The Office of School and Lands: Just a sleepy little contest
Kate Turnbow in the Pierre Capitol Journal reported this past Friday on a race that's been running somewhat under the radar - the campaign for the Office of School and Public Lands.
Read it all here.
One of this year's little known political races is for commissioner of school and public lands, and with no upcoming debates in the works, the candidates said the campaign has mainly consisted of forums and parades.
"We've kind of been forgotten about, but in this day of (school district) opting-out, we need to make sure this office is run as efficiently as possible, like a business," said Jarrod Johnson, the Republican candidate for commissioner of school and public lands.
Bryce Healy is the incumbent and is the only elected Democrat in South Dakota state administration.
and..
"We've grown the permanent trust by $20 million," said Healy. "We've increased revenues by 11 to 18 percent in the last three to four years, and we've created more opportunities for sportsmen (on the land)."
Healy said that while the revenues from the trust fund go toward K-12 education, the principal in that fund cannot be touched.
Healy said he does not feel there are any big issues facing the candidates during the next term.
and..
Johnson, a fifth-generation rancher, said that he feels every single facet of the office needs to be looked at to make sure it is working efficiently and without waste.
"Basically, the reason I'm running is that this office is the third leg for funding our education system, and we need to make sure that land is focused on the kids as far as providing a responsible income to our education system," said Johnson.
Read it all here.
Comments
Clear communication, frequency and the capturing of imagination will be a key to any down-ballot success.
People will make choices in strange and questionable ways.
As in "I like the guy with the hat."
Remember the singer Dion?
I hope the homophobes with the GOP won't blackball him for it.
I think he is well qualified.
Jarrod also keeps taking about building more fences and having better water on state trust lands. Is he proposing to have the taxpayers do this or is he going to force the ranchers and farmers to do this. His office doesn't have the money to do this. Let's see how many people are going to want to lease it then. Either way the way it will probably mean less money for education.
Jarrod doesn't have a clue about what the office does or what is doing.
I have met Healy at meetings with the Brown County Sports groups. He get's it. Sorry but I am a guy who always struggling to find a place to hunt and I don't trust a guy who can't take that stupid cowboy hat off. I also have reliable sources who say Jarrod has been at some Lock Out meetings west river. That is certainly not a guy us hunters want in that office.
Politicians should meet with those they don't agree with.
"Half-Day" Healy can only accomplish so much sitting in the bar with Tony Deaniacs.
For being a fan of Mr. Johnson you are not helping out by insulting someone that we hunters respect. That would be Tony Dean. I assure you that if guys in my hunting group hear Healy and Tony Dean are on the same page Healy will get more of our respect than a guy whose supports don't know anything about the stuggles we are having with public hunting in South Dakota.
No, your guy had nothing to do with the Lock Out participants easing their efforts. The northwest part of South Dakota is being overrun with big game right now and the deer and antelope are compting with the cattle for feed. They want to thin out the wild game population. If you paid any attention to issues of public hunting you would have known that.
I was in Harding County last week and saw the big game up close. I was simply responding to the rumored speculation about a lockout meeting and offering my own speculation as to a possible result.
Seems I can only hope to achieve the great hunting knowledge you apparently have, though the dead antelope piled in the pickup that left my house this morning (heading for a SF meat locker of all places!) might disagree.
I don’t know where you got your information, but the lockout hasn’t folded up. We landowners will never allow hunting if it means losing our property rights to GF&P and idiots like Tony Dean.
If YOU paid any attention to issues of public hunting you would know that associating yourself with the likes of Dean and Hesla will hurt your hunting prospects far worse than anything else you could do.
What do you think Dean’s chances of hunting private land west river are? Right! Just a little lower than zero.
As for being overrun by game – it seems that does (that’s female deer and antelope to you from east river) just kinda disappear. But I do wish you could see how big the racks on these bucks that haven’t been hunted for four years are getting….
Oh, and for the record, neither Johnson or Healy have ever been to a Lockout meeting.
It's the same way on the res up in Sisseton. They want to lease the land up there and producers are more willing to do it if the fences are emplaced by the government.
It could be something completely different but these land issues are a sticky whicket. Conflicting laws, jurisdictional issues, multiple aid programs, blah, blah, blah.
It's best to respect private landowners and respect their judgement. A distant notion to many liberals who think Government knows best.
He's a nice man, and he's actually figured out how to make a living doing what most of us love.
It's off-topic anyway.
Phony Dean was doing OK until he started running ads for Rose Ann Wendell for judge in the 6th circuit. Good lord, the women was indicted for failure to report child abuse and now she's going to be a judge. Easily the least qualified of all judicial candidates state wide. Must be a dem though for Tony to jump on that bandwagon to nowhere.
Please keep it civil.
A) Oh, where is THAT western-wear store located?
B) That reminds me; I need to get some Copenhagen next time I am at the gas station.
C) Is that @#$ Broke Back Mountain movie already out on DVD.
D) None of the above.
If JJ is going to spend all of his hard earned cash on billboards on Minnesota Ave then he should at least make sure people can at read what he is running for.
So is using something besides "anonymous."