Thanks to the Madison AAUW for hosting a very informative public forum for the District 8 Senate and House candidates last night (Tuesday, October 7). Scott joined the other candidates for Senate and House at the DSU Trojan Center to answer questions from the audience on energy, education, and economic development.
Scott actually laid out those Big Three E’s—energy, education, and economic development—in his opening remarks as the biggest issues facing South Dakota, and the audience appeared to agree, as all of their questions addressed those issues.
On energy, Scott highlighted his long experience at East River Electric in promoting alternative energy, from his involvement with the first large wind turbine project in Chamberlain to helping ranchers get small solar units to run water pumps. He also highlighted his own legislative experience. Scott hasn’t served in elected office yet, but he has already worked with the electric cooperatives to craft wind energy legislation and get it passed in Pierre. Scott highlighted his experience in the 2008 Legislative session, when he worked with Governor Rounds’s office to create tax incentives for wind power. (The Governor signed that legislation, HB 1320, on March 17.)
Scott emphasized that South Dakota still has some catching up to do on wind power. Our neighbors in Minnesota and Iowa still create a better tax and business climate for wind power (and anyone driving through those states will see the wind turbines to prove it). Scott also said we need to take a lesson from the ethanol industry and promote more local ownership of wind power. If local landowners and investors have an ownership stake in new wind farms, more of the profits from those wind farms will be plowed back into the local economy.
On education, Scott spoke out for restoring programs like the Mickelson Scholarship and enhancing existing funding for encouraging our best and brightest to get their education in South Dakota and stick around for their careers. Scott also sees the need to invest more in education from the university system, through K-12, and right down to early childhood. Scott spoke of how folks he talks to from out of state ask why we don’t invest more in education. That negative perception hurts our ability to recruit new businesses. We thus need to invest more in education, for the sake of our own kids and our economic development aspirations.
But where will that money come from? Contrary to what you might think, South Dakota has lots of money in the bank. Scott pointed to over $1.5 billion in various state trust funds and accounts—that’s over a year’s worth of the state’s operating budget! We should tap some of those existing revenues, because, as Scott said, it’s “more important to grow students than grow trust funds.”
Scott laid out a clear vision for South Dakota at last night’s forum. He knows investment in energy and education can serve as the foundation for the economic development we need to create real opportunity and wealth for our young people and the whole state.
You can read a summary of the questions at the AAUW forum and all the candidates’ responses here.
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