Letter to the Editor - Kull: Letter of apology

When first elected in 2022 to begin service in the South Dakota House of Representatives in the 98th Session, I truly believed I was joining a legislative body that would be professional and deliberative in the work it did for the people of our great state. Once there, I quickly realized that most legislators, but not all, strove to live up to that ideal. There were certainly bills dropped that would make my eyes roll or at times make my jaw clench, but those would typically be tossed in the trash by banishment to the 41st day and life would go on.

Then on Tuesday evening, I became aware of HB 1224 titled ‘Defund the Huron School District’. I rolled my eyes, then I clenched my jaw, then I got irritated. Irritated at the lack of civility displayed. Irritated that the staff of the Legislative Research Council had their time wasted by having to draft such nonsense. And finally, irritated by the embarrassment that bills of this nature bring to the entire body. At around 4:10 a.m. I woke up, as I’m prone to do for reasons I won’t detail, and I checked my phone. There, I found an email from a constituent admonishing me not to vote in support for HB 1224, and I was angry. Angry because I was put in a position where I had to respond to such nonsense. 

So now, I want to apologize to the people of District 2, to all the good people of the great community of Huron and to all the people of South Dakota. As a member of this body elect we call the South Dakota House of Representatives, I stand embarrassed by the actions of one of our members and want everyone to know that he stands alone but his actions tarnished the institution as a whole. 

David Kull

District 2 Representative

Brandon