Rep. Manhart criticized by tribal chairman over “White Boy Summer” post

State Representative Logan Manhart took a hard hit today in the State-Tribal Relations Committee today over his earlier remarks on social media about it being “white boy summer” when Tribal Chairman Garrett Renville called him out:

“I typically don’t lend weight to inflammatory or racially charged remarks. Often, I know they are intended to distract or appeal to the lowest instincts in politics, and history has taught us that those strategies rarely produce progress,” Renville said, reading from prepared remarks. “It certainly doesn’t reflect the kind of leadership that we needed here.”

Renville then thanked Sen. Mike Rohl, R-Aberdeen, who represents part of the reservation and sits on the committee, for “his willingness to communicate and stay engaged” in spite of disagreements on policy.

“Despite these disappointments and comments made by one of the district reps, I still believe in the promise of public service,” Renville said. “I believe there’s always hope, hope that other leaders, such as yourselves, will continue to lead by example.”

Read the entire story here.

Interestingly, I heard that for the open legislative seat in that district, there were in the neighborhood of ten applicants who wanted to be appointed to the South Dakota Legislature.

Why is that a big deal? That is a huge bank of potential opponents to run in a primary against Manhart after his comments that many viewed as racist.

If today’s committee meeting was any indication, the constituents of District 1 are not going to forget those comments anytime soon.