Herseth Sandlin Fined Staffer Ten Times Court Penalty

If I'm reading the court record properly, the court slapped drunk driver Tessa Gould with a $516 fine ($136 suspended) and $220 in court costs, along with a month's revocation of drivers license, three months of DUI classes, and a year's probation.

And what punishment did her boss dish out?

Gould's arrest came two days before Noem won the Republican House nomination. She started working as Herseth Sandlin's state director in 2004 and became chief of staff in 2007, according to congressional data published by Legistorm.com. She was paid $121,000 in the last fiscal year.

Herseth Sandlin put Gould on unpaid leave until her case was resolved June 28, said Russ Levsen, Herseth Sandlin's senior campaign adviser. The congresswoman, he added, took the issue seriously and sent a message that it was unacceptable [Jonathan Ellis, "Driving Records Hit Campaigns," that Sioux Falls paper, 2010.09.01.

Do the math: Legistorm reports Gould received $29,499.99 from her boss in Q1 of this year. In Q2, Gould got $22,944.43. The suspension without pay Levsen mentions appears to have cost Gould $6555.56. Yeah, I'd say the Herseth Sandlin campaign takes such infractions seriously.

So Gould's bender cost her over $7000. That must have been really good beer.
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Bonus audio: Listen to the boss explain the situation herself. Of course, expect the Republican spin machine will criticize the good Congresswoman for sounding intense and "not taking any crap" on this issue.