Leading the charge on many issues, Rick Weiland has devoted decades to advocating for progressive policies in South Dakota
Rick Weiland isn’t on the ballot in South Dakota this year. But his efforts, through his organization Dakotans for Health, may have a more profound impact on South Dakota politics than any contest between candidates.
There will be a number of controversial and impactful measures on the statewide ballot this year, including a proposed constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights and a repeal of the state sales tax on groceries, which are sponsored by Weiland’s group. Since these measures will likely spur a larger voter turnout, and may direct our politics in a more progressive direction, it is ironic that some state Democratic Party leaders choose to keep Weiland at arm’s length and are reluctant to endorse his proposals.
South Dakota was the first state to enact initiative and referendum, allowing citizen petitions to bring proposed laws for a popular vote and to refer laws that had already passed for an ultimate decision by the people. This happened back in 1898, when our state had existed for less than a decade, and has been widely copied across the country.
Over the last decade, Weiland (seen above in an image from his Facebook page) has led the charge, or provided material assistance, to proposed ballot measures to raise the minimum wage, to combat corruption in state government, to end partisan gerrymandering and to expand Medicaid. Some of these measures succeeded while others failed.
The anti-corruption measure was summarily repealed by the Legislature, using an emergency clause to protect themselves against a referendum petition drive. The measure to raise the minimum wage, and key future increases to the cost of living, passed by a narrow margin in 2014, but the Legislature’s effort to create a lower wage for teenage workers was referred to the ballot in 2016 and was defeated overwhelmingly.
Democrats and organized labor led the charge for higher wages, but Weiland provided substantial support in both efforts.
Weiland has a long history in South Dakota Democratic politics. He was the state director for Sen. Tom Daschle from 1989 until 1995, and later worked as the regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the Clinton administration, responding to catastrophic flooding in Grand Forks, N.D., and other disasters.
In 1996, Weiland ran for the U.S. House when Rep. Tim Johnson was running successfully for the Senate, and lost to newcomer John Thune by a margin of 58% to 37% after a bruising primary battle with Jim Abbott, who later became president of the University of South Dakota.
When Thune vacated the House seat to run unsuccessfully against Johnson, Weiland again ran for Congress, but lost the Democratic primary to Stephanie Herseth by a margin of 58% to 32%.
Finally, when Tim Johnson stepped down from the Senate seat in 2014, at a time when South Dakota Democrats had gone into a steep decline, Weiland was the Democratic candidate to succeed him. In that race, former Gov. Mike Rounds received 50% of the vote to 30% for Weiland and 17% for former Sen. Larry Pressler, who was seeking a political comeback in his old age as an independent.
If these three unsuccessful campaigns for federal office discouraged Weiland, they certainly did not deter him from working to influence policy in South Dakota in a positive, progressive direction. When he was a young man, he saw progressive Democrats like George McGovern, Jim Abourezk, Dick Kneip, Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson win statewide races.
In more recent years, forces for progressive change have relied primarily on initiative and referendum efforts. We do owe Rick Weiland a debt of gratitude for continuing to work to affect change in South Dakota.
Jay Davis is a retired Rapid City attorney and regular contributor to The South Dakota Standard.
