Meet the 5 Republicans who want to represent District 12 in South Dakota state House

Republican voters in this southern Sioux Falls legislative district will see a crowded field of candidates on their primary ballots when they head to the polls June 7.

Spanning primarily between 18th and 95th Street and Interstate 29 and Minnesota Avenue, District 12's race for state House is among the most highly contested of any primary in South Dakota this election cycle.

The top two vote getters will advance to the general ballot in November where they'll face a pair of Democrats.

Editor's note: The Argus Leader submitted a series of questions to all candidates who will appear on the primary ballots, with a request that responses be kept to 100 words or less for each answer. Responses have been edited for grammar and clarity.

More: Here are five disputes fueling Republican-on-Republican attacks in South Dakota

Questions

1. Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was impeached in the state House on April 12 after 20 months of controversy that followed the death of Joe Boever, killed in a fatal car v. pedestrian crash in which Ravnsborg was driving.

• For incumbents: Why did you vote the way you did?

• For challengers: How would you have voted on impeachment and why?

2. Gov. Noem this year successfully blocked an attempt to reduce the state sales tax rate by .5% and a separate effort to eliminate sales tax on groceries also failed to earn passage. How do you feel about the governor’s cautious approach to protecting existing government revenues amid record-setting surplus in state coffers in recent years?

3. Legislators in 2022 spent hours debating whether state government should prohibit employers from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.

• For incumbents: Where did you fall in that policy debate and why?

• For challengers: What is government's role in refereeing relationships between employers and employees with regard to vaccinations and individual rights?

More: Gov. Kristi Noem, Senate leader team up to keep Republican 'wack-a-doodles' out of state Capitol

Greg Jamison (incumbent)

Age: 57

Profession/place of employment: Commercial Broker Associate at Jamison Company Real Estate

Prior public/community service: Three term legislator, two term Sioux Falls City Councilor

Family: Wife Beth Jamison, children and grandchildren

No. 1. I voted no. After carefully reading the House Select Committee’s report of the incident, I determined there wasn’t clear and convincing evidence to support articles of impeachment. I trusted the process.

After reviewing the House Select Committee’s report, I decided that there was not clear and convincing evidence to support articles of impeachment. I trusted the process. Please read the House Select Committee’s report and I believe you will also understand the detail they went through and that there was not clear and convincing evidence to impeach.

No. 2. I voted to reduce the tax rate by .5% because I believe South Dakotans pay enough in taxes. The concern we discussed was that the current economy was full of federal stimulus money, and we were not experiencing a fair or regular assessment of the state of the economy. HB1037 had an excellent plan to take a small step over several years and with safeguards to ensure we didn’t go too far too fast.

No. 3. I do not support most mandates, nor did I support a vaccine mandate. South Dakota businesses know what’s best for their company and employees and mandating these types of policies starts us down a slippery slope. Most employers I talk with do not want any mandates from the Federal Government, let alone any from our state government.

Amber Arlint

Age: 35

Profession/place of employment: Amber Arlint Insurance and Financial Services

Prior public/community service: Easter River Foster Care Network Volunteer, Past Heartland Humane Society Board Member

Family: Husband Trenton Arlint, children - Braxton (4), Scotti (1)

No. 1. I believe our elected officials should be held to a higher standard. Our state legislators combed through hundreds of documents and videos before reaching their conclusion. My dad taught me from an early age that if you make a mistake or use poor judgment you should own it immediately and ask for forgiveness. I would have voted to impeach.

No. 2. I support the Governor’s approach. When I began working at the University of South Dakota the state was in a budget “freeze.” There were no raises and money for additional programs was nonexistent. Our memory sometimes gets short in years such as 2022. While the surplus of money has been incredibly beneficial to many state programs, we need to remember just a few years ago the legislature was fighting for every dollar. We are facing nationwide inflation and need to make sure South Dakota remains financially sound so we can weather the storm.

No. 3. Legislators in 2022 spent hours debating whether state government should prohibit employers from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.

I believe in limited government and local control. I do not believe the government should have any role in refereeing the relationship between employer and employees when it comes to vaccinations. It is difficult enough for small businesses to fill their openings, we do not need to make it any harder.

Kerry Loudenslager

Age: 61

Profession/place of employment: Retired U. S. Army Colonel, retired senior manager/managing partner of financial firm

Prior public/community service: 27 years of service in the Armed Forces, lifetime member of American Legion and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), church leader, youth athletics coach and volunteer, Tiger Cub Coach (Boy Scouts of America)

Family: Wife Doreen (39 years) three children, grandchildren

No. 1. My wife Doreen and I actually attended the House Impeachment Hearing/Vote at the Capitol on April 12. Without getting into specifics, the facts presented on the House Floor were extremely compelling and certainly warranted the outcome to impeach and forward to the Senate for trial. Yes, I would have voted to Impeach. Our State’s top law enforcement official must “Lead by Example” and possess the highest ethical standards. The Boever family and our citizens deserve better.

