Aberdeen blogger Ken Santema declares current Secretary of State Jason Gant unfit for service. He says Gant has demonstrated an inability to carry out two primary responsibilities of his office, chief elections officer and top notary public. He notes that Secretary Gant's incompetence and corruption is making South Dakota look bad around the country:
I was attending an online web-conference learning about e-notarizing earlier this year. After I said my name and the State I came from one of the attendees made this remark: “Oh, you come from the place where the Secretary of State doesn’t understand notary ethics.” Even people outside the state believe Gant is wrong for the job [Ken Santema, "South Dakota Secretary of State Gant Has Made the Case to Replace Him," SoDakLiberty, 2013.09.05].
Santema then declares himself the best man to replace Gant and says he's considering running for Secretary of State in 2014:
I am currently considering a run at SOS myself. However I must look at my financial situation in the next year first. I believe I am the best candidate and will go for the win if I do choose to enter the race. If I do not run I will seek and support a suitable replacement for Gant [Santema, 2013.09.05].
Your local dog catcher's idiot stepson can do the Secretary of State's job better than Gant. I will nonetheless enjoy scrutinizing Santema's résumé to see him back his claim to be the best candidate for the job.
But to whom will Santema apply? Santema has said he is a registered Libertarian, which would make getting on the ballot really easy. He just goes down to the bar in Vermillion next summer, says he'd like to be on the ballot for Secretary of State, gets a half dozen people to say "Aye!" between beers, and he's set!
That'll be easier than trying to get the Republican nomination: if the SDGOP can work up the courage to admit they picked a terrible Secretary of State last time, they'll insist on a known, safe choice (one whisperer tells me the fix is in for Senator Shantel Krebs, R-10/Renner, who is smarter than Gant and more telegenic than Gant and Santema combined—now there's a horrible transporter malfunction to contemplate).
There's the real financial question for Santema: would he have the money to run against any Republican candidate? The Libertarians won't have any cash for him. They had nothing for Russell Clarke, their PUC candidate in 2012, who actually terminated his candidacy with zero contributions two weeks before the election. Their last official report shows $434 on hand.
So given that a little cash and organization is better than none, here's a devil's question for Ken: if Dems can't field a candidate, would you, Mr. Santema, be willing to come to the Democratic convention in 2014 and seek our nomination for Secretary of State? We have common cause here: integrity in protection of the public trust. Can we help each other in that cause?
He's not the only one. A former SOS employee under Nelson is 'considering' a run and Krebs will be announcing her intention very soon. She has already sent out a letter appealing to committee people within the GOP who will vote on the next candidate. I have read the letter, she says she would like to meet with each one to talk about concerns they have, over coffee.
How can anyone running under the GOP umbrella be trusted to properly run the office after ALEC has financed the last three occupants of the position?
A South Dakota SOS candidate is going to go get the biggest bang for their buck with voting rights problems Gant's been having. Unfortunately, I don't think it's the Indian voter rights problems that will do it.
Essentially, few in SD are going to "get" most of the other things Gant has done wrong because most people don't understand what the SOS's office does. It's about the least recognized state office that pops up, only during an election/problems with an election.
Has a an ALEC-inspired voter ID bill popped up in SD yet? That's your campaign.
Taunia's point is well taken. Never underestimate the public's ability to forget and/or ignore transgressions, especially from an incumbent statehouse Republican. Case in point: Four terms of Janklow as Governor.
Chris Nelson did have an excellent elections supervisor who, like Chris, was respected by both parties. I don't why she would want to return to the frying pan. Nearly anyone in the Secretary of State position would be more competent than Gant, Cory, but you shouldn't compare him to idiot stepsons of dog catchers because they might be offended.
If Gant gets the nomination in June 2014, he could lose the election if the opponent raises enough money to run TV ads and send some selected direct mail. Gant's offenses (with his photo) would be more effective if presented as a litany of ineptitude and corruption. All this won't matter if there is a third candidate in the race. No offense to Ken, but his third party candidacy would be a spoiler from the get-go.
Ken better be careful using the state seal on his website in connection with this article or any other. To use the state seal one must obtain permission from ... Jason Gant. The SOS regulates use of the seal. Will the GOP now unleash their dogs of war on Ken Santema if he hasn't obtained Gant's permission to use the seal?
No offense taken. I've been involved with third party politics a long time and understand the realities of the current two-party system (well, one-party in SD).
Anyone that isn't an R running will have to hope Gant wins the nomination at the R Convention. If the Dems choose not to run a candidate for SOS that leaves the door open for a well-funded third-party candidate. Yes, unfortunately the key is 'well-funded'. It also wouldn't hurt for that candidate to take the approach Weiland and Stace have for the Senate race: get out there and actually meet people.
Now would a libertarian actually do like Cory says and join the D's to attain office? It is possible. There are libertarian-leaning individuals in both parties nationally. That's the great thing about being libertarian: an optimistic libertarian can focus on similarities instead of differences for the greater good. And honestly, I think the current state of the Republican Party in South Dakota is a perfect example of how meaningless parties are.
Haha, let them send the dogs. I checked CL before posting it. My blog is definitely not for-profit or commercial. Going after me for that would do nothing but prove my point about Gant and crew in Pierre.
Ha! See? Ken Santema already knows the law better than Secretary Gant. (See SDCL 1-6-3.1 on use of the state seal.)
Somebody, perhaps my internet artist friend Mr. E, should keep a running tally of all the faux pas and french maths that young Mr. Gant has done. Just so it's all in one place because otherwise somebody might forget some of them. There are at least 3 or 4 I can think of. In fairness, that way Mr. Gant can systematically stomp out these attacks.
Actually, this 16-3.1 thing shows that Mr. Santema knows the law better than Mr. Rorschach.