PIERRE — On Tuesday, Gov. Kristi Noem appointed Becky Drury to represent District 34 in the South Dakota House of Representatives, effective Jan. 16. The vacancy was created after Jess Olson announced her resignation. Drury will serve during the 2024 legislative session.
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Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed one legislator to replace another, leaving two seats in Rapid City and the surrounding area still vacant.
Becky Drury, currently serving in the House of Representatives for District 32, will replace Jess Olson, who served in the House for District 34 before resigning due to health reasons. Drury bought a house in District 34 last year, she told South Dakota Searchlight on Tuesday.
Drury’s seat in District 32 is now vacant, meaning the Rapid City area is still lacking representation for the 2024 legislative session for two seats. The other one was vacated last year when Jessica Castleberry resigned her District 35 Senate seat following allegations that her business improperly received federal pandemic aid.
According to the state constitution, lawmakers have to be a “qualified elector” in their district to serve. That means lawmakers must be at least 21 years of age, live in the state for at least two years prior to their election and be registered to vote in the district they represent.
Drury still owns a house in District 32 and plans to sell it in the spring.
“I just tried to cross all my T’s and dot all my I’s before I did anything,” Drury said.
Castleberry resigned in August after Noem revealed Castleberry’s preschool business had received about $600,000 in COVID-related financial assistance, which Noem alleged was a violation of conflict-of-interest laws. Castleberry inked a settlement with the state to repay $500,000 of the money that did not directly benefit families.
Noem has since asked for an advisory opinion from the state Supreme Court to clarify what constitutes a conflict of interest. She has said she’ll wait to fill the two open legislative seats until then.
“The governor will be prepared to act quickly once the Supreme Court provides their decision,” spokesman Ian Fury told South Dakota Searchlight.
The Pennington County Republican Party called on Noem ahead of the current legislative session to fill the positions as soon as possible.
“There needs to be something there that facilitates representation for us,” Pennington County GOP Precinct Committeeman Ken Straatmeyer told South Dakota Searchlight last month.
