Inaugural Balls January 8: Black Tie and Kazoo?

The tickets for Governor-Elect Dennis Daugaard's balls are $25 a pop. Not bad for hanging out with swanky people and live music.

For a different kind of balls, you can squeeze into the Capitol Rotunda for free at noon on January 8 to watch Dusty Johnson take an oath that we all know he will break. I wonder if we can bring kazoos.

Dusty Johnson to Chief Daugaard's Staff

Say it ain't so, Dusty! After winning re-election by the largest margin of any statewide candidate just two weeks ago, Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson is telling the voters of South Dakota, Thanks but no thanks. KDLT reports Johnson has accepted Governor-Elect Dennis Daugaard's offer to be the next governor's chief of staff.

How do you like that: the one Republican I vote to send to Pierre, and he bails on me. Aaarrgghh! ;-)

That puts Johnson's hands on a whole lot more levers in Pierre than just energy and telecommunications policy. Hmmm... I've heard people say the PUC is a good place to serve the people but not a great springboard for further political aspirations (who's the last PUC member to run for governor or Congress?). Could this be a signal that Daugaard is putting Dusty in the blocks for a bigger run in 2014?

Better yet, could this be a signal that that adults in the Republican Party are making sure they have someone other than Rep.-Elect Noem primed and ready to run for Tim Johnson's U.S. Senate seat in 2014? (Idle speculation is a blast!)

Daugaard gets to pick Johnson's replacement on the PUC (and we get to vote on two commissioners in 2012! Whoo-hoo!). My recommendation: pick Russ Olson! If Dusty can reject the mandate of 217,346 voters (more votes than any other contested politician got on our November 8 ballot), then Russ Olson can forsake the mandate given him by a measly 6,981 District 8 voters, leave the Senate, and take his utility expertise to the PUC.

And heck, let's keep playing dominoes: move Russ out of his Senate seat, and Daugaard could move Rep.-Elect Patty Stricherz to District 8 Senate. And then... well, what the heck! Let's appoint third-place finisher Gerry Lange back to the State House! Come on, Dennis, admit it: you guys like having Gerry in Pierre. He's a great storyteller, and he keeps the income-tax meme alive so Republicans up and down the ticket have something to run against. You need a conscience out there in Pierre—turn on the music, swap the chairs, and bring Gerry back to Pierre!

Back to reality: I have to admit, Johnson seems like a heck of a choice for chief of staff. He's sharp, quick, and ready to break out the boss stick. He's like Rahm Emanuel... with a goofier farm-boy smile. This could be a fun administration.

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Update 12:37 CST: Seth Tupper on SDPB this noon says he thinks jumping to chief of staff puts Johnson in a less effective springboard position, since chief of staff, says Tupper, is a relatively anonymous position that lessens Johnson's public profile. Kevin Woster suggests Johnson will be a more visible chief of staff than we are used to. Woster says Daugaard doesn't really like public speaking and may lean on his chief of staff as a more active spokesperson.

Woster also notes that he thought the appointment of Tony Venhuizen as director of policy and communication would be the marquee news item, given that Venhuizen is Daugaard's son-in-law. But what's a guy to do when his daughter just happens to fall in love with one of the smartest, most ambitious young men in the state?

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Update 2010.11.23 11:38 CST: Dusty Johnson tells the Mitchell Republic that this job switch "is a very clear indication that my political aspirations are going to take a back seat." Yet he says he's taking the job because it "gives me an opportunity to make a much greater impact on how this state works." As I said, he'll have his hands on more levers. He'll be stirring more policy pots, meeting more people in the know (and with the dough!). Plus, if Johnson has been thinking about running for higher office, this move gets his quitting the PUC out of the way now so utility customers' disappointment has maximum time to fade before the next time Dusty comes a-slapping stickers on our chests.

I take Johnson at his word that he wants to serve the state. I do not dispute his reasoning that he can have a greater impact on the state as chief of staff than as PUC commissioner. I simply note that, even if Dusty's not playing Fantasy South Dakota Politics with the rest of us in the peanut gallery, Johnson's move goes in the plus column for future political prospects.

