Trust me, I didn’t think he had much of a chance, but polling has been showing otherwise;
The most recent survey by Nielson Brothers Polling (NBP) shows Public Utilities Commission (PUC) candidate Matt McGovern as the strongest statewide Democratic candidate. In the NBP survey of likely South Dakota voters, conducted from October 28 to October 31, McGovern leads Republican Kristie Fiegen by 6 percent (45 to 39 percent). Libertarian Russell Clarke receives 5 percent of support, with 11 percent “undecided.â€
Besides Neilson’s, sometimes skeptical polling, there has been internal polling by the Dems and Repugs.
McGovern is ahead.
I have learned from following politics not to hold my breath though – but – I will wish Matt luck.
Fiegen would wreak havoc on the PUC.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19ToC8pQrCY[/youtube]
(Guest Poster contributed to the following)
Think about this for a moment and we see Xcel the holes to the discussion. Why should we allow Xcel charge us for jet travel when a Cessna 182 or other prop plane will do the job with all the same arguments? Xcel is lying and they know it. Why should we care if they are a multi-billion dollar company so their CEO has to be paid like the others, leaving us to suffer under their excessive CEO salary structure? It is not our fault they decided to build their debt load to get richer. NSP used to be a well-run organization but we are now suffering under the Enron greed model. South Dakota rate payers should only “have†to pay for required trips to South Dakota and no more. These trips should be reimbursed at a standard PUC approved rate. So cost effective for who and how? The only way to question this activity is have someone on the board who has not had the pleasure of Leaving on a Jetplane.
Also noted here is Fiegen’s statement: “I live in real-ville, fighting for South Dakota families and their pocketbooks every day — not politics,†Fiegen said in an email. “And I will continue fighting for South Dakota families for the next six years.†Since when is the political Queen of South Dakota ALEC living in ‘real-ville’?
These planes are luxuries for the side benefit of the CEO and Boards only justified by occasional use by staffs. Private industry can have them because they have to justify them in their profit and loss statements. Regulated Public Utilities are not private corporations when it comes to the law. We may not own them directly but the state PUC has full rights to all transactions for the setting of rates to ram own our throats.  This is an expense frill for the “managers†of the business to make themselves more ‘important’.