Jumping to conclusions

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I’m willing to give Mr. Nesiba the benefit of the doubt and let the courts decide his fate and not a bunch of republican bloggers;

According to court papers, Nesiba allegedly attacked a woman he met on Facebook and met with in-person a few times.  On the day of the reported incident, the victim says Nesiba tried taking her shirt off.  The papers also say Nesiba told the victim, ‘You don’t need those pants,’ and began to unbuckle them.

For full disclosure, I know Reynold. I actually met him when he was running the successful petition drive to get rid of Rounds’ fleet of airplanes. We have had many interesting conversations, and to tell you the truth, we don’t agree much. But I do give him credit for being frank with me. He often disagrees with me on city politics.

I try not to blog about these things because I believe people deserve their day in court. I also think that there are other ‘factors’ and ‘people’ involved in this case that would not normally be involved, which leads to suspect.

But I will give this advice to my readers;

• NO really means NO.

• Innocent until proven guilty.

Commission Candidate Challenges Argus Leader and SDPB Reporting

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The Argus Leader’s October 19, 2010 cover story dedicated almost half of the Heidepriem-Daugaard Gubernatorial debate story to a 10-second exchange that occurred between our Lt. Governor and myself. Even then, the story failed to get the facts in the correct order. They wrongly reported that I verbally interrupted the Lt. Governor. Watch the clip on my FACEBOOK page and you too will see what actually happened.

SDPB radio news was no better. After the Argus coverage appeared, Gary Ellenbolt of South Dakota Public Radio called me to request a phone interview.  In it, I made it clear that the Argus had inaccurately detailed the timeline of the event. He ignored this. He also ignored the Lt. Governor’s stunning statement that the Valhalla excesses were “not on my watch!”

“Not on my watch!”

I admit it. When Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard used these words to defend the policy of the Rounds/Daugaard administration’s management of the Governor’s private Valhalla retreat, I gasped at his audacity.

Lt. Governor Daugaard then pointed at me and asked, “Reynold do you have something to say?” It was then that I said, in answer to a direct question, “I’m sorry. You’ve been Lt. Governor for the last 8 years.”

That got me escorted out of the debate. Because I am a candidate for Minnehaha County Commission, the Argus Leader put my name on the front page of the paper. Ellenbolt followed and put the story on the top of the news hour that evening.

What I most deeply regret about this event is that my remark drew attention from this important Gubernatorial debate and race. This exchange is part of a longer history.

In 2006 I led the successful ballot issue to stop Gov. Mike Rounds’ abuse of our state airplanes for his family’s and friends’ entertainment.

Back then there was no public reporting of who was on board, why the trip was being made, or how much each trip cost us—the taxpayers. Only through the persistent inquiries and reporting by the Argus Leader and then by our successful Initiated Measure #5 campaign did the Governor change. He finally realized the public would no longer tolerate his using of our assets for his personal benefit. This was not a one-time event. The Rounds/Daugaard administration has a pattern of self-serving behavior.

For instance, for most of the Daugaard and Rounds administration, the press has reported on:

  • Rounds family members receiving state jobs and contracts;
  • Special favor legislation given to Rounds’ family members for a vodka distillery;
  • A new $3 million governor’s mansion funded by a secret list of friends who may or may not be calling for favors;
  • No bid contracts for campaign buddies, including the exclusive no-bid contract for $11 million to Lawrence & Schiller; (We also learned that Daugaard’s daughter worked for L&S while the public learned of the under-the-table wheeling and dealing in the Governor’s office.)
  • The Governor’s Club scandal and secret invitation lists for the Governor’s Annual Pheasant Hunt;
  • Blocking attempts to force state government to open up public records, and allowing only a watered down version of an open government bill to become law;
  • Rounds/ Daugaard administration’s using of the historic Valhalla retreat as an exclusive get-away for pals and family.

Gov. Peter Norbeck built Valhalla in the Black Hills. It is funded by the State Game Department. The Governor’s decision to remodel it prompted Republican former State Senator, Jerry Apa of Lead, to write a letter to the editor at the Rapid City Journal on Sept. 3. He reported that he and other members of the Appropriations Committee were kept in the dark about Valhalla despite hundreds of thousands of dollars funding it.

At every step of the way, the Rounds/Daugaard administration has conducted itself as an exclusive club designed to benefit family and friends while excluding South Dakota’s taxpayers, citizens and when necessary the Appropriations Committee.

My surprise at Lt. Governor Daugaard’s remark during the debate, then, was well-earned.

All of the events listed above irrefutably occurred on Dennis Daugaard’s watch. He was and still is on the state payroll as our Lt. Governor. His friend and political ally Governor Rounds endorsed Daugaard three years ago at the start of his campaign.

The entire audience was engaged Monday evening during the debate. While I regret that above all other claps and hollers—many of them from Tea Party members themselves—my personal gasp caught the Lt. Governor’s attention. However, I do not apologize for answering a question posed directly to me. I simply reminded our Lt. Governor that he was elected eight years ago to serve the people of South Dakota as the number two man in the Rounds/Daugaard administration. If it weren’t his watch, then what was he doing on our payroll for the last 8 years?

Daugaard can’t have it both ways: he can’t point to his past experience as Lt. Governor as a qualification for his candidacy, and at the same time declare that the troubled politics and policies of the last eight years were “Not on my watch!”

Ohhhhh Snap!

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Seems County Commissioner candidate Reynold Nesiba touched a nerve with Doogard last night;

A governors forum turned raucous Monday night in Sioux Falls as spectators shouted at each other and a candidate for local office was evicted from the debate.

Reynold Nesiba, who is running for Minnehaha County Commission, was escorted from the audience of 300 at the Holiday Inn City Centre after he interrupted a comment by Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Daugaard, the Republican nominee for governor, was responding to state Sen. Scott Heidepriem, the Democratic nominee, by saying that management of the Valhalla retreat in the Black Hills “was not on my watch.”

“It was on your watch,” Nesiba interjected from a table near the front of the room.

Daugaard turned to Nesiba and said, “Reynold, did you have something to say?”

Were Nesiba’s comments inappropriate? Maybe. In that setting, but what he said WAS true and it seemed to touch a nerve with Denny, since he responded. Remember the Rounds administration isn’t a very big fan of Mr. Nesiba ever since he helped put a kabosh on Rounds’ personal plane trips on the taxpayer’s dime.

Here’s video from this ‘supposed rowdy’ Tea-Bagger debate.

Nesiba on FACEBOOK

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Reynold is working on getting up his official website, in the meantime can go to his FACEBOOK page.

As Commissioner my primary goals are to:

• Tighten up the budgeting process

• facilitate greater intergovernmental cooperation; and

• encourage the use of appropriate technology to cut costs, shorten lines, and enhance services.

It’s about freaking time! A real progressive is running for office in Minnehaha County!

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I couldn’t be more elated after reading this in the Gargoyle Leader, and I have to admit, I feel a bit ignorant that I didn’t know about this ahead of time;

Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth and fellow county commission candidates Mark Rogen and Reynold Nesiba will be the featured speakers at the Minnehaha County Democratic Forum at noon today at the VFW, 3601 S. Minnesota Ave.

Nesiba is an associate professor of economics at Augustana College. In 2006, he led the successful petition drive and campaign to limit the use of the state airplane fleet to state business.

Reynold has also been a driving force in trying to rid the state of the unfair food tax. As an economist, he understands the devastating effect it has on the poor.

I don’t know him personally, but have had a couple of intriguing convos with him. I have NEVER heard a bad word spoken about the man, on either side of the aisle and his friends and colleagues only praise him. We would be blessed to have someone like this on the County Commission.