EDITORIAL: STATE COMMITTEE HAS SERIOUS WORK TO DO
South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg continues to be in the public spotlight — and it’s not for good reason.
The S.D. House of Representatives this week began the process of considering whether the first-term attorney general should face impeachment for his role in a vehicle/pedestrian accident west of Highmore last year. It’s an important step that needs to be taken seriously, not only by lawmakers, but also by the people of South Dakota.
Ravnsborg was the driver of a Ford Taurus that struck and killed 55-year-old Joseph Boever as he walked along Highway 14 the night of Sept. 12, 2020. The attorney general has repeatedly claimed he thought he struck a deer, and that it wasn’t until he returned to the scene the following morning that he discovered Boever’s body.
While no charges of drinking or reckless driving were filed, the Department of Public Safety said that he was distracted when he struck Boever, and Ravnsborg was ultimately charged with three misdemeanors: operating his vehicle while using his cell phone, driving outside his lane, and careless driving.
This past August, Ravnsborg took a deal and pleaded no contest to the charge of an illegal lane change and using a phone while driving in exchange for the charge of careless driving being dropped. He was fined $1,000 and ordered to pay court costs.
It’s been a public relations disaster for the attorney general, who had been charged with six speeding infractions in South Dakota between 2014 and 2018, and two more in Iowa in 1996 and 2003. Then on Aug. 22, four days before his scheduled trial on charges stemming from Boever’s death, Ravnsborg received yet another speeding citation in South Dakota.
It wasn’t — and isn’t — a good look.
While a heavy foot doesn’t equate to being a bad attorney general — nor does an accident that took the life of a man, for that matter — Ravnsborg’s conduct has been an unsettling distraction. He’s never suggested a willingness to step down, prompting law enforcement groups and elected officials, including Governor Kristi Noem, to call for his resignation.
In response, on Tuesday the House overwhelmingly voted to approve a resolution directing a Special Investigative Committee to look closely into Ravnsborg’s conduct as it relates to the crash. That committee, which includes District 19 Representative and House Majority Leader Kent Peterson (R-Salem), will report to the full House to decide whether to proceed with impeachment proceedings.
“This is going to require a lot of patience on behalf of all members,” S.D. House Speaker Spencer Gosch told the Argus Leader, saying it could be January, when the Legislature convenes for the 2022 Session, that a recommendation is brought to the full House.
He’s right; this process will take patience. But it’s critical that the Special Investigative Committee move swiftly and thoroughly as it vets the actions of the attorney general before, during and after the fatal accident, and then make a decision it feels is in the best interest of the office of the attorney general and the people of South Dakota.
It’s worth noting that a recent poll revealed two-thirds of South Dakotans support the removal of Ravnsborg by the Legislature. The poll by Mason-Dixon was conducted on behalf of South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota and showed 66.8% of respondents strongly or somewhat support the removal of Ravnsborg by the Legislature. It showed 13.8% were opposed and 19.4% were undecided. Of all 500 respondents, 44.6% were strongly in favor of removal.
But this isn’t about public opinion.
This is about taking a serious look at the evidence. If the evidence is there, then the matter moves to the Senate, which will make the ultimate decision on whether Ravnsborg remains in office.
In the end, the credibility and integrity of the Office of the Attorney General is on trial here, and that should matter a great deal to South Dakotans. The fact is, a cloud has hung over Ravnsborg’s head in the days, weeks and months since that fateful night west of Highmore. Does that cloud impair his role as the elected official tasked with advising the government on all legal matters?
Does how he responded to the accident diminish his credibility as the state’s chief law enforcement?
Can South Dakotans trust their elected attorney general?
Those are some of the questions Rep. Kent Peterson and the Special Investigative Committee must ask — and take seriously — as they work to put this matter to rest.
It’s time to find a clear path forward and move on.
Jeremy Waltner | Editor & Publisher
