BROOKINGS – Dwight “Bill” Adamson is running as a Democrat for a spot on the District 07 House of Representatives.
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BROOKINGS – Dwight “Bill” Adamson is running as a Democrat for a spot on the District 07 House of Representatives.
Originally from Washington state, Adamson moved to Brookings when he took his job as economics professor at South Dakota State University, a job he held for 27 years. He has since retired.
This is Adamson’s first run for public office, and he’s running because of two related issues: taxes and education funding.
“We kind of have a long-run issue with our tax revenues because we rely heavily on sales tax” and when sales tax isn’t collected on online purchases, it hurts the state’s budget, Adamson said.
Noting that this very issue is being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, he said, “If they win that, I imagine that would help solve a lot of their budgetary issues, but if they lose that case, they’re going to have to sit down and think this through because I don’t think you can keep underfunding your schools and higher education system and expect to have a good, strong economy in South Dakota. When you look at economic growth in the state, it’s really being driven by education.”
The impact of underfunding school districts is felt locally. School districts, in need of money, try to pass opt outs, as was attempted by the Brookings School District earlier in the month.
“I think what’s unfair about that is they’re shifting the tax burden from the state onto the local property owners. I don’t think that’s a fair way to fund your education system,” he said.
Moves by the Legislature to limit and restrict ballot initiatives are another concern.
“I think that it’s important for everybody to have access to these democratic initiatives and the initiative process,” Adamson said.
And in the wake of scandals such as EB-5 and Gear Up, more government transparency is needed, he added.
Adamson served as president for the Council of Higher Education, a South Dakota union that represents full-time and regular part-time faculty who aren’t supervisors.
He also lobbied against legislation that would have removed collective bargaining rights for the state’s public university faculty.
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