Johnson Outpolls Karpen 60-40 for PUC

The latest Madville Times poll shows perhaps predictable though not heartening results for Dems hoping to knock off a GOP golden dude and expand the Dems' bench here in South Dakota. I asked, "Who will get your vote for SD Public Utilities Commissioner?" From the poll's opening on Wednesday afternoon to closing at breakfast this morning, 129 of you eager readers gave a majority nod to incumbent commissioner and peppy Republican Dusty Johnson:

Dusty Johnson	77 (60%)
Doyle Karpen	52 (40%)

Votes: 129

Given a margin of error slightly wider than TransCanada's ability to accurately project oil spills, what might we read in these Sunday-morning tea leaves?

1. Incumbency has its advantages. In a poll on the Secretary of State's race, another statewide office that many voters ignore, Madville Times readers gave Democrat Ben Nesselhuf a 70–26 edge over the GOP's Jason Gant. Both of those candidates are state legislators seeking to replace the outgoing Republican Secretary of State. In the PUC race, Commissioner Johnson can point to achievements in the office he wants to hold for another six years. Evidently the "throw the bums out!" sentiment doesn't extend to Republicans on the PUC.
2. Commissioner Johnson's been fixing more phones than mine.
3. Even if the PUC can't do a thing to stop it, the Democrats out there who read this blog are still struggling to justify a vote for a county commissioner who thinks the Hyperion refinery will be "fantastic."

We've got more ballot to cover and big races to re-poll, so stay tuned for more chances to click your picks for November 2! Just four weeks to Election Day—goosebumps!

Vote Now: Who's Your Man for PUC, Dusty or Doyle?

Would you work hard to get the job of Public Utilities Commissioner? Fortunately for South Dakota, we have two guys for whom the answer is "Heck yeah!" Republican incumbent Dusty Johnson and Democratic challenger Doyle Karpen are both working hard for the chance to spend six years working on pipelines and power rates.

The Public Utilities commission does regulates your utilities, keeps telemarketers from bugging you, and advocates for good energy and telecommunications policy? Given the increasing centrality of energy and telecommunications to the economic health of our state, the job of Public Utilities Commissioner isn't just some boring down-ticket coin-flip race. Picking the right guy for this job matters.

So who's your choice: Dusty or Doyle? Vote now in the latest Madville Times poll, here in the right sidebar. The poll is open through breakfast Sunday, so tell your friends, and click your pick!

Campaign Ad Watch: Dusty Johnson Keeps It Simple

Pastor Steve Hickey's right: Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson's elevator pitch is a heck of an ad:



No cheesy music, no schmaltzy imagery of Commissioner Johnson gazing at majestic buffalo or picking wildflowers with his kids along the Keystone pipeline route. Just the man himself, a little humor, and his cut-to-the-chase argument for why he thinks we should hire him again.

And in the Web bonus of the week, we all will be freeze-framing the opening second trying to identify the woman exiting the elevator and the exact expression the producers directed her to make over Dusty's laying that sticker on her bosom.

My PUC vote remains undecided, but I will definitely keep this ad in my folder for the next time I teach job interviews in speech class. Now I want to see the follow-up ad where Dusty delivers this pitch while taking the stairs.

PUC Johnson Reads Blog, Gives Qwest What-For

My blog just earned its pay for the month... and so did Dusty Johnson!

Yesterday morning I vented about Qwest's inability or unwillingness to fix the midnight phantom ring on my phone. Yesterday afternoon, the phone rang. It was no phantom: it was Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson. I was out, but Commissioner Johnson told my wife the PUC had contacted Qwest and asked them to discontinue the test line to my house.

My wife and I stayed up late last night. No phantom ring.

One night is not proof—we've called Qwest previously, gotten assurances, then had the phantom rings return weeks or months later—but I called the PUC back this morning to thank Commissioner Johnson. That the Commissioner would take this action, without my even contacting him directly, demonstrates a sincere commitment to listening to and serving the public.

