientious voters, not his “name ID.” If Cronin only won because “EVERYONE in Pierre knows (and likes)” him, that says more about the voters than the candidate. The fact remains – the public schools are failing under Cronin’s so-called “leadership.” And, so far, he’s been apathetic to that fact. If he remains so, the real losers in this election will be the children.

  12. I love how most of these comments come from anonymous people bashing the only person who did anything noteworthy in this whole state and ran a phenomenal Governor’s office operation. If you want to be taken seriously, post your name and stop hiding.

    The only reason Dan won is because he represents the status quo. Meanwhile, our South Dakota children are epically failing in school on his watch. So if you want to be critical, fine. But you’re the problem.

    1. As if your real name is Caroline. Got any proof that the Pierre schools are failing?

      1. Why make this personal? Here’s the proof, just took a quick search on doe.sd.gov: https://sdschools.sd.gov/Studio/asp/Main.aspx?src=Main.aspx.2048001&evt=2048001&share=1&hiddensections=header%2Cfooter%2Cpath%2CdockTop%2CdockLeft%2CdockBottom%2Cheader%2Cfooter%2Cpath%2CdockTop%2CdockLeft%2CdockBottom&valuePromptAnswers=32002%5E2021&documentID=F48A38434DF3CA3E72BF909EE36F9E5F&currentViewMedia=1&visMode=0&Server=ESPR10445&Port=0&Project=SD_ARC_PUBLIC_2122&

  13. The Moms for Liberty lose 80% to 20% and then declare victory! It is very hard to argue with that kind of hubris.

    1. Moms for Liberty are nuts and deserve to lose! They are not for liberty but for taking away liberty. If you do anything they do not like, you become Satan!

      1. Super disappointing to see so many people getting angry over someone sharing the truth and trying to sound the warning bell. If you think this problem is just going to go away, you’re wrong.
        People used to get mad about being lied to, now they’d rather hear a lie and get angry at someone telling the truth. The loser here isn’t Maggie or Moms for Liberty, it’s the students coming out of the Pierre school district, and you all are attacking the one group who sees the problem and is trying to make a difference. I think that’s pretty toxic!

        1. Mom’s for Liberty? False advertising in the name and actions of this organization. Anti-government extremists and conspiracy enthusiasts.

          1. Sandra and Caroline,

            It isn’t that Maggie is wrong or wrong for standing up for her issue. It’s that she has no idea how to win. Her experience is policy and giving an opinion. Not winning campaigns not hands one. Theoretical stuff isn’t what SD voters want. You have to show them why and not lecture them. Lead them don’t drag them.

        4. What truth? We know reading scores are down. Complaining about it does not fix it. It is not just the school board that fixes this problem. Nor is there a silver bullet answer. I will have a conversation with anyone that wants to fix a problem, but I have not heard solutions. I hear blame that is not “truth or a warning.”

          We are not being lied to by anyone but Moms for Liberty. They are using their platform to attack not fix. It is disappointing that you continue to attack and not help fix. You like to blame CRT, LGBTQ+, teachers, school admins, history, the boggy man, etc. Constantly being the victim.

          If you truly want to help, start at home. Take care of your kids. Teach them to read, be kind, and how to work. Let me worry about my own kids.

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