Curd Names Knobe, First Independent, to Board of Elections
Published 2017-02-07 by
Cory Allen Heidelberger
Senator R. Blake Curd did something nice this week. The Republican Majority Leader had the opportunity to appoint a replacement for fellow Republican Drew Duncan on the state Board of Elections. Instead of exercising his partisan prerogative, Senator Curd made a little history by picking a non-Republican neighbor from District 12, radio man, former Sioux Falls mayor, and registered independent Rick Knobe:
Rick Knobe, independent, Board of Elections
Knobe will be the first registered Independent voter to serve on the bipartisan board.
“This is going to be a grand adventure! Working to ensure election laws are fair to all, ballot access is open, and our procedures use the best techniques and technology available is important. I am eager to join the ongoing effort,” stated former Mayor Knobe [“Vermillion Woman Named to SD Board of Elections,” Yankton Press & Dakotan, 2017.02.06].
Knobe is a keen political observer, and in 2016, he was involved in the campaign for Amendment V, the failed ballot measure that sought to create and open nonpartisan primary system. Hyperpartisans may not like Curd’s choice, but given Knobe’s experience with ballot measures as well as regular candidate campaigns, along with his ability to speak for the growing number of independent voters, Knobe is a good choice for the Board of Elections.
He must be a worthy pick because the decision made the completely despicable Paddy Powers wake up tee’d off about it. lol Afraid the power is slipping away, huh P.P.?
Bingo, Porter. Pat is is so tied to his partisanship and his grudges that he can’t acknowledge a fair step to put a fair and knowledgeable person on the Board of Elections.
Knobe brings an added bonus to the board: as a media personality, he may bring more attention to the functions of the board and help citizens understand and participate in those functions for the betterment of our election rules.
Drey Samuelson
A truly excellent choice–good for Blake Curd!
carol Hayse
I hope Knobe will work to remove onerous restrictions on voting–like showing government IDs; and will work to empower folks on the rez by making voting sites accessible. A great deal of land area in SD is in Native hands, and many of our citizens are Native. Voting empowerment is the least we can do, after committing near genocide on the Native population.
John Kennedy Claussen, Sr.
Be careful my fellow Dems, don’t take the bait! Even with Knobe’s appointment, the Republicans, absent him, still have a majority on the State Board of Elections…
The Republicans are masters of image over substance, and do not let this appointment make you think that some how our Republican friends are now, all of a sudden, more “kinder and gentler” when it comes to elections, government ethics, and bipartisan cooperation…..
If Senator Curd was truly committed to fair elections, then he would have honestly challenged IM 22 on the floor of the State Senate with amendments and not with the broad sweep of a protected lawsuit ushered on by the opinions of a judge, who himself once served as a partisan in office and for higher office as a member of the majority party….
Knobe may be a welcoming voice, but he was back in 1974, too, and with all due respect, only time will tell….
Troy
Weak thinking, bad logic and gives an awful lot of power to your opponent/enemy on how you think is the following:
If my opponent/enemy is for something, I should be against it. If my opponent/enemy is against something, I should be for it.
John Kennedy Claussen, Sr.
Troy,
Is that what your Re;publican Senate Leader, McConnell, was thinking when he said: “My number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president….”
Porter Lansing
We need a name for the advice Troy Jones feels he needs to share with us, ad nauseam. What boredom, friendlessness or low self esteem drives an opponent to think he has something worthy to say to the other side? How about Troy’s irrelevant information, Paddy Power’s paltry pointless prescriptions, Orion Capital’s nonessential recommendations, L’il Buddha’s lightweight lessons or the nincompoop’s nugatory two cents worth? He’s become very sad and without direction lately. Let’s let him know how much liberals want him to become one of us. After all … he’s just another soul, like we are.
He must be a worthy pick because the decision made the completely despicable Paddy Powers wake up tee’d off about it. lol Afraid the power is slipping away, huh P.P.?
Watch out Rick, don’t get stabbed in the back by this legislature.
Bingo, Porter. Pat is is so tied to his partisanship and his grudges that he can’t acknowledge a fair step to put a fair and knowledgeable person on the Board of Elections.
Knobe brings an added bonus to the board: as a media personality, he may bring more attention to the functions of the board and help citizens understand and participate in those functions for the betterment of our election rules.
A truly excellent choice–good for Blake Curd!
I hope Knobe will work to remove onerous restrictions on voting–like showing government IDs; and will work to empower folks on the rez by making voting sites accessible. A great deal of land area in SD is in Native hands, and many of our citizens are Native. Voting empowerment is the least we can do, after committing near genocide on the Native population.
Be careful my fellow Dems, don’t take the bait! Even with Knobe’s appointment, the Republicans, absent him, still have a majority on the State Board of Elections…
The Republicans are masters of image over substance, and do not let this appointment make you think that some how our Republican friends are now, all of a sudden, more “kinder and gentler” when it comes to elections, government ethics, and bipartisan cooperation…..
If Senator Curd was truly committed to fair elections, then he would have honestly challenged IM 22 on the floor of the State Senate with amendments and not with the broad sweep of a protected lawsuit ushered on by the opinions of a judge, who himself once served as a partisan in office and for higher office as a member of the majority party….
Knobe may be a welcoming voice, but he was back in 1974, too, and with all due respect, only time will tell….
Weak thinking, bad logic and gives an awful lot of power to your opponent/enemy on how you think is the following:
If my opponent/enemy is for something, I should be against it. If my opponent/enemy is against something, I should be for it.
Troy,
Is that what your Re;publican Senate Leader, McConnell, was thinking when he said: “My number one priority is making sure president Obama’s a one-term president….”
We need a name for the advice Troy Jones feels he needs to share with us, ad nauseam. What boredom, friendlessness or low self esteem drives an opponent to think he has something worthy to say to the other side? How about Troy’s irrelevant information, Paddy Power’s paltry pointless prescriptions, Orion Capital’s nonessential recommendations, L’il Buddha’s lightweight lessons or the nincompoop’s nugatory two cents worth? He’s become very sad and without direction lately. Let’s let him know how much liberals want him to become one of us. After all … he’s just another soul, like we are.