As we wrap up this week, this will be the last time a lot of you will hear from me for a while. I’d like to take this moment to thank you for your support, feedback and comments. This has been an incredible first term in the South Dakota Senate. I have learned much about the Appropriations process, and no matter what happens from here, I can explain every vote I’ve taken and look forward to whatever happens next. Thank you for choosing me to be your voice in the South Dakota Senate [Sen. John Wiik, “This Is It…,” Wiik for 4 blog, 2018.03.06].
Now I will give Senator Wiik credit for using his blog to post weekly updates this Session for the folks back home. He’s a step ahead of my own District 3 Senator Al Novstrup, who hasn’t posted anything I can find online this Session, hasn’t submitted any updates to the local paper, and hasn’t posted anything on Facebook since giving Trisha Yearwood a ride on his Sioux Falls bumper car track back in September.
But I have to wonder why a legislator would pack up his online shop just because Session is done. Legislators have a unique opportunity and responsibility to keep the public informed about what’s going on in state government… kind of like I do here on the blog year-round every day. With his rare appropriator’s knowledge and access to information from the Legislative Research Council and other state offices, Senator Wiik is in a great position to educate and update voters on what’s going on with state revenues. He can follow up on the implementation and impact of bills he wrote and passed. He can float ideas for legislation for next Session and tap the wisdom of the blog-commentariat to refine the bills he’ll prefile for next Session.
I know we have “part-time legislators,” and even the legislator-pay-raise bills in support of which Senator Wiik has joined the majority of his caucus still treat legislating as a job that takes up just one fifth of the year. But a fifth of the year is 73 days, and the Legislature only meets for 40 days. That’s 33 working days, or 264 working hours, remaining to fill that fifth-time job. An hour a day of Legislative blogging for every day after Session would pretty much cover that.
So keep blogging, Senator Wiik! Your constituents are counting on you!
I use WordPress to put out my weekly newspaper column, which most of my news papers stop running this week. I certainly don’t intend to stop writing. Thanks for noticing my site!
I look forward to more posts, Senator Wiik. Writing is a great way to collect, examine, and refine your thoughts. I’m surprised your papers would reject columns outside of Session—I’d think most of them would love to have more content! (Of course, I’d like them to give equal time to your opponents once the campaign begins. ;-) )
grudgnutz
I just read Wiik’s first legislative blog post (Jan. 5, 2017). He says, “Senator Jim Petersen, Representative Fred Deutsch, and I represent all of you in District 4.”
I searched and could find no listing for a Jim Petersen (or Peterson) in the SoDak legislature, now or ever.
Is Wiik wrong? Is the LRC’s website wrong?
grudgnutz
The LRC says that John Mills and Jason Kettwig are the other two critters from District 4. One hopes that both are better than the non-existent Jim Petersen and that spooky little creep Fred Deutsch.
grudgnutz
Oops. Apparently Wiik’s first legislative blog post was Jan. 5, 2015. It would be helpful if his blog posts specified the year in which they were posted.
grudznick
Young Mr. Wiik seems a fine fellow, and it is good that he is doing bloggings. He is clearly an up and comer in the legislatures and will probably rise to higher leadership positions in the ever increasingly dysfunctional legislatures we will see next year.
Michael Boswell
Peterson Use to be District 4 representative as well as Dr Deutsch, but Dr Deutsch is going to come back. I would like to take a minute to comment on Cory’s part on part time legislator. I think South Dakota should invest in a more full time legislature approach. Maybe not time in session, but in how much we pay our legislators. Most of SD legislators are self employed. That doesn’t represent the majority of us. If we want a better cross section of South Dakotans representing us, the pay must be at a level where we have “full time” opportunities or protect hourly and salaried employees so they can serve as legislature. SD National Guard Servicemen are protected from be fired while they are doing their Guard duties, why not citizen legislators. If you want true representation, we should find a way so the common man can represent us. Food for Thought.
grudznick
Most in the legislatures do not have jobs where they work for others who could fire them. They are self-employed, or cowboys, or old retired people. And they just gave themselves a big raise. I think it would be really funny if they come back next year and give themselves another raise. That is a great idea! Everybody will hate the legislatures even more.
Michael Boswell
I think you don’t understand my point. Many have asked more level representation in their legislators and even nationally. Not have politicians all come from self-employed, wealthy, or retired pool of candidates. If really want “citizen” legislators open up the opportunity for hourly or salaried workers to get into politics and serve. That would require that they could actually make a living doing it or be protected from being fired.
grudznick
We need less time for meddling by the legislatures. 2 weeks, total time maybe. Let them keep the full 6 large for that effort. Protect them from being fired. I’m good with that.