I'll still be voting Saturday to nominate John Zaiko (if he's still in!) to run against Dusty Johnson for PUC. But for now... keep up the good work, Dusty.

Johnson vs. Karpen for PUC: Who Will Stand Up to Big Oil?

We have a Public Utilities Commission race! We knew incumbent commissioner Dusty Johnson was running, but yesterday the eager Republican sent out a pleasant official announcement (quoted below).

Just announced at last weekend's McGovern Day in Rapid City: a Democrat challenger! Union County Commission chairman Doyle Karpen has thrown his hat in the ring.

Back that up: Union County Commission? As in, the fellas who have been voting consistently along the Hyperion corporate line?

Yeah. Those guys. Karpen has said the Hyperion refinery could be "fantastic"* for the state. For Karpen's public comments on Hyperion are all about the boost in tax revenue and jobs. Karpen joined the unanimous commission vote approving the Hyperion rezoning application and ordinance, under circumstances that one lawyer contended were improper, given the significant amendments that occurred between first and second reading. He was involved in the county's effort to use signage ordinances to stifle free speech during the 2008 county election concerning the Hyperion permit. On his own campaign website, Karpen maintains a conspicuously careful neutrality on the proposed refinery. He also doesn't appear to have much of a sense of humor... at least not when the joke is on Hyperion.

And we Democrats are supposed to get excited about a PUC candidate who's done the bidding of Big Oil? Hmmm... doesn't look like we'll be getting anyone to challenge Johnson's votes for the TransCanada pipelines any time soon.

Yes, there are plenty of other issues for our PUC candidates to debate. But Karpen's record on Hyperion dampens my passion for taking the fight to Dusty.

Karpen and Johnson are both on Facebook. Current fan count: advantage Johnson, 659 to 31.

=======Johnson Press Release=======

Mitchell, SD – Dustin “Dusty” Johnson, the chairman of the state Public Utilities Commission, has officially announced he will seek a second six-year term on the PUC. Johnson says he has successfully kept the promises he made to voters during his first term.

Johnson was elected to his first term in 2004 and has served as the PUC’s chairman in 2007, 2009, and 2010. In his six years on the PUC he has become a recognized leader in working to develop renewable energy resources, expand internet access and cell phone reception, keep utility rates low, and protect consumers.

“Politicians are good at making promises; they aren’t always good at keeping them. Over the last six years, I’ve made good on the commitments I made to voters in 2004. We’ve seen a nearly 1,000 percent increase in wind power, hundreds of new cell phone towers, and thousands of South Dakotans have gained access to high-speed Internet for the first time,” Johnson said. “A common-sense regulatory environment helped make that progress a reality.”

Johnson’s website (www.JohnsonforPUC.com) lists seven areas he promises to focus on in the next six years, including green energy development, energy efficiency, and consumer protection. He believes that with hard work, South Dakota will be able to take advantage of significant opportunities over the next few years.

“From wind power to ethanol to a strong rural broadband network, we have the pieces in place to continue to create jobs and improve the lives of consumers,” Johnson said. “The PUC has helped to lay that groundwork and I am excited to keep working on these issues that impact the lives of families and businesses in South Dakota every day.”

Johnson has been a strong voice for South Dakota consumers. He was the only utilities commissioner in the country to testify before a U.S. Senate committee on how the cap-and-trade legislation would impact consumers. He has served as the lead commissioner on the PUC’s “South Dakota Energy Smart,” an effort promoting energy efficiency, as well as on the PUC’s “Small Renewable Energy Initiative,” designed to encourage small wind and solar projects. Additionally, Johnson serves on the board of directors for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

The political parties will select their nominees for the PUC at state party conventions in June. Voters will then elect one person to the PUC in the general election this November. The Public Utilities Commission has three members elected statewide to staggered six-year terms.

