Calabrese runs for District 32

RAPID CITY – When Michael Calabrese decided to run for South Dakota senate in District 32, there was no democratic nominee. Calabrese, 10 days before the filing deadline, gathered enough signatures in 2 days.

“I am constantly frustrated when there are unopposed to candidates running, there is nothing more frustrating to me than having a pre-ordained choice,” he said. “Especially one that wasn’t elected but appointed by the governor. That is not the way our elections should be.”

Calabrese is running against Helen Duhamel who, after Alan Solano stepped down from his elected position last year, was appointed by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to represent District 32 in South Dakota.

Calabrese is originally from Pittsburg but most recently Colorado, and has lived in Rapid City for over 6 years. He works for a tech start-up based in Rapid City and is also the owner of Black Hills Vinyl in downtown Rapid City.

A touching point that Calabrese will represent on the state level is opposing threats to South Dakota’s environment. “I am not in favor of industrial mining and oil and gas interests taking precedent,” he said. “For far too long we have given in to industries that care very little for natural resources and natural beauty. Whether it is mining in the Black Hills near Pactola, whether it is DAPL or Keystone XL, I am opposed.”

His arguments for opposing such industries, however, extends past the natural beauty and resourcefulness of our state. “[mining and oil companies] have the short term economic gains for very few,” he said. “Anyone that has been in South Dakota knows that there is a lot of sun and a lot of wind, and investment in solar and wind energy is sorely lacking.”

Cannabis is also part of Calabrese’s platform. “I come from an area where a legal market operates very smoothly,” he said. “A lot of tax money going to schools, a lot of tax money going to issues that are very important and under-funded. There are battles to be waged in the realm of substance abuse but those are opioids and meth. Any dollar going towards battling cannabis or hemp is dollars wasted that could go towards real problems that harm our communities. We are fighting a battle that was lost in the 60’s and we are 60 years beyond that point.”

He also speaks to criminal justice reform that factors in cannabis reform. “The internal possession laws here are hugely detrimental and illogical,” he said. “The stigma is not there in most of the United States and it should not be there in South Dakota as well. It is a huge contributor to the prison population and subsequently a disenfranchisement to individuals that are started down the path that labels them as a criminal.”

Other issues outlined on Calabrese’s website are healthcare for all, keeping children and schools a top priority, government transparency, earning a living wage in South Dakota while driving economic development, and taking the corona virus “seriously to protect the vulnerable, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.”

My wife and I are proud residents of District 32,” his website goes on to state. “I believe that we deserve a State Senator who will stand up for our district and all the people living here. From small business owners to the teachers and nurses, I will fight to make this state a better place for all South Dakotans.”

Calabrese’s adoration for South Dakota includes the typical draw of natural beauty, but he also states that “there is a lot more investment in the community, it is a place where you can make it happen if you put in the effort.”

Overall Calabrese says that his ideas “are far more forward thinking and for more inclusive. It is time for a new generation of leaders to begin rising here in South Dakota. We are busy fighting for pipelines and a mine while most Stakes are progressing to other methods of sustaining themselves economically. We constantly are far more repressive than we need to be and I think that new leadership with new ideas is what’s needed. I oppose a lot of what the governor has to say, and I think a lot of her ideas are terribly backwards, and I will push back when it is logical. I do not support Kristi Noem.”

District 32 consists of downtown Rapid City and extends south of Rapid City. Its western boundary is generally understood has highway 16 with an exemption of a small part of Jackson Boulevard, and its boundary east is Campbell Street. District 32 does not, however, include the School of Mines campus.

 

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

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