Loest in Translation: Yankton County Secessionists Afraid to Discuss Real Intent Publicly

Yankton County Commission Chair Cheri Loest says the commission wants to encourage local secessionists not to yank their four townships out of the county to merge with Turner County for slacker CAFO regulations. Unfortunately, she’s willing to help them keep secrets to do it:

Loest says a meeting is planned with residents from those townships to discuss their grievances with county government.

…Loest says in order to facilitate open and honest communication, the meeting will not be open to the public [David Leonard, “Loest on Yankton County Secession,” KYNT Radio, 2020.01.22].

Commissioner Loest tells the radio that an open meeting might make the secessionists “intimidated by who might be there” and believes her outgoing neighbors are “more apt to be frank and honest” in a closed meeting. But the fact that a group planing a drastic political action with enormous potential ramifications for taxpayers, road maintenance, economic development, and the environment might be scared to discuss its real intentions in public does not entitle those cowardly lions to a secret meeting with public officials. Secessionists and county leaders have an obligation to be open with the public about exactly what they are planning and why they are planning it. To shut the public out of any such discussion is irresponsible.

It’s also bad optics. If secessionists think reorganizing Yankton and Turner counties is a good idea, they need to show they are willing to be frank and open with everyone in both counties, on the record. Holding secret meetings with elected officials makes voters skeptical of the plan and suspicious of the planners. (Wait—maybe that’s Commissioner Loest’s real plan here: make the secessionists look bad by having secret meetings and sowing doubt among the broader electorate….)

Commissioner Loest says she will be one of only two commissioners at this secret meeting, so there’s no quorum and thus no legal reason that this secessionist chat has to be open. But legality is not the issue: openness is. Yankton County’s secessionists are proposing a big plan with big impacts on the public. They need to engage and persuade the public openly. If they have legitimate grievances, they need to find the courage to air those grievances with the public and make everyone understand the need for change.If they just want to keep secrets, that’s all the more reason to distrust them, reject their plan, and keep their ag-industrial operations under the careful observation of Yankton County government.