No. 2. I fully support the governor’s approach to protecting state revenues. I believe it’s the responsible approach and I am proud of the fact South Dakota is fiscally responsible, unlike so many other states. As a result of these record revenues/surplus, we are now in a better position to implement other very important initiatives that are long overdue. A few examples include increasing wages for educators, law enforcement, state employees and government-funded Medical providers; property tax relief for homeowners; Housing and other programs. I believe these are all important to our citizens.

No. 3. My entire campaign is centered around preserving our moral/conservative values and defending our Constitution and “God-Given unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The Government’s role is simple - to secure these unalienable Rights. Therefore, if employers ever attempt to establish policy that violates the same, to include unconstitutional vaccine mandates, then the government is “required” to take prohibitive action to prevent it.

This issue has become so politicized and people are tired of it. South Dakotans are pretty smart! I believe they are fully capable of determining whether or not they need vaccines based on their own individual circumstances and the advice from their physicians – without it being forced upon them!

Gary Schuster

Age: 68

Profession/place of employment: Retired—previously a Metallurgical Engineer

Prior public/community service: No previous public offices

Family: Wife Kelly Brack

No. 1. I would have voted against impeachment. The accident was investigated by the ND police. Based upon their findings Ravnsborg was charged with two misdemeanors— these charges did not allege negligence or criminal intent. Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to these misdemeanors. A House committee reviewed the findings of the police investigation and other testimony. They determined that Ravnsborg’s actions did not meet the grounds for impeachment. The outcome of the accident was sadly tragic, but that in itself does not justify punishment/impeachment.

No. 2. I absolutely like tax cuts. However, tax cuts should be the aftermath of a spending cut. If spending is not reduced then the lost tax revenue will need to be replaced. There are other obligations for the stimulus funding and that influx is probably a one-time event. As a legislator I will work to reduce spending and return the savings to taxpayers in the form of tax cuts. I will be very reluctant to use such savings for any other purpose. The tax cut mentioned in the question was proposed without an accompanying spending cut. For that reason I suspect Governor Noem blocked it. I believe she made the right decision.

No. 3. The government’s role for legal rights questions is to write, interpret and enforce the laws. The Supreme Court has ruled that large companies cannot mandate employees be vaccinated except for those working in the healthcare industry. This ruling has largely settled questions about the rights of corporations to mandate employee vaccinations. It is likely that other questions will arise and they will be answered (or) ”refereed” by the courts.

I agree with the Court’s ruling with regard to most large companies, but question the ruling for healthcare workers. There will be situations where workers in contact with patients should be vaccinated. But I would like to see more information as to when a company can require this and what they can do if their workers have reasonable objections to being vaccinated.

Cole Heisey

Age: 31

Profession/place of employment: Field Agent at Knights of Columbus

Prior public/community service: Community volunteer, Sioux Falls Area Right to Life board member, Knights of Columbus member, South Dakota Young Republicans board member, Minnehaha County GOP board member, precinct committeeman.

No. 1. It was a tragedy and my heart goes out to all involved, especially the family of Joe Boever. As I’ve sorted through the evidence and the politics of it over these many months to make sense of what occurred, comparing it with like grievous misdemeanors, impeachment was unwarranted. Instead, I think the proper approach is for GOP delegates at the state convention in June to nominate or not nominate Jason Ravnsborg. If nominated, then the last word will be with SD citizens to re-elect him or not, as it should be.

No. 2. I would have voted yes on both measures. I’m serious about my commitment to keeping taxes low and reducing taxes on South Dakotans where possible. We are all experiencing financial strain from the federally induced inflation, especially lower income families. Reducing taxes during this time would help ease the burden on South Dakotans without hurting existing and future state revenues in a meaningful way. Other states have done it with success. If we can’t lower taxes during a surplus and a growing state economy, when can we ever?

No. 3. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic I’ve been against government mandates, believing instead in private choice and individual responsibility. As a general rule, individuals should be allowed to make their own medical decisions and have their privacy respected. A government responsibility is protecting individual rights. While I believe private companies have a degree of latitude in protecting the health of their employees and customers as they see fit, I think guardrails are allowable to protect workers from overreach and that exemptions, such as medical and religious, should be honored.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: District 12 primary hopefuls on Ravnsborg, tax cuts, vaccine mandates