PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota’s governor has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from individuals affiliated with companies that have been given grants overseen by his office.
The contributions to Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s campaign are legal, but they have raised criticism during this year’s legislative session.
Records from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development show Daugaard has given out $26.5 million in Future Fund grants during his first three years in office, the Capital Journal (https://bit.ly/1cCozfN ) reported on Thursday. Officers of several of the companies benefited by those grants have contributed to Daugaard’s campaign.
The newspaper cites several examples including one involving Dakota Resources, a Renner-based company that provides training and development services to businesses in South Dakota. Records show that the company received $100,000 in 2012 and again in 2013. At least four people affiliated with the company made contributions to Daugaard’s campaign during those years.
Dakota Resources’ directors Jim Scull and David Rozenboom gave Daugaard $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, between 2012 and 2013. Company president Gloria Pluimer contributed $2,058 during the same period, while program developer Kristi Wagner gave $2,000.
A spokesman for the governor, Tony Venhuizen, told the newspaper that records indicate Daugaard received donations from over 1,500 individuals “so it should be no surprise that a handful happen to be associated with successful grant applicants.”
“There are many, many grant recipients who have never donated to the governor’s campaign,” Venhuizen added. “The GOED staffers who administer these grants wouldn’t know if an applicant was a political contributor or not.”
A state lawmaker introduced a bill this year that sought to ban campaign contributions from individuals linked to businesses that contract with the state. But the debate on the bill sponsored by Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, a Democrat from Yankton, ended when a legislative committee killed the measure in mid-February.
Similar bills, typically referred to as pay-to-play measures, have been enacted in other states.
___
Information from: Pierre Capital Journal, https://www.capjournal.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.