Letter to the Editor from Our Vice-Chair
Joe Lowe – Vice Chair, South Dakota Democratic Party
South Dakota Democratic Party Vice-Chair Joe Lowe sent the following letter to the editors of the daily newspapers of South Dakota:
Last week, the Republican majority in Pierre passed, and Governor Daugaard signed, HB 1069, overturning the Anti-Corruption Act (Initiated Measure 22) passed by the voters of South Dakota this past November.
Not only did the Republican majority pass a bill to repeal the will of the voters with no replacement in place, they used extraordinary measures to ram HB 1069 through the legislature and get it signed by the governor as quickly as possible.
Republicans in Pierre pulled this same stunt back in 2015, when they passed a “youth minimum wage” to undercut the minimum wage increase approved by the voters in 2014. The only votes Republicans seem to think should count are the ones for them.
Adding more accountability and oversight to state government is not about ideology, it’s about people, and through their votes, the people spoke. Whether I liked the ballot measure or not, if I had been in the governor’s shoes I would have vetoed HB 1069 – or any bill that undercut the will of the voters.
Time and again, Republicans in Pierre have ignored the will of the people. It is up to you, the people, to decide whether or not they get away with it.
Joe Lowe
Vice-Chair, South Dakota Democratic Party