Rep. Jeff Haverly Running for Dist. 35 Senate Nomination

From today's mailbag, District 35 Rep. Jeff Haverly is running for the Republican nomination to the Dist. 35 Senate seat being vacated by Senator Bill Napoli.

He is running against Alice McCoy for the Republican nod.

Representative Jeff Haverly, R-Rapid City, has announced he is seeking election to the South Dakota Senate for District 35. The district consists of Rapid Valley, most of North Rapid, Rapid City’s central business district, a portion of Box Elder, and south of Rapid City to the Spring Creek Road, East of Hwy. 79. He has lived in Rapid Valley for 24 years, is retired military from Ellsworth AFB, and the owner of childcare centers.

Jeff has served six years in the State House of Representatives for District 35 and serves on the Appropriations Committee. As the lone West River appropriator, this position has been vital to the interests and needs of the people in Western South Dakota. Previously he served on the House Education and Health and Human Service Committees and was part of a South Dakota team selected to attend a National Policy Academy on Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders. Some of his primary focuses have been on Western Dakota Technical Institute, SDSM&T, mental health, and veteran’s issues.

With Senator Napoli retiring from the Senate, Haverly will continue to provide the strong voice and experience for Western South Dakota in issues relative to the Governor and various departments as they relate to our area.

Haverly was the sponsor of several bills involving higher education, job creation and economic growth. Feeling that the technical institutes provide opportunities for all ages to gain skills to replace our retiring workforce, Representative Haverly was the prime sponsor and co-sponsor of legislation that would have secured adequate and stable funding for the technical institutes. He chaired five state-wide task force meetings regarding technical institute funding in order to identify issues with the current funding. The task force identified the importance of workforce development for our state resulting in Haverly sponsoring a bill to stabilize and produce positive results for our state’s workforce well into the future. He has also been a strong voice in representing the adjustment training centers across the state that continues to care for our citizens who need assistance in reaching their full potential.

Jeff attends evening classes at Black Hills State University and served on the Rapid City School board prior to his election to the State Legislature. He has remained active in the local community through his participation in the Western Dakota Technical Institute Foundation. Some of his past and present activities are: board member for the Black Hills Special Services, North Rapid Civic Association attendee, Rapid City’s Weed and Seed program and the Youth Serving Organization Alliance. Through his efforts the Black Hills Child Care Association was formed and he was elected to the National Child Care Association Board of Directors, providing representation for South Dakota at a national level for the first time. He is a member of the Rapid City Elks lodge, ABATE, The National Rifle Association, The Retired Enlisted Association, and is a member of Rapid Valley United Methodist Church.

Jeff believes that government should remain small, but effective, and close to the people. He believes the legislator elected should not cater to the needs of the other branches of government if it’s not in the best interest of the people of our state. He also believes that being a legislator is more than yielding his time on the House or Senate floor, and instead playing an active role in the decision making process as it might affect the citizens of South Dakota and his districts constituents. To name just a few examples: He proved his dedication to the people of South Dakota and his district, when this last year he helped to defeat the Pre-K initiative that was brought by the Department of Education with government intervention into the private childcare sector. In the previous legislative session he played a key role in making sure a prison was not built in a residential area in his district, but he was still able to ensure the prison would be built in a more suitable area, providing jobs and economic growth for the Rapid City area. While serving on appropriations several sessions ago he helped to ensure the Senior Meals program would not get sized down in the State when the Federal government cut money from it. Instead he appropriated funds and helped to persuade other legislators to use state money as a replacement to ensure our Senior citizens were adequately being taken care of.

Jeff and his wife Terri have three daughters and five grandsons, all living in Rapid City. He hopes you will continue to vote for a strong voice and elect him to the District 35 Senate.