02/12/2024
Official press release on the SD Supreme Court ruling. the Sturgis Citizens WILL have an election on the City form of Government.
For immediate release - February 12, 2024
- the citizens WILL have an election!
Sturgis, South Dakota – The 2+ year court battle between the City of Sturgis and its citizens concluded last week when all five Justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court agreed that Sturgis City Finance Officer Faye Bueno and the Sturgis City Council violated their “clear duties” by refusing to schedule an election on the proposition of whether Sturgis should continue to have a City Manager position as part of its government structure.
In the February 7, 2024 Supreme Court Opinion Bohn v. Bueno, Tammy Bohn, Justin Bohn, and Brenda Vasknetz (“Petitioners”) finally triumphed against Sturgis city officials who ignored their “clear duties” and refused to schedule an election. The Supreme Court unanimously agrees that “neither the finance officer nor the city council had the authority to delay the scheduling of an election to vote on the submitted petition.” The election should have been held in April 2022!
Since December 2021, Petitioners’ attorney, Kellen B. Willert, has been advocating that Bueno had a duty to certify the 900+ signatures on the Petition and the city council had a duty to schedule the election. The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that:
1) Bueno “had a clear duty to compare the petition submitted with the form provided in the ARSD. Performance of that clear duty could lead to no other conclusion but that the petition was in the ‘form required by this chapter.’”
2) “Bueno had a clear duty to act under the regulation to certify the petition and present it to the city council.”
3) “… the city council had a clear duty to schedule an election.”
Despite complete and utter defeat, Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen stated in a February 8, 2024 press release asserts that “the city is … researching when an election on the matter may be held.” The Supreme Court specifically ruled “…the election must be held using the process and timing requirements identified in SDCL 9-10-1,” which requires the ballot “be presented at the next annual municipal election or the next general election, whichever is earlier.” There is no research – the citizens are entitled to cast their votes on this issue at the next annual municipal election on April 9, 2024! Petitioners call for Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen to immediately resign.
Because Petitioners have justifiable concerns about Sturgis continuing to use delay tactics to avoid an election on this issue, Petitioners call on Sturgis to do the right thing at the next regular council meeting on February 20, 2024 at 6:30 PM: schedule this election to be held on April 9, 2024. .
For more information, contact Petitioners Tammy Bohn, Justin Bohn, and Brenda Vasknetz at [email protected].
