Equality South Dakota’s political action committee can find only 28 candidates for Legislature in contested races in 18 of South Dakota’s 35 districts to endorse as reliable supporters of LGBTQ South Dakotans. All but two are Democrats:
- DISTRICT 01 SENATE (Roberts, Marshall, Day and eastern Brown Counties): Susan Wismer
- DISTRICT 07 HOUSE (Brookings City and Aurora): Cole Sartell (member of LGBTQ community)
- DISTRICT 10 (eastern Sioux Falls, McKennan Park and Great Bear Ski districts) SENATE: Liz Larson. HOUSE; Erin Healy and Kameron Nelson (member of LGBTQ community)
- DISTRICT 11 (central Sioux Falls, Roosevelt school area)
SENATE: Sheryl Johnson. HOUSE: Kimberly Parke- DISTRICT 12 (south central Sioux Falls, Augustana and Butterfly House areas) SENATE: Jessica Meyers. HOUSE; Erin Royer
- DISTRICT 14 HOUSE (central Sioux Falls, Pasley Park to Harmoden Park): Mike Huber
- DISTRICT 15 (north central Sioux Falls, Pettigrew area, Falls Park, airport) SENATE: Reynold Nesiba. HOUSE: Linda Duba and Kadyn Wittman
- DISTRICT 17 HOUSE (eastern and southern Clay County, southern Union County) – Rebecca Engquist-
Schroeder- DISTRICT 18 HOUSE (Yankton County and northwestern Clay County): Ryan Cwach
- DISTRICT 22 HOUSE (Beadle, Spink, and west central Clark County) Roger Chase [the sole East River GOPer on this list!] and Shane Milne
- DISTRICT 25 HOUSE (Moody and northern Minnehaha Counties): Dan Ahlers and David Kills A Hundred
- DISTRICT 26 SENATE (Todd, Mellette, Brule, Buffalo, Lyman and northwestern and southern Jones Counties): Shawn Bordeaux
- DISTRICT 27 (Oglala Lakota, Bennett, Jackson, and southeastern Pennington Counties) SENATE: Red Dawn Foster. HOUSE: Peri Pourier and Norma Rendon
- DISTRICT 28A HOUSE (Corson, Dewey, Ziebach, and southern Perkins Counties): Oren Lesmeister
- DISTRICT 32 SENATE (east central Rapid City Journey Museum area): Nicole Heenan
- DISTRICT 33 HOUSE (western outskirts of Rapid City, Hisega, Silver City, Black Hawk): Vince Vidal
- DISTRICT 34 HOUSE (western Rapid City): Jess Olson (the sole West River Republican among these endorsees).
- DISTRICT 35 HOUSE (northeastern Rapid City, Box Elder): David Hubbard [Equality SD PAC, 2022 general election endorsement list, retrieved 2022.10.28]
Statewide, Equality SD PAC throws in strongly for Jamie Smith, who, EqSD notes, keynoted this year’s Sioux Falls Pride Festival. EqSD also endorses Democrat Brian Bengs for U.S. Senate, Libertarian Collin Duprel for U.S. House, Democrat Stephanie Marty for State Auditor, Democrat Tom Cool for Secretary of State (because, I would contend, we can’t trust Christofascist election denier Monae Johnson to count homosexuals’ votes, or anyone else’s), and Democrat Jeff Barth for Public Utilities Commission.
It is important to vote for candidates who believe in the rights of all South Dakotans. Otherwise, we are just the Divided States of America. All power to all people.
You’re looking sexy, candidates! Good luck<3
I’m surprised that in District 32 House that they didn’t endorse Christine Stephenson and Jonathan Old Horse and in District 34 House Darla Drew. I might be more surprised that they endorsed House 34 candidate Jess Olson who is a Republican.
Surprised that Eric Emery, the Rosebud Tribal Member, is the Democratic candidate for House in District 26 wasn’t endorsed by the Equality SD PAC; kinda leaving the seat open to the inept inbred Republican candidate running. The voters in District 26, especially tribal members, will need to carry the burden for Eric Emery; who would be a great representation for District 26.
Gee, the Equality SD PAC and the South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Randy Seiler (who for years would lie, cheat, mislead and spend millions of dollars to toss many tribal members into federal prisons) had turned a blind eye to a new upcoming tribal member democratic candidate from the Rosebud Reservation running for the House in District 26; Eric Emery.
More on Indian fighter Seiler before going back to candidate Eric Emery. Randy is proud he was the lead counsel on more than 70 federal felony jury trials and more than 500 criminal cases. In short order, that guy sent almost 600 people to prison, most of them tribal members. How can the Democratic Party stomach this proven Indian fighter and then ask tribal members to support their work? Randy might benefit from clown queen Noem’s attempts to erase or rewrite history to cover his historic efforts in Indian Country.
Hopefully, when Eric Emery wins the House seat for District 26 he will work to flush from the Democratic Party Leadership individuals who spent their legal professional careers tossing many tribal members into federal prisons. Candidate Erin Emery has years of experience caring for people in District 26 from his years in the healthcare industry in the transporting of patients. He has held leadership and management positions with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He sought public office as a continuation of his dedication to making today and tomorrow a better day for people. Sitting down with Eric, you will find him concerned, informed, and humorous. Traits that help him get to the heart of matters and to seek solutions. He brings resolve to issues, not more puffery or smoke screens.