Johnson lives in Pierre and Mitchell. He is married with two children and is involved with numerous state and local community service projects. Those interested in more information can visit www.JohnsonforPUC.com or the campaign Facebook page facebook.com/dustyforsd.

=======Karpen Press Release=======

A proud native South Dakotan, Doyle is running for PUC because he believes it's time to refocus the office on its intended purpose - that of consumer advocacy. The commission was established to protect the South Dakota public and to require utility companies to treat consumers with fairness in implementation of procedures and rates. Doyle wants South Dakotans to receive high quality, safe and reliable public services at fair and affordable rates.

Doyle was raised on a farm in rural Jefferson home by his father, Merlyn, cattleman, farmer, well driller and grain dealer, and his mother, Arlene, teacher and tutor. He studied at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, earning a Bachelor's degree in Math. Doyle married Deborah Iversen of Gettysburg, SD in 1977. Doyle and Deb reside in Jefferson, SD and have three daughters.

Upon graduation, he worked with his father in the well drilling business and Karpen Grain Co. Karpen Grain Co. is a small agri-business company which serves farmers in Southeast South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. Doyle facilitates grain transactions between farmers and the grain terminals and provides transportation of the grain from farm to market.

In addition to a full time job as a self employed small businessman, he’s built a secondary career as public servant serving Union County for nearly two decades. From 1979-1984, Doyle served as the Civil Bend Township as Clerk - a job which required him to conduct Township elections, manage township revenue and expenditures and prepare the annual budget.

He served on the Elk Point Jefferson School board for 9 years (from 1995 to 2004),four of which he served as President. Doyle is in his second term serving on the Union County Board of Commissioners. Union County is in the Southeastern-most county which borders Iowa and Nebraska. He has held the position of Chairman since 2007.

*Update 2010.06.25: KSFY has nuked the link. The original story in which Karpen referred to the Hyperion refinery as fantastic was called "Hyperion Gets Approval," KSFY.com, June 3, 2010. The pertinent text read as follows (as retrieved from Google Cache):

Voters said 'Yes" by a margin of more than a thousand votes. People on all sides of this divisive issue say it was a tough decision. Union County Commission Chairman, Doyle Karpen, says, "environmentally, people have concerns, and at the same time economically, if everything works out the way they say it will, it will be fantastic for the area, the county, the region, the whole state.

PUC Promotes Distributed Power Generation, Clean Air, Clarity Online

Darn near had to invoke open meetings laws here yesterday: South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson dropped by to boost small wind and distributed generation (read more on the PUC's Small Renewable Energy Initiative... and Russ, you'd better be voting for this!).

Commissioner Steve Kolbeck very generously shared his time (and studiously followed the comment nymity policy!) to explain his comment about how Big Stone II could have led to a net decrease in air pollution around Big Stone Lake and the Whetstone Valley. Evidently the Big Stone II backers were voluntarily offering to upgrade Big Stone I to win regulatory support for the new coal plant. If that's the case (and Minnesota Clean Water Action wasn't convinced), I'm surprised that the BSII artists didn't make bigger hay of that point in their press to persuade us hippies that BSII would indeed have been good for the earth.

Of course, now that BSII is dead, Otter Tail, MDU, and Northwestern could still carry out those upgrades and really clean up the air around Big Stone.

Now if we could just get Commissioner Hanson to drop by, we'd have a full house!

Dusty Johnson Plugs in PUC Re-Election Campaign

Dusty Johnson gives his local paper the scoop, telling Seth Tupper he's running for re-election to the Public Utilities Commission next year. Among the lines Johnson has ready for the run:

• On TransCanada's Keystone pipelines: "I’m not a cheerleader for that kind of development, but I do want to make sure it gets done right if it’s going to get done.... Those are hard decisions, and I think we’ve done a good job. But managing growth is always difficult.”
• On wind power, Johnson notes that by the end of his second term, South Dakota will have 15 times more wind-energy development than it did when he started the job back in 2005 (that's impressive!).
• On sticking with this job instead of seeking higher office: Johnson says he doesn't want to spend more time away from his family (even I say a big mushy aaawwww! to that). Besides, he likes his job: "Energy issues are a really big deal in this country right now. I’ve got a job that is very interesting and that I love, and that I feel has a big impact on people’s lives."

