For Immediate Release: Friday, October 24, 2014
SDDP Chair –
Daugaard: Fire Rounds for Senate campaign manager Rob Skjonsberg from Board of Economic Development
Sioux Falls, SD (October 24, 2014) — South Dakota Democratic Party Chair Deb Knecht demanded that Governor Dennis Daugaard immediately remove Rounds for Senate campaign manager Rob Skjonsberg from the South Dakota Board of Economic Development after an investigative report revealed that Skjonsberg and Mike Rounds profited from state grants Skjonsberg approved as a BED member:
Revealed: A New Ethics Scandal Involving the GOP’s South Dakota Senate Candidate
Documents obtained by The Nation show former Gov. Mike Rounds’ campaign manager may have improperly awarded state economic incentives to firms in which he and the candidate held investments.
Knecht released the following statement in regards to her call to action:
“I have a message for Mike Rounds and Rob Skjonsberg: You don’t have a right to personally profit from the public purse.
I’m sure Governor Dennis Daugaard is just as appalled as I am that someone he trusted to promote economic development used his position to enrich himself and his political patron Mike Rounds.
That’s why I’m calling on Governor Dennis Daugaard to immediately remove Skjonsberg from the Board of Economic Development and clawback any grants or tax incentives provided to companies in which Skjonsberg and Rounds have a financial interest.
I suspect Daugaard will comply. After all, his spokesman Tony Venhuizen has said – and I quote – ‘Certainly for anyone that the Governor has hired or is in his cabinet, [Daugaard] has a very high expectation that we will act in an ethical and moral way.’
It’s clear Skjonsberg and Rounds acted with complete lack of regard for ethics and conflicts of interest.
I look forward to seeing the ‘strong moral leadership‘ that Daugaard takes pride in.”
Knecht demanded Governor Dennis Daugaard immediately take the following actions on behalf of South Dakota taxpayers:
- Fire Rob Skjonsberg from the Board of Economic Development
- Cancel all state grants to companies in which Rob Skjonsberg and Mike Rounds have a financial interest.
- Clawback any grants already distributed to companies in which Rob Skjonsberg and Mike Rounds have a previously undisclosed financial interest.
- Release all the documents the Board of Economic Development used in its consideration of the relevant grants.
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Zach Crago <zach@sddp.org>
Date: Thu, Oct 23, 2014 at 1:29 PM
Subject: BREAKING – Rounds for Senate campaign manager broke rules to line Mike Rounds’ pockets
To:
For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 23, 2014
BREAKING
Rounds for Senate campaign manager broke rules to line Mike Rounds’ pockets
Revealed: A New Ethics Scandal Involving the GOP’s South Dakota Senate Candidate
Documents obtained by The Nation show former Gov. Mike Rounds’ campaign manager may have improperly awarded state economic incentives to firms in which he and the candidate held investments.
The Nation
Lee Fang
October 23, 2014
Once viewed as a lock for Republicans, the race for the open US Senate seat in South Dakota is now very competitive as corruption allegations plaguing GOP candidate and former Governor Mike Rounds boost the prospects of his challengers, including Democrat Rick Weiland and independent candidates Larry Pressler and Gordon Howie. In particular, Rounds has been dogged by accusations that an EB-5 visa program heavily promoted by his administration violated the law as it provided American visas to wealthy Chinese investors.
Now, records reveal that the same state agency that oversaw the controversial visa program also extended taxpayer assistance to companies in which Rounds and his campaign manager, Rob Skjonsberg, are investors. Governor Dennis Daugaard, Rounds’ successor and former running mate, appointed a number of Rounds allies along with Skjonsberg to the board that made the investment decisions. [Read more here.]