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Mayoral candidates talk priorities as Rapid City elections approach

City of Rapid City

Rapid City voters will choose between five candidates to determine the community’s next mayor. Without a runoff, residents have only one chance to vote for city leadership positions. In the non-partisan mayoral race, each candidate offers different visions for the direction of the tourism hub and state’s second-largest city.

Rapid City is growing at an unprecedented rate and predictions call for an additional 20,000 to 40,000 new residents in the next decade according to Elevate Rapid City, a local economic development organization. As such, infrastructure needs like housing, traffic and schools are on the top of most candidates’ minds.

All of these issues will greet whoever wins the election their first day on the job. The field of candidates includes two current City Council members Jason Salamun and Laura Armstrong. Two former council members, Ron Weifenbach and former Wall and Rapid City Councilor and hotel owner Brad Estes, and political newcomer and business owner Josh Lyle.

Weifenbach said this is the moment he’s been waiting for.

“I’ve been watching the council, and I’ve been on and off the council for eight years, four different terms," Weifenbach said. "I’ve seen the growth in the city, and I’ve seen the demand that is taking on our roads and our streets and infrastructure and police department. I have the skills and the ability to get that back on track, and that’s why I’m running right now. It’s the right time.”

Weifenbach said the mayor’s office should take a more direct approach in tackling the local housing crunch.

“We gotta build houses," Weifenbach said. "We have a shortage right now, a lot of people have exited the market of building houses in Rapid City because of the barriers of entry to build them. The profit margins of building roads and water to the level that we need to have them for future growth has been complicated for builders. We’re going to have to participate in that process and lay that groundwork out ahead of time.”

Another candidate, Brad Estes, owns a Deadwood hotel. He said housing is a more complicated issue than some think.

“We’re going to be going every which direction," Estes said. "I hope we’re going to be able to meet the needs of some single-family homes. I hope we’re able to go back and recreate some neighborhoods, but we really need to have a sense of community. That’s what worries some of the old timers here in town.”

Estes said in a tourism town like Rapid City, you can’t put a price on his experience growing up in Wall and learning the hospitality business firsthand.

“We were just raised to be freelance businesspeople – if you see an opportunity, take it," Estes said. "My parents just taught me to take a clean piece of paper and a bare piece of land and come up with an idea. So, I’ve had a lot of opportunity, I have a passion for building, and that’s what I do.”

A top priority for council member Jason Salamun is establishing trust and cooperation.

“I think how we treat one another is non-negotiable, we should treat each other with respect," Salamun said. "We should also understand that there are differences on all sides. We are really good at splintering up as much as possible, but that’s the thing – I think there’s so much, if we’re honest with each other, that we all agree on.”

Salamun said supporting public safety, investing in infrastructure, and minimizing partisan influence are important to him. In a recent Elevate Rapid City candidate forum, he said issues like “boys in girls’ bathrooms” are things he would “stand his ground” on.

Salamun, who has also served as executive pastor of the Fountain Springs Church, said he has a vision of a thriving Rapid City.

“I say faith and hope are alive and well," Salamun said. "If we are that kind of community and not just some average, generic mid-sized city – I have zero interest in that – I want us to make the most of the opportunities ahead, while keeping what makes us special. We have planned growth happening with the B-21 and that mission expanding, so bit by bit we’re going to see growth there. As well as the talent we’re producing in our universities, we’re poised for great things.”

Another candidate for mayor is political newcomer Josh Lyle. Lyle is a hail damage repair businessowner and has lived all over the country. He said it’s time for the community to take a stand.

“There is a small window to try and save not only our city from the disastrous things that are going on, but to be able to step up to the federal government who is way overstepping their bounds and trying to take over our cities," Lyle said. "I watched Denver flip, I watched Tucson, not quite as much, I watched LA turn. It didn’t used to be like that.”

Lyle suggested his opponents are compromising their values, and said he’s prepared to take firm social stances other candidates are not.

“Alcohol drinking and panhandling is scaring away modern citizens from going into downtown, which is also kills business, after something like COVID which basically put small businesses on its knees," Lyle said. "Regardless, you need good leadership, strong leadership and to be able to solve this Native homeless issue, you’re gonna have to have a lot of grit.”

Another candidate wants to become the first woman to hold the title of Rapid City mayor. Current city councilor and speech pathologist Laura Armstrong, reflected on a long career in local politics.

“We were involved in our church and the library and the humane society," Armstrong said. "We just pay it forward, and that’s what I did with my children, and I volunteered with the PTA and went into the schools. Finally, the people that had been asking me said ‘it’s a nonpartisan position. You’re really good about saying okay, we can definitely disagree about this, but we can agree about one thing and grow it out.’ So, it’s the right time, it’s the right place.”

Armstrong said an underlying goal of her campaign is to reunite the community.

“You talk to people and it’s ‘what’s your main concern?’ And it’s potholes. Or schools," Armstrong said. "Obviously, my platform is running on public safety, infrastructure and how it drives economic development, but you just have to model the behavior that you want to see. Who cares if you’re a Democrat or a Republican? We shouldn’t care. Water is not partisan. Roads should not be partisan, and I just think that it needs to be modeled at City Hall.”

Outgoing Mayor Steve Allender shares a similar sentiment. He expects his successor to contend with a challenging political climate.

“Now we have to apparently label every Republican or Democrat, and that makes one of them evil and one of them flawless," Allender said. "So, that type of black and white mentality is a huge step backwards in democracy, it’s a step backwards in the building of community, and it's something that’s going to be a stain on us for quite a while.”

Early voting has begun, while election day is scheduled for June 6th. The new mayor takes over the non-partisan office July 3rd and is sworn in at the City Council meeting.

C.J. Keene is a Rapid City-based journalist covering the legal system, education, and culture