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Groton Daily Independent
Saturday, July 29, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 029 ~ 14 of 67
McPeek will be scheduled for sentencing at a later date. His attorney declined to comment on the con- viction.
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Information from: The Daily Republic, http://www.mitchellrepublic.com
House speaker turns to ballot measures over Legislature By JAMES NORD, Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s House speaker plans to put two ballot measures before voters that would ban out-of-state political contributions for ballot questions and raise tobacco taxes to improve tech school affordability, an unorthodox move by a high-ranking lawmaker well-positioned to sway state policy.
But Mark Mickelson, a member of a famous South Dakota political fam- ily, has proven unpredictable since joining the Legislature in 2013. The Sioux Falls Republican said he’s taking the measures to the voters because it’s unlikely they would prevail in the statehouse.
A similar contribution cap bill failed this year, and the Republican-held chambers are unlikely to support a tobacco tax increase, said Mickelson, who has been a booster for South Dakota’s four technical institutes. The51-year-oldbusinessmansaidhe concluded that the ideas would attract public support even if he couldn’t get fellow lawmakers to pass them.
Mickelsonformedaballotquestion committee this week for the out-of- statedonationbanandsaidhehopes tostartgatheringsignaturesforboth measures in August.
These will be the inaugural initiative
campaigns for a lawmaker colleagues
describe as a tenacious political tacti-
cian. But they don’t mark the rst time Mickelson has eyed a statewide race — he had started following his father and grandfather to the governor’s of ce before a surprise decision last year not to run because he didn’t enjoy it enough. He returned more than $860,000 in contributions in the end.
“There’s no personal gain,” Mickelson said in an interview about the ballot measures. “I’m not seeking a higher political of ce. I thought I wanted to, and I don’t. I’m only doing these for one reason: I believe in them, and I think they’ll make a difference, and that’s rewarding work.”
In this Nov. 8, 2016 photo, South Dakota State Rep. G.
Mark Mickelson talks with attendees at the Minnehaha
GOP Republican election party at The District in Sioux
Falls, S.D. Mickelson plans to put two ballot measures
before voters that would ban out-of-state political con-
tributionsforballotquestionsandraisetobaccotaxesto
improve tech school affordability, an unorthodox move
by a high-ranking lawmaker well-positioned to sway
statepolicy.ButMickelson,amemberofafamousSouth
Dakota political family, has proven unpredictable since
joiningtheLegislaturein2013.TheSiouxFallsRepubli-
cansaidhe’stakingthemeasurestothevotersbecause
it’s unlikely they would prevail in the statehouse. (Jay Pick- thorn /The Argus Leader via AP)
Mickelson said the 2016 campaign attracted more than $10 million in out-of-state money for ballot mea-