Debbo
I like your idea of protection from being fired Mr. Boswell. In addition you’re thinking about enough income for the legislator to pay his bills during session, is that right? One would also have to think about legislators involved in summer meetings, studies, etc. Overall, I really like where you’re going. Legislators who are more representative of a cross section of their constituency would be a good thing.
To Boswell’s point (and Debbo’s support therefor) about worker protections: SDCL 2-4.1.1 requires employers to give “a temporary leave of absence without loss of job status or seniority resulting therefrom” to any employee-legislator performing official Legislative duties.
I agree with Boswell on the need for higher pay and other changes to make it feasible for a broader pool of citizens to run and serve in the Legislature. Speaking of the National Guard, one way to do that would be my “Weekend Warrior” calendar for the Legislative Session. It doesn’t increase the number of days in Session; it just spreads them out over the year, making it easier for legislators to keep their day jobs. What do you think of that plan, Boswell?
I use WordPress to put out my weekly newspaper column, which most of my news papers stop running this week. I certainly don’t intend to stop writing. Thanks for noticing my site!
I look forward to more posts, Senator Wiik. Writing is a great way to collect, examine, and refine your thoughts. I’m surprised your papers would reject columns outside of Session—I’d think most of them would love to have more content! (Of course, I’d like them to give equal time to your opponents once the campaign begins. ;-) )
I just read Wiik’s first legislative blog post (Jan. 5, 2017). He says, “Senator Jim Petersen, Representative Fred Deutsch, and I represent all of you in District 4.”
I searched and could find no listing for a Jim Petersen (or Peterson) in the SoDak legislature, now or ever.
Is Wiik wrong? Is the LRC’s website wrong?
The LRC says that John Mills and Jason Kettwig are the other two critters from District 4. One hopes that both are better than the non-existent Jim Petersen and that spooky little creep Fred Deutsch.
Oops. Apparently Wiik’s first legislative blog post was Jan. 5, 2015. It would be helpful if his blog posts specified the year in which they were posted.
Young Mr. Wiik seems a fine fellow, and it is good that he is doing bloggings. He is clearly an up and comer in the legislatures and will probably rise to higher leadership positions in the ever increasingly dysfunctional legislatures we will see next year.
Peterson Use to be District 4 representative as well as Dr Deutsch, but Dr Deutsch is going to come back. I would like to take a minute to comment on Cory’s part on part time legislator. I think South Dakota should invest in a more full time legislature approach. Maybe not time in session, but in how much we pay our legislators. Most of SD legislators are self employed. That doesn’t represent the majority of us. If we want a better cross section of South Dakotans representing us, the pay must be at a level where we have “full time” opportunities or protect hourly and salaried employees so they can serve as legislature. SD National Guard Servicemen are protected from be fired while they are doing their Guard duties, why not citizen legislators. If you want true representation, we should find a way so the common man can represent us. Food for Thought.
Most in the legislatures do not have jobs where they work for others who could fire them. They are self-employed, or cowboys, or old retired people. And they just gave themselves a big raise. I think it would be really funny if they come back next year and give themselves another raise. That is a great idea! Everybody will hate the legislatures even more.
I think you don’t understand my point. Many have asked more level representation in their legislators and even nationally. Not have politicians all come from self-employed, wealthy, or retired pool of candidates. If really want “citizen” legislators open up the opportunity for hourly or salaried workers to get into politics and serve. That would require that they could actually make a living doing it or be protected from being fired.
We need less time for meddling by the legislatures. 2 weeks, total time maybe. Let them keep the full 6 large for that effort. Protect them from being fired. I’m good with that.
I like your idea of protection from being fired Mr. Boswell. In addition you’re thinking about enough income for the legislator to pay his bills during session, is that right? One would also have to think about legislators involved in summer meetings, studies, etc. Overall, I really like where you’re going. Legislators who are more representative of a cross section of their constituency would be a good thing.
To Boswell’s point (and Debbo’s support therefor) about worker protections: SDCL 2-4.1.1 requires employers to give “a temporary leave of absence without loss of job status or seniority resulting therefrom” to any employee-legislator performing official Legislative duties.
I agree with Boswell on the need for higher pay and other changes to make it feasible for a broader pool of citizens to run and serve in the Legislature. Speaking of the National Guard, one way to do that would be my “Weekend Warrior” calendar for the Legislative Session. It doesn’t increase the number of days in Session; it just spreads them out over the year, making it easier for legislators to keep their day jobs. What do you think of that plan, Boswell?