National | Politics

Former police chief ousts incumbent in Rapid City mayoral race

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Steve Allender, the newly-elected mayor of Rapid City, South Dakota. Photo from Facebook

Voters in Rapid City, South Dakota, elected a new mayor on Tuesday, choosing a former police chief who was accused of racism over the incumbent.

Steve Allender won the race with 54 percent of the vote, according to news reports. He defeated Sam Kooiker by around 1,200 votes.

"[T]o those who didn't vote or didn't vote for me - I will work hard for you and everyone else who lives, works or visits Rapid City. It's time to move forward and we should be willing to move forward as a community," Allender, who will start his two-year term in July, said on Facebook after the results came in.

Allender was a former police chief in Rapid City and faced heat after The Native Sun News published a series of stories about his tenure as head of law enforcement. He denied being racist but admitted making inappropriate comments on the job and admitted that he erased a recording of those comments.

"I held it up and I erased it. I was pissed. I felt betrayed. We were all part of the mutual exchange of ethnic jokes," Allender told the paper.

Glen Yellow Robe, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe and a former member of the force in Rapid City, accused Allender and others of discrimination. The suit was dismissed in 2012 but Kooiker raised the issue during the campaign.

"I've made it very clear that I believe that someone who has a history of making racial slurs, particularly in a work environment as supervisor on the clock, is disqualified from city positions," Kooiker said at a debate hosted by The Native Sun News.

Race relations have always been a big issue in South Dakota's second-largest city. Media attention intensified this year when a 57 children from the Pine Ridge Reservation, not far from Rapid, were subjected to racial taunts at a hockey game in January.

Trace O'Connell was charged with just one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. He will not face a jury trial and the judge in the case said he won't face jail time if convicted, the Associated Press reported.

Native Americans represent 12.4 percent of the population in Rapid City, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Events like the annual Lakota Nation Invitational bring thousands of Native people and their dollars to the community.

Get the Story:
Tough campaign ends with new Rapid City mayor (KOTA 6/2)
Ex-Police Chief Beats Incumbent In Rapid City Mayoral Race (KDLT 6/3)