Four vie for two House District 16 seats
By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, October 28, 2006
Two incumbents are among the two Republicans and two Democrats vying to represent Union and Lincoln County residents in South Dakota House District 16 for the next two years.
Incumbents Maggie Gillespie, D-Hudson, and Joel Dykstra, R-Canton, are on the ballot, along with Democrat Ron Jenkins of North Sioux City and Republican Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes.
Lederman said "it is hard to unseat incumbents," but "I think I have a really good shot." Added Lederman, "What gets you elected is when people think you are taking their message to Pierre."
The Union County Board of Commissioners in May 2005 selected Lederman to fill the vacancy left by the death of District 1 Commissioner J.R. Castner. Lederman, a bonding company owner, will serve through December 2006. Lederman said he's proud of how accessible he's been to Union County residents, that "I don't just phone it in."
He said he ran for the legislature out of displeasure that the 2,000-foot zone the county set as the distance sex offenders must live from schools and public playgrounds was "scaled back to 500 feet" by the state, and since Dakota Valley School "missed out on some funding that was deserved."
Lederman said he "would like to see the state move away from consolidating schools," and rather get education cost savings by encouraging the sharing of school administrators. Lederman also said he would work "to create enterprise zones for local businesses to expand or for new businesses to come to South Dakota."
Republican Dykstra has served two terms in the Legislature and risen to the assistant majority leader position. "After four years, I've got the experience and the position within the legislative leadership, and from that position I am able to do more for the district," he stated.
Dykstra said he's proud of having "been able to do a lot of good things for the district," including sponsoring a bill that passed enabling many towns, like Canton, to get better cell phone service through construction of new towers.
Dykstra, the manager of international business development for a Canton manufacturing firm, said the Legislature has "raised education funding in South Dakota every year," so he's perplexed by a lawsuit from schools fighting SB198 that was passed in spring 2006.
"I personally believe the lawsuit is kind of a desperate attempt on the part of certain schools who are having trouble competing as their enrollment numbers decline," he said.
Dykstra said the Legislature last year made headway in expanding incentive programs for small firms and in promoting more international trade for South Dakota companies, and pointed to the need to continue that in 2007.
The other incumbent, Gillespie, is an attorney and won terms in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
Being the assistant minority leader, the No. 2 position of House Democrats, she said "means that District 16 has a seat at the table when legislation is molded" and moves through the chamber.
Said Gillespie, "I want to be part of ensuring District 16 and South Dakota continue to be a good place to run a business, to raise a family and educate your children." She said through all six years in the House her key goal has been to see "that the state's share of education funding is increased."
Gillespie said "the problem I see" is that while the state reaches short-term funding means for schools, the long-term funding mechanisms aren't there. Therefore she wants to be in Pierre in 2007, when the biggest overhaul of the education funding formula in 10 years is undertaken.
Additionally, Gillespie said in the midst of a "petroleum crisis," the state needs "to do more to develop and expand our renewable energy base" via ethanol and wind farms.
Democrat Jenkins is a member of the North Sioux City City Council. He said he's gotten a feel for the people of the area after surveying families as a field representative for the U.S. Census Bureau and being the Union County Veterans Service officer.
Jenkins said "we need representatives who will fight for our communities' important needs in education, health care and jobs." He said he would vote to increase the state's minimum wage, and supported not SB198 now tied up in court, but instead SB 120, which "would have raised state aid for education without increasing taxes, by controlling the growth of state government."
Jenkins, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., said he supports a previous Senate bill that would add screening and notification for military members exposed to depleted uranium, and "add Agent Orange and Gulf War screening to ensure that our state's veterans and their families will get everything they are entitled to from the U.S. Veterans Administration."
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
Read more in Politically Speaking at siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
Incumbents Maggie Gillespie, D-Hudson, and Joel Dykstra, R-Canton, are on the ballot, along with Democrat Ron Jenkins of North Sioux City and Republican Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes.
Lederman said "it is hard to unseat incumbents," but "I think I have a really good shot." Added Lederman, "What gets you elected is when people think you are taking their message to Pierre."
The Union County Board of Commissioners in May 2005 selected Lederman to fill the vacancy left by the death of District 1 Commissioner J.R. Castner. Lederman, a bonding company owner, will serve through December 2006. Lederman said he's proud of how accessible he's been to Union County residents, that "I don't just phone it in."
He said he ran for the legislature out of displeasure that the 2,000-foot zone the county set as the distance sex offenders must live from schools and public playgrounds was "scaled back to 500 feet" by the state, and since Dakota Valley School "missed out on some funding that was deserved."
Lederman said he "would like to see the state move away from consolidating schools," and rather get education cost savings by encouraging the sharing of school administrators. Lederman also said he would work "to create enterprise zones for local businesses to expand or for new businesses to come to South Dakota."
Republican Dykstra has served two terms in the Legislature and risen to the assistant majority leader position. "After four years, I've got the experience and the position within the legislative leadership, and from that position I am able to do more for the district," he stated.
Dykstra said he's proud of having "been able to do a lot of good things for the district," including sponsoring a bill that passed enabling many towns, like Canton, to get better cell phone service through construction of new towers.
Dykstra, the manager of international business development for a Canton manufacturing firm, said the Legislature has "raised education funding in South Dakota every year," so he's perplexed by a lawsuit from schools fighting SB198 that was passed in spring 2006.
"I personally believe the lawsuit is kind of a desperate attempt on the part of certain schools who are having trouble competing as their enrollment numbers decline," he said.
Dykstra said the Legislature last year made headway in expanding incentive programs for small firms and in promoting more international trade for South Dakota companies, and pointed to the need to continue that in 2007.
The other incumbent, Gillespie, is an attorney and won terms in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
Being the assistant minority leader, the No. 2 position of House Democrats, she said "means that District 16 has a seat at the table when legislation is molded" and moves through the chamber.
Said Gillespie, "I want to be part of ensuring District 16 and South Dakota continue to be a good place to run a business, to raise a family and educate your children." She said through all six years in the House her key goal has been to see "that the state's share of education funding is increased."
Gillespie said "the problem I see" is that while the state reaches short-term funding means for schools, the long-term funding mechanisms aren't there. Therefore she wants to be in Pierre in 2007, when the biggest overhaul of the education funding formula in 10 years is undertaken.
Additionally, Gillespie said in the midst of a "petroleum crisis," the state needs "to do more to develop and expand our renewable energy base" via ethanol and wind farms.
Democrat Jenkins is a member of the North Sioux City City Council. He said he's gotten a feel for the people of the area after surveying families as a field representative for the U.S. Census Bureau and being the Union County Veterans Service officer.
Jenkins said "we need representatives who will fight for our communities' important needs in education, health care and jobs." He said he would vote to increase the state's minimum wage, and supported not SB198 now tied up in court, but instead SB 120, which "would have raised state aid for education without increasing taxes, by controlling the growth of state government."
Jenkins, a retired Air Force Lt. Col., said he supports a previous Senate bill that would add screening and notification for military members exposed to depleted uranium, and "add Agent Orange and Gulf War screening to ensure that our state's veterans and their families will get everything they are entitled to from the U.S. Veterans Administration."
Bret Hayworth may be reached at (712) 293.4203 or brethayworth@siouxcityjournal.com
Read more in Politically Speaking at siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
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