Vote YES on Measure 10 to stop politicians from handing out no-bid government contracts to their campaign donors, and stop government contractors from financially rewarding the politicians who hand out their contracts. Watch this video to learn why the "pay to play" system in Pierre is costing you money!
"The pro-Initiated Measure 10 campaign wisely has focused on South Dakota’s no-bid contracts, and based on my knowledge of the system, the videos posted on (their website) are not misleading." -- Denise Ross, columnist for the Rapid City Weekly, publisher of HogHouseBlog.com and weekly political commentator on South Dakota Public Radio's "Dakota Mid-Day Show."
"(Sioux Falls City Councilman Kermit Staggers, a History and Political Science professor at the University of Sioux Falls and former Republican state senator) made fun of the 'Vote No on Measure 10' TV commercials about teachers not being able to talk to their husbands. Kermit and I agree on this, it is complicated language, but it is a good measure and the other side is lying through their teeth in the commercials." - Scott Ehrisman, political cartoonist and publisher of the blog SouthDacola.com, reporting Staggers' Oct. 5th appearance on "The Facts," a public affairs talk show broadcast by KCPO-TV, Sioux Falls. http://www.southdacola.com/blog/2008/10/kcpo-the-facts-shocker/
To become part of the "YES ON 10! Campaign call (605) 271-8290
Hot News from YES ON 10!
RAPID CITY, S.D. -- Supporters of a ballot proposal to prohibit tax-funded lobbying and "pay to play" government contracts Wednesday launched their campaign for a "yes" vote on Initiated Measure 10, unveiling a new Internet video that details tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to state officials by a single firm that since 2004 has received over $23 million in no-bid state contracts.
South Dakotans for Open and Clean Government, at a news conference in Rapid City, said state and local politicians and contractors should play by the same rules that already apply under federal law, which prohibits federal contractors from donating to candidates for federal office. Sam Kephart of Spearfish, earlier this year a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Republican primary election, said, "Voting yes on 10 will bring common sense public disclosure and ethics reform to our state and local governments, the same standards we already require by law of our federal elected officials in Washington."
"Specifically, voting yes on 10 will stop politicians from handing out 'pay to play' government contracts to companies in exchange for campaign money or high-paying jobs with lobbyists or contractors after leaving office," Kephart said. "Just as federal law already does regarding federal government contracts and campaigns, Measure 10 will prohibit state and local government contractors and their families from making campaign contributions to the same politicians who award those government contracts."
Kephart unveiled a four-minute Internet infomercial on the relationship between campaign donations and no-bid contracts awarded by state government, pointing to a major advertising agency which has received nearly three dozen no-bid contracts since 2004 while donating tens of thousands of dollars to high-ranking state officials' political campaigns.
Former two-term State Treasurer Richard Butler, a Democrat from Faith, said during his eight years in that position, "I discovered this 'pay to play' racket and saw the same politicians, lobbyists and government contractors who oppose Measure 10 go to considerable lengths to preserve and protect it against any threat to their little money tree. That’s why they oppose Measure 10, because it will end politicians’ ability to financially reward their campaign donors with government contracts, and vice versa."
Butler said the ballot measure would also "prevent the politicians, lobbyists, and government contractors who oppose Measure 10 from spending our tax dollars on lobbying or political campaigns, including their false and misleading campaign against Measure 10 itself. Already, counties and cities across South Dakota have used tax dollars to pass and publicize resolutions expressly urging voters to vote no on Measure 10."
The YES on 10 campaign also said that according to South Dakota television stations, opponents of Measure 10 have already purchased nearly $800,000 in TV ads.
Kephart and Butler signed a campaign pledge promising that supporters of Measure 10 would spend any tax dollars on their campaign, nor accept or spend campaign donations from any tax-funded organization or tax-paid government contractor.
They challenged opponents of the proposal to join them in that pledge and to refund any moneys already received from such sources. They also pledged that if opponents will do the same, YES on 10 will fully disclose their campaign donations on a weekly basis, more often than required by law. They said opponents should immediately disclose the source of their nearly $800,000 television advertising campaign.
VOTE YES on 10to bring common sense public disclosure and ethics reform to our state and local governments, the same standards we already require by law of our federal officials in Washington.
VOTE YES on 10to stop corrupt politicians from handing out “pay to play” government contracts in exchange for campaign money, stop retiring politicians and bureaucrats from trading their political influence for high-paying jobs after leaving office, and require that relationships between government officials and contractors be made transparent by disclosing contract information on a public website.
VOTE YES on 10to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for lobbying and political campaigns, and stop politicians from spending tax dollars to funnel money to government employee union officials who spend lavishly lobbying and campaigning against South Dakota values.
Over 26,000 South Dakotans signed the petition to place Measure 10 -- South Dakota’s Open and Clean Government Act – on our November ballot, and a recent poll found that 63 percent of South Dakotans say they plan to VOTE YES on 10.
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