Secretary Jones Leaves DPS for DSU

Department of Public Safety Secretary Trevor Jones popped into the news a month ago when he admitted that he screwed up when he allowed Jason Ravnsborg to turn a Highway Patrol event at the State Fair into a partisan campaign event. Jones makes the news this week for leaving DPS, not ostensibly, in response to his Ravnsborg mistake, but as director of digital forensic services at Dakota State University.

Governor Dennis Daugaard sends Jones off with warm regards for work Jones did seven years ago:

“I thank Trevor Jones for his service. Shortly after I took office, our state faced the major challenge of Missouri River flooding, and Trevor’s leadership was crucial to our successful response,” said Gov. Daugaard. “Through

out my administration, Trevor has helped to keep South Dakotans safe through his efforts at the Department. I wish him well in the future” [Governor’s office, press release, 2018.10.10]

The state said Jones would “transition out of the office over the next few weeks, but DSU says Jones started in Madison on October 10, the day the state announced Jones’s move.

DPS Secretary pay is $115,056.33. Jones’s pay for this new position at DSU isn’t listed on Open.SD.Gov yet, but associate professor Dr. Ashley Podhradsky, newly named associate dean of the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences and “key technical leader” of DSU’s digital forensics program, gets $128,500 a year.

Whatever salary Jones gets for this job change, let’s hope he and DSU avoid further conversion of state events into partisan political events… and let’s hope Team Rounds/TenHaken don’t reconsider assembling a DSU Team to track down critical Tweeters.