The Dakota Scout has a story this evening describing detailing a night-before attack that 2% gubernatorial wannabe Rep. Jon Hansen is making against Governor Larry Rhoden’s prison reset that will be heard in special session tomorrow as everyone comes to Pierre to try to move forward on one of the largest building projects in South Dakota state government history:
South Dakota’s Speaker of the House says he will not support a proposal for a new prison after discovering the Department of Corrections is paying a gender dysphoria consultant to assess if state inmates are transgender.
But Gov. Larry Rhoden says while he agrees with his potential rival in the 2026 GOP primary race, his hands are tied until the federal courts make a ruling on a Trump-order ban on correctional inmates transitioning to genders not aligned with their legal sex while in custody.
and..
“The State has never paid for transgender surgeries, and I don’t think we should ever spend a dime on these types of treatments,” he (Governor Rhoden) said, also referencing aggressive outreach his office has been conducting with lawmakers ahead of the special session. “We have been talking directly to candidate Hansen for more than than two weeks and are answering his questions, and I appreciate Hansen’s support for my position.”
Read the entire story here at Dakota Scout.
So, Hansen has known for weeks that the state is stuck paying for this kind of consultant until a ruling by federal courts.. yet waits until the day before the special session in a very public self-serving “October Surprise” in an attempt to drop a figurative nuclear bomb on the prison reset project that everyone – including himself – have been working on for months? Sorry, but it’s just underlining why he has no business being in elective office.
Because instead of looking towards how to best serve the citizens of South Dakota, or, acting in a palms-up manner, he intentionally uses something he’s known for weeks to launch a fairly slimy sneak attack where everyone had been working together in good faith.
At least, everyone but Hansen.
The state’s corrections system had been stuck paying for something they didn’t want to until a court makes a decision? Well, welcome to governing where sometimes the best you can do is to pick the least worst of bad options, until you can find a better solution. Which according to what I read was what the state was doing.
The big question is how far Hansen thinks we need to kick the can down the road, so we can cost taxpayers even more? Because if that’s what happens, he should be proud of what he has accomplished. Because he can take the blame for every cent more of taxpayer funds that the project will cost.
I don’t agree with Rick Weiland on much, but this guy is indeed a slimeball.
I used to consider Jon a “political talent” who had potential to serve his constituents well. Unfortunately, he’s now given us ample evidence that he cannot be trusted by either his constituents, or his fellow legislators. He is destroying the reputations and influence of all those who choose to ally with him.
I honestly do not see how anyone of good character can continue support someone who refuses to negotiate in good faith and then uses his deceits as political leverage.
Refuses to negotiate in good faith and uses deceit as political leverage….you finally got a copy of the far right NIMBYS playbook huh? This has been the tactic for years now. People are just now starting to catch on, but it’s too late. When only 17% of voters show up this is what we get.
It’s one thing to bring up a topic for discussion, but it’s another to lie about the situation with intent to cause angst among your constituents for your own gain. It’s imperative our public servants give us the full TRUTH instead of intentionally omitting key parts of the issue to prove a point.
I guarantee no republicans want to pay for gender affirming care, but that’s no reason to hold up a project that has been through an extensive, transparent process that was agreed on by the task force, Hansen included. This is a good plan. Please stop wasting everyone’s time and move forward.
How many of you knew from day one after the unanimous task Force vote that he would start looking for reasons to vote no?
Stevie Wonder could have seen this coming.
He’s been in the legislature for how many years and now this is newly discovered? Not only can we thank him for the failed ignorance on the task force committee, but his failure to think a 6th year of property tax study will produce something. I guess when you’re behind in the polls, you sling mud!
If this clown ends up the nominee for any reason, and actually wins in the general, I’m moving out of state. We’re already backwards compared to other similar states.
He and all his ilk will end up costing this state a billion dollars for a new prison. They all need to be voted out!
VOTE ON PRIMARY DAY!
The thing is, Hansen is squarely in last place, even behind someone who hasn’t declared, and not gaining any traction. Guy is desperate for attention and will obviously act like a weasel to get it. He is absolutely putting his own aspirations ahead of the people of SD.
I agree with him. He listens to the people
He lies to the people to sway their opinion so it’s the same opinion as his, thereby making people think he’s listening f to them. A house built on a foundation of lies will always crumble.
He must have someone from Ted Cruz’s failed presidential campaign. He reeks of slimey Ted.
Jon Hanson is putting his own needs above the needs of South Dakotans. Jon Hanson has consistently used every tactic to stall and derail forward motion on this project. Jon Hanson doesn’t care if he pushes the cost to tax payers into the billions of dollars.
Does anyone need any more of Jon Hanson?
