Young candidate touts need to return to traditional issues at Democratic forum

HURON – If South Dakota Democrats hope to end a decades-long Republican “stranglehold” on state government, they must bring working class voters back into the fold by once again talking about traditional party issues, a political newcomer running for the Legislature says.
Tyler Volesky, a candidate for a District 22 House seat, may be new to the political arena, but his family name is well known around the state.
At 27, people have asked him why he wants to run for office at such a young age. He quotes John F. Kennedy, who said people are never too young or too old for public service.
“Even though I’m young and I’m a political rookie, I do have a lot of extensive political background,” Volesky said.
“I’ve probably been to more Saturday morning committee meetings than all of you, because as a young man I followed my dad (Ron) around the state Legislature,” he said at the District 22 Democratic Forum.
Volesky said he will work to attract young people voting in their first election, while also running an old-fashioned campaign of knocking on doors and meeting people of all ages in the district, which covers Beadle and Kingsbury counties.
He said while he may use Facebook and Instagram if they can effectively expand his message, he’s not a big fan of social media. He calls it self-promotion, not leadership.
“We’re going to be out in the community knocking on doors, going to the coffee shops, going to the businesses, getting back to our grassroots message, face-to-face, person-to-person communication,” Volesky said.
A 2014 graduate of Dakota Wesleyan University, he is a legal assistant, substitute teacher and youth athletics coach in Huron. Working at Abbott House, a residential treatment facility for young girls in Mitchell, helped him develop values and leadership skills, he said.
“I learned a lot there, and I learned about how the most important thing you can do is to help inspire others, inspire the young generation to follow their dreams even through tough times,” he said.
As he kicks off his campaign, Volesky said his overall message will be to convince District 22 voters that it’s time for a change in Pierre.

“The Republican Party has had a stranglehold on state government for over four decades, and I think we just need some fresh air,” he said. “We need some fresh air and fresh ideas and some youth and new energy out there in Pierre, and I think I can bring that.”
It was 1978 when Harvey Wollman served as the last Democratic South Dakota governor. Republicans have led the state since then. In 2014, Democratic nominee for governor Susan Wismer lost in a lopsided race.
“When you’ve got candidates running for a higher office get 25 percent of the vote, I think you’ve got to change the message,” Volesky said.
The national Democratic Party has been focusing so much on social issues that,South Dakotans can’t identify with that. They feel they are no longer being represented, he said.
Successful Democratic candidates in races so far this year have been talking about traditional issues of labor unions, pensions and health care and staying away from the Second Amendment, he said.
The stereotype that Democrats oppose gun rights is untrue, he said.
“We just think that we can take common sense steps to make sure we keep firearms out of the hands of terrorists, people that want to harm other people and criminals that should have no business having a gun,” Volesky said.
Education as an investment rather than a burden, affordable and accessible health care and fighting the methamphetamine epidemic with awareness, prevention and resources are also key issues, he said.
South Dakotans he has talked with are also concerned about accountability and transparency in government, he said.
“And I say when you have four decades of one-party rule, that’s a breeding ground for corruption,” Volesky said. “When you have a part-time legislature and a very powerful governor you need a strong legislative branch to have a check on the executive branch.
“But you can only do that with a strong two-party system,” he said.
In that way, government will be more efficient and responsive to the needs of the people, he said. Instead, he said voters have been supporting candidates in the same party over and over again.
“That’s like eating a bowl of cereal and choosing a fork over a spoon,” Volesky said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”