Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wismer visits with students, advocates for education reform
A Democrat has not held the title of governor for 40 years in South Dakota, but Susan Wismer, D-S.D., hopes to change that.
The South Dakota District 1 representative traveled to the University of South Dakota Sept. 22 to talk to students about topics ranging from education to health care.
Wismer, of Britton, S.D., has served on the state’s appropriations committee and has been a representative for six years. During Monday’s small, informal gathering at the Muenster University Center hosted by the USD Democrats, Wismer spoke on the controversy surrounding the state’s EB-5 program.
The program allows foreign investors to gain U.S. citizenship if they invest $500,000 or more in local industries. It came under fire last year when it former South Dakota Economic Development Director Richard Benda was discovered double billing the state and redirecting money into his own personal bank account.
Former governor and candidate for the U.S. Senate Mike Rounds, along with Governor Dennis Daugaard, have been criticized for their handling of the incident in what has been called a case of negligence and a lack of oversight.
“My concerns with the program have more to do with the fact that we used the state’s good name to promote some products that were conducted by some bad actors,” Wismer said. “You would think a project that had South Dakota’s name or backing — you think the state would have vetted it.”
Although EB-5 might be on the minds of many voters when they go to the polls in November, Wismer said she would like to focus more on the “less glitzy topics” of education and health care.
“We need to change the conversation in Pierre,” Wismer said. “Right now, education really is not respected. The tone of the conversation from the top doesn’t include any respect for education or educators.”
Wismer criticized the Daugaard administration’s handling of education, and said education in the state is far behind the rest of the country.
“It’s a last place effort,” Wismer said. “We put the least amount by any measure — whether it’s per citizen, or per student, or per dollar of resident income. We invest the least in education of pretty much any state in the country.”
According to a 2012 Census Bureau report, less than $8,000 per pupil is spent by the state on education. In other categories, such as public elementary-secondary school system current spending, South Dakota ranks last.
On the subject of health care, Wismer said she would like to see South Dakota’s Medicaid program expanded.
“We are passing up $5 million a week of investment in our state health care institutions and refusing to cover 48,000 people — the number of of people in the communities of Brookings and Mitchell combined — because our governor does not want to fill out the paperwork to get the federal money that would come with Medicaid expansion,” Wismer said.
Wismer’s promise to prioritize education in South Dakota seemed to be one of the topics which resonated the most with students.
Senior Benedict Gombocz, a member of the USD Democrats, said he plans on voting for Wismer come November.
“She delivered a pretty good speech — I think she had some pretty good answers,” Gombocz said.
Dylan Kirchmeier, a sophomore, agreed with Gombocz’s opinion.
“Both education and the Medicaid expansion are very important, but I think education needs to take more a front row seat because if we don’t invest in our youth, the future is going to be pretty bleak,” Kirchmeier said.
The general election will be held Nov. 4. South Dakota students who want to register to vote may visit the state’s Secretary of State website.
(Gubernatorial candidate Susan Wismer, D-S.D., speaks with University of South Dakota quarterback Ryan Saeger and student Democrat President Clay Hoffman in the Muenster University Center Monday. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)