Hansen is becoming everything I am starting to despise about the South Dakota Political landscape. He is so far gone from “grass roots”. He is the “establishment”. 10 years in the Legislature and didn’t realize this was happening under his watch……….and he has been in Leadership the last few sessions. This political grandstanding sucks and his actions this week, coupled with no meaningful property tax relief under his watch make him unfit for Governor……….This registered Independent has to get his DL renewed this week and I will be registering as a Republican so I can vote accordingly in the upcoming primary.
I don’t respect people who use ambush tactics.
Hansen knows that he can’t let Rhoden get a win here. If the prison plan is approved, Rhoden gets a leg up on all of the other candidates. If it fails, Doeden and Hansen will use it as a club to beat Larry over the head. Then, in walks Johnson for the win.
Mr. Hansen has always been a slimeball. Do the Dems have a candidate for AG yet? A serious one? They need one, like a Mr. Seiler sort, in the wings.
Mr. Hansen is known as a douche across all the legislatures.
Yea, because THIS time the voters will be smart enough to vote for “Mr. Seiler sort”, and save the GOP from itself, huh?
Hansen can’t be trusted. He is all about himself. He and all the Whackadoodles will stab you in the back anytime it might give them an edge. Typical politician.
A sanctimonious weasel.
I literally just read an article from the Mitchell Republic by Shannon Marvel date November 2019 that detailed a court case of a transgender inmate at the SD Pen who sued for lack of gender affirming care. The article went on to state South Dakota’s Department of Corrections, Department of Social Services and Department of Health approved a $43,475 contract with Osbourne for consulting services that involve face-to-face assessments with six inmates and provide a diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Osbourne is also contract to provide treatment guidance to staff and review and develop policies. The contract documents are available on the state’s open records website.
It seems odd that Hansen would claim that he broke this case by digging in to records when this story has literally been published numerous times in numerous papers throughout SD over the last 7 years. If you are a South Dakota Legislator and claim you did not know this was happening, shame on you. Trumps executive order should eventually fix the issue but all Hansen is doing is using dirty, slimy scare tactics to try an influence his campaign at the cost of the tax-payers. Truly disgusting.
Let’s just take a brief look at Hansen’s legal bravado in his recent legislative years. HB1184 (shortening the petition timeframe) found to be in violation of the 1st Amendment. HB1052, most likely in violation of 14th Amendment equal protections and dormant commerce clause. Making a claim, or at least very heavily eluding to, that the DOC and State are choosing to provide gender affirming care to inmates.
Jon went to law school, passed the bar, and has worked as an attorney. Not once did he publicly bring up the constitutional concerns with 1184 or 1052. Then he makes this last minute Hail Mary shot at taking down the prison vote without mentioning the fact that the DOC and State have to provide gender affirming care under current case law and 8th Amendment court interpretation. Until a court rules otherwise, the DOC has to provide this, at least to a point.
In regards to 1184 being overturned, Jon said (paraphrasing) that the legislature should be able to set that timeline and not an unelected judge. So he’s really saying that a group of people, many of whom were selected by record low turnout, should be able to overturn the US Constitution.
He is either an attorney willfully ignorant of the law or is choosing to deceive the public by leaving out glaring legal concerns and current court precedent. Either of which means he not fit for legislative leadership, governor, or attorney general.
As a lifelong Republican who has never voted for a democrat, if his name is on the ballot for anything, his opponent will the first Democrat I ever vote for.
You’re not alone.
if he really wanted to stop the gender-affirming medical fraud wouldn’t he be running for AG?
This guy is a typical protestor activist, just because he sits in front of a clinic you dislike doesn’t make him any different than the others.
This FUD is beneath you.
If we stop creating criminals through bad law, targeted economic conspiracy, and mass surveillance in the hands of incompetent technologists, we’ll need fewer prisons.
This is the prevailing wind among of SD rank-and-file, and what you’ve written here is really beneath you.
You might recall that a single page cannabis legalization initiative written by CC4L, according to the state, would save SD millions yearly in incarceration costs.
So, most South Dakotans are awake, and they are wondering which cell address they’ll be putting on their voter registration card.
You dig?
Jon will now be know as the candidate who is soft on crime. We need to be locking people up and Hansen’s tactic here will leave us with less capacity and and larger bill when we finally do build the prison. He’s right about the gender bs, but using that as a reason not to proceed is all politics. And bad politics at that. He’s going nowhere in this race and I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
Not a fan but I respected him for a while from his work on Amendment G. Problem is:
1. He was profiting off of that work and it was losing until Kristi and Larry ponied up large sums of money. They received no credit.
2. He tried to take credit for Kristi and Larry’s hard and productive work (in the wings) on the Maude case.
3. He tried to take credit for Ms. Wasko’s resignation.
I’m sure I’m missing a few but he’s the definition of an opportunist and ‘Jonny come lately’. Took from Haugaard’s playbook (keeping the state open when it was ALL Kristi that did it and took the heat nationally).
I wasn’t going to vote for him regardless but it sure has been sad and disappointing to watch.