And don't think the PUC race will be the undercard event no one pays attention to. Commissioner Johnson thinks he won't be the only one running: “Because this has been a front-row seat to the energy issues that have been so hot, particularly in the last few years, a lot of people view this as a job where you can make a big difference.”

Let's hope he's right: a vigorously fought campaign for PUC would bring to the fore a valuable discussion about wind power, TransCanada, Big Stone II, and the energy future of our state and our nation.

Dusty Johnson, the Public Interest... and a Bigger PUC?

By the way, Public Utilities Commission Dusty Johnson is holding a remarkable public conversation right here in the Madville Times comments section. He and Kelly Fuller from Plains Justice* are having a civil and intelligent discussion about differences between our PUC and similar bodies in other states. The discussion touches on administrative law judges, consensus decision-making, and even the proper size of the PUC—Fuller contends with so many telecom projects and ever bigger energy projects on the way, we may need to expand the commission.

If you'd like to join in, further comments are welcome on that post.

*Update: Kelly Fuller offers a useful note below. She happens to work for Plains Justice, just as I happen to work for Dakota State University (and by extension, for you, the good people of South Dakota!). But those professional associations do not mean that our personal views are the views of the folks we work for... just in case anyone was unclear on that.

From the Comments: Dusty Johnson Lets Me (and Bloggers) Have It

South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Dusty Johnson wins promotion from the comments section with this stern chastisement of my political hyperbole. In my Thursday commentary on the PUC's decision to compel TransCanada to give Dakota Rural Action more information on its Keystone XL pipeline plans, I made the following offhanded comment:

Dang—either Dusty Johnson is running for higher office next year, or the PUC is realizing we South Dakotans really do need to make stronger demands of TransCanada to protect our natural resources from the short-term thinking of Big Oil.

Commissioner Johnson checks in to register his displeasure, not so much at the fact that I give him heck even when the PUC does something I like (and he would be entitled to that complaint as well), but that I would accuse him of putting political games above the law:

Cory,

I'm more than a little disappointed you insinuate my votes on legal matters are based on political calculation, rather than on what the law says.

I haven't given you an reason to think so little of me, you know. We've had an open and honest exchange of ideas when we've spoken. I know it's fun to play politics, but I expected more of you.

The truth is that the PUC has never (when I've been around) ruled that information on decommissioning was inadmissable or wasn't subject to discovery. We've taken that view with Keystone, with windfarms, with natural gas power plants, and with everything else. Additionally, whether or not information is subject to discovery is a technical legal issue. I know it's more fun for bloggers and political operatives to presume that politics is the big engine that powers all decisions made by anyone, anywhere, but that isn't the case.

When the law is on DRA's side (and it was most of the time on Tuesday), they'll win. When it isn't, they'll lose. Pretty simple, actually.

- Dusty Johnson [2009.09.26]

Commissioner Johnson makes a perfectly sensible complaint. He says the same thing that I've said, essentially, about my positions and proposals on the Lake Herman Sanitary District board: that my decisions are strictly in accord with the law and good public policy. I get owly when folks (including my fellow board member Larry Dirks) have imputed selfish motives to my public policy-making actions; Commissioner Johnson's owliness is justified (and he doesn't make a ruckus in the library to do it).

This scolding reminds me of things I've said about Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. I've not been kind to her this summer. I've criticized her for votes that look like they are more in the interest of campaign donors than the general public. She has elsewhere called such accusations "ridiculous."

Are we bloggers too cynical? Are we too quick to ascribe the worst intentions to our elected officials? Are we just playing word games, taking digs to stir controversy where good public servants are just doing their jobs? I welcome further discussion....

By the way, you can get the straight poop on South Dakota energy policy from Commissioner Johnson Tuesday in Mount Blogmore's first ever live chat.