State Representative District 28A
Description: The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the Senate which has 35 members, and the House of Representatives, which has 70 members. The two houses are similar in most respects; the Senate alone holds the right to confirm gubernatorial appointments to certain offices. The Legislature meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. It begins its annual session of the second Tuesday of January each year. The legislative session lasts 40 working days in odd-numbered years, and 35 days working days in even numbered years.Term: 4 consecutive 2 year termsSalary: $16,348/year + $178/day for legislators who reside more than 50 miles away from the capitolRequirements for Office: 21 years old; 2 years residency; qualified voter; may not have been convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime; may not have illegally taken "public moneys".Petition Requirements: Depends on party and legislative district. See SD Secretary of State's website for details.
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Jana Hunt
(Rep)
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Chastity "Chas" Jewett
(Dem)
What should state government do to support access to affordable housing?
What should state government do to support equitable, quality public education (pre-K through higher ed) for all?
How do you view the initiative and referendum process in South Dakota? Are there any changes to this system that you would support?
Considering recently passed laws, what will you be watching for to ensure all eligible voters have equal access to the ballot box while maintaining the security and integrity of our elections?
What, if anything, should our state government do to support access to affordable, quality childcare?
What do you see as the most important challenges facing our state?
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Everything possible--specifically, I would like to see more low interest loans, fund more low income housing, and make renters feel safe reporting unscrupulous landlords. The generational gap in homeownership is incredible in South Dakota. Thirty or forty years ago a family could pay off a home on one income--now folks are working three jobs to pay rent on places that are barely maintained. There is a great need for affordable housing; the scarcity is because the market isn't subsidized. Despite the free market rhetoric in South Dakota; most industries are subsidized. I believe we should subsidize efforts that help the greater population not just the upper income levels.
More. The literacy rate in South Dakota reflects its commitment to a community based on respect and love and hope. The choice between economic output--sometimes three jobs to afford a small apartment or generational poverty and/or prison shouldn't be an albatross around the necks of the youth of South Dakota. We should value diversity of thought and understanding to create a society that mimics nature not the status quo a hierarchical predetermined path for the privileged and the prison bound. Education lifts us beyond barriers. We need to take the corporate mentality out of all levels of education funding. Doubling our educational expenditures at the state level would be transformational.
I would support a constitutional amendment making it illegal for executives of the state government to disregard the vote of the people. Multiple times over the past two decades have partisan players over ruled the will of the people. That's a sacrilege in a democracy.
I have a long history in non-partisan voter engagement with South Dakota's tribes. Getting tribal folks to vote every cycle despite the race based systemic opposition is impossible. We are 20%of the population but 80% of the state prisons. The South Dakota Department of Education's 2024 NAEP report shows American Indian/Alaska Native 8th graders scored 27 points below White students. Getting folks to feel like their vote matters is a momentous task in a state they feel targeted by or ignored. Erasing us and replacing us hasn't built an atmosphere of good will in South Dakota. It has built an apartheid state which can only be changed through direct democracy and true historical facts being taught; not corporate theocracies.
Everything. As a manager of a small business, we depend on access to affordable, safe childcare. We cannot support a workforce without it. The state could subsidize community child care centers more through teacher training programs or nutrition support. The state could invest in early child hood education centers partner with Federal Headstart programs and give our youth a better chance at success.
All of the above. We are an apartheid state and that seems to be acceptable to the general population. A punitive judicial system replacing a bloody genocidal colonization has created two American identities. One of privilege born of the theft of tribal land and resources the other the underclass, the chronically poor--one of the reservations counties in South Dakota has been the poorest in the nation since 1980. The federal government has been perpetuating tribal poverty for over 100 years through failed policies of assimilation, relocation, and termination. Only 9% of our 8th graders can read at grade level. The other 91% need intervention. Our tribal and our non tribal communities need healing and that comes from truth and understanding.
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