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Lederman Magnanimously Over-Appoints Brock Greenfield to Run GOP Convention

In what I could interpret as both magnanimity and an overstep, South Dakota Republican Party chairman Dan Lederman made great hoop-de-hoo last week of his selection of Senator Brock Greenfield (R-2/Clark) to chair the GOP convention in Pierre June 20–23.

Lederman’s appointment seems a magnanimous gesture toward Senator Greenfield, given that Greenfield has endorsed his fellow Senator Lance Russell (R-30/Hot Springs) for Attorney General. All other signs point toward Lederman’s support for fellow Iowa native Jason Ravnsborg. Of course, maybe Lederman just wants to humiliate Team Russell by placing a prominent Russell backer in the chair from which he would have to declare Russell’s nomination invalid if Russell hasn’t withdrawn from the District 30 Senate race at the time the floor is opened to nominations.

Lederman’s appointment seems an overstep in this exaggeration from his press release:

“I’m excited today to tell South Dakota Republicans that a steady and experienced hand will be in charge as we elect candidates and set Republican policy statements for the coming election cycle,” Lederman said [SDGOP, press release, 2018.06.07].

To be generous, that overstates the scope of the role to which Lederman has appointed Greenfield. South Dakota Republican Party Bylaws say the party chair only appoints a momentary chairman:

The state chairman or his or her designee shall call the convention to order and preside until the election [of?] the temporary chairman.  Before conducting any business, the convention shall elect a temporary chairman and temporary secretary, who shall take office immediately upon their respective elections.  After the adoption of the reports from the credentials committee and the rules committee, the convention shall elect a permanent chairman and a permanent secretary.  The convention chairman may appoint such other officers as he or she may deem necessary [South Dakota Republican Party Bylaws, Section 4 Part 4.A, downloaded 2018.06.12].

Lederman can’t say that Greenfield “will be in charge as we elect candidates and set Republican policy statements.” The authority of the party chairman’s appointee extends no further than the call to order and management of the first vote, which elects a temporary chairman, who himself or herself only serves until the convention rigamaroles toward its election of a permanent chairman. So technically, Greenfield has to survive two whole floor votes before he gets to apply his “steady and experienced hand” to the election of his friend Lance Russell or any other major convention business.

But who comes to Pierre to fight over convention chair? It’s not like wielding the gavel (does the convention chair even get a gavel?) earns one a bigger hamburger from the Ramkota (though maybe they serve the chair’s table first, which after a long day of gaveling down his friend Stace Nelson’s points of order, Brock will need!). Expect momentary chair Greenfield to be railroaded right through temporary to permanent chair as delegates chomp at the bit to get to the good stuff.

p.s.: My Democratic convention materials list Alli Moran and Larry Lucas as convention co-chairs. I assume “co-chair” is an “other such officer” that Article 9 Section 8 of the SDDP constitution allows the party chair to designate.

4 Comments

  1. mike from iowa 2018-06-12 13:04

    Is this the earth shattering brouhaha Nelson talked of?

  2. Debbo 2018-06-12 23:26

    That seems like a really dumb way to run a convention. 3 different chair selection processes? Ohferpetessake.

  3. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2018-06-13 07:26

    The sequence from opening to temporary to permanent chair does seem redundant. I glanced at my Robert’s Rules and couldn’t find a comparable provision. I suppose the provision is there in the convention procedure to take account of the remote possibility that the delegates would select a temporary chair who might not satisfy the criteria imposed by the rules and credentials committee that are voted on after the temporary chair is seated. If that is the case, I would think the replacement of the elected chair could be handled just as easily as a conditional matter, the same as it would be handled if the chair was incapacitated during the meeting.

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