Tribal members in District 26 you are urged to go out and vote for Eric Emery to represent District 26 in the House. Vote early in Mission or Winner. Or, find your voting precinct on Election Day and help put Eric Emery in the House for District 26. For sure, the Equality SD will appreciate his stand and efforts. Not sure about Randy as Eric is running for public office and not the public clink.
RST raised an important point about Randy Seiler that is worth exploring. According to RST Seiler “sent almost 600 people to prison, most of them tribal members” and asks “How can the Democratic Party stomach this proven Indian fighter?”
Seiler worked as a federal prosecutor. A federal law, the Major Crimes Act, provides that Native Americans that commit major crimes such as murder, rape, assault, sex crimes and similar violent crimes against other Native Americans on Indian or Tribal land can only be prosecuted by the federal prosecutors. Minor crimes, such as most misdemeanors committed by Native Americans, can be prosecuted by the Tribe, and major crimes committed by Native Americans off the reservation are prosecuted by the States. For the most part Seiler’s job was to prosecute Natives committing major crimes on Indian ot Tribal land against other Native Americans to protect the public and punish the criminal for whatever major crime he or she committed.
https://www.ovcttac.gov/saneguide/legal-and-ethical-foundations-for-sane-practice/tribal-law/#:~:text=The%20Major%20Crimes%20Act%2C%2018,%2C%20most%20sexual%20offenses%2C%20etc.
To the best of my knowledge the Democratic Party supports prosecuting people that commit murder, rape, assault sex crimes and other major crimes, including Natives Americans that commit such crimes. Since those are the main types of crimes that Seiler had the legal duty to prosecute as a federal prosecutor, perhaps that is why he has Deomcratic support.
My good friend bearcreekbat, keep in mind the U.S. Attorney’s Office could get a ham sandwich indicated. Even more so for those covering Indian Country in South Dakota, where poverty rates are high. Once indicated, arrested, bailed, and assigned a public defender. The government attorneys turned on the pressure, spending millions of taxpayer dollars to plea bargain the Native person to some charges. I know 2 people who were dictated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, however, they had the financial means to get legal representation to defend themselves. One was found not guilty by a jury of his peers; lucky he had white blood in him, so the all-white jury could have, might of, maybe not totally, were his peers. The other had another indicated co-conspirator found not guilty by a jury. Again, all white. If one did not do the crime, how could the other ask the Judge? Case dismissed. Each spent nearly $50,000 to $60,000 while the government spent 4 to 5 times that amount. Back in those days when the likes of Indian fighters, like Seiler, wanted another notch on their judicial belt, Natives tread lightly.
Indian fighter Seiler with his sidekick Marty J. Jackley was wandering around reservations scaring Indian people into signing confessions with promises of lies, half-truths, and tricky. Those who signed did not get the benefit of any legal advice except Seiler and Jackley. But they screwed up when trying to strong-arm a person who sought the help of the tribal government. They got their lying legal nuggets kicked all over Pierre and other places. Next time anyone reading this should ask one or both of those legal geniuses about what happened when the Rosebud Sioux Tribe funded an attorney to call their bluff. I get a chuckle, each time I remember that incident.
Everyone, on and off the reservation, Indians and non-Indians, is against crime. Even when the person fudging near-criminal acts is a top law enforcement officer. Too bad the Democratic Party didn’t vet their leaders too closely.
It will be a cold day in the place where Catholic boarding school priests and nuns ended up, before Natives who are aware of Seiler and his likes will follow him/them anywhere.
As stated in the opening paragraph of our guide: This guide is based upon voting records of the incumbent candidates and upon communications EqSD PAC had with the some of the new challengers. Note: EqSD PAC was unable to be in touch with each new challenger. The absence of a challenger’s name does not mean they are anti-LGBTQ; it is just that we did not have a communication with them.
RST – let me remind you that the US District Attorneys of various jurisdictions are having a very difficult time indicted an orange.
Mr. Seiler, he cut from the Democrat cheesecloth, is nonetheless a fairly swell fellow. He should have been elected as the Attorney General over Mr. Ravnsborg, who is completely inept.
– Are you proud to live in a state that forbids a teacher from hanging a multi-colored banner to make some students know they can be comfortable in this room?
– Or are you proud to live in a state where the majority believe people who think differently should be made to be as uncomfortable as possible until they’ve had enough and just remove themselves and their views from the state?
On White Fear in SD:
– One-third of Americans and nearly two-thirds of Republicans agree with some elements of a racist conspiracy theory that claims the US is in danger of losing its “culture and identity” because of immigration, according to a new UMass Amherst poll.
Mr. Schriever, if that orange colored stupid white privileged fool who was one political thing then became an inept inbred republican had a drop of Native blood and lived on a Indian Reservation anywhere in the U.S. he would have been sitting next to Leonard Peltier facing hard time for the things he did.
The democrats controlling the White House and the Department of Justice are more worried about how it would look to indicate a criminal president then seeking Justice. There has been many (in my life time, so far, about 9 out of 11 presidents doing break-ins, selling drugs to fund terrorists, to starting wars, to bankrupting the economy, to having interns whistling Dixie on his privates, to sore election losers) questionable presidents in the history of the U.S. all were able to skirt away from the clink. That could be one of the main reasons to avoid teaching true history being pushed by the inept inbred republican rodeo clown queen with those standards of social studies.
Yep, getting indicated come easy to some, but not others, for the purposes of appearances. Just ask Seiler or his side kick Jackley.
At the end of day on November 8 it is hoped everyone in District 26 cast their votes for Shawn Bordeaux and Eric Emery… kinda the purpose of this particular blog.