Bryce Healy

Candidate for: South Dakota Commissioner of School and Public Lands
Election Date: November 7, 2006

Please contribute directly to Bryce Healy's Campaign by clicking here!


The Candidate

Bryce Healy, 35, is running for re-election as Commissioner of School and Public Lands of South Dakota. Since his election in 2002, Healy has continued with the reforms of the 1990s that helped get the position to its current legitimacy as an integral part of the South Dakota government and finance structure. The Commissioner of School and Public Lands manages the School Trust Fund and the 800,000 acres of land belonging to it. The Commissioner has the authority to sell grazing, mineral and hunting permits on the land, as well as the ability to trade parcels of it with private land owners. The funds are then distributed through a formula to South Dakota's schools. The trust fund is currently up to over $142 million having grown by 11 percent under Bryce Healy's tenure. As manager of the trust fund, Healy has worked to ensure that efficient usage and conservation of the trust fund lands have benefited both its 1,500 leaseholders and the people at-large of South Dakota.

As Commissioner, Healy has suggested exploration and investigation into both potential renewable and non-renewable energy sources on public lands as a solution to the nation's energy security problems. He has embarked on a comprehensive program to post signage on trust fund lands to better inform sportsmen/sportswomen that the land can be used for recreational purposes. Healy has also improved his office's website to more thoroughly inform South Dakotans about the School Trust Fund and the public lands within it. Through property acquisitions and trade-offs with private landowners in several South Dakota counties, which have greatly increased accessibility to state lands, Commissioner Healy enabled the office to increase surface leasing while providing South Dakota's citizens with over 30,000 additional acres of prime hunting land. He has also increased grazing lease revenue by 13 percent. Bryce Healy knows how to bring together diverse groups such as sportsmen, wildlife organizations, property owners, and lease holders to solve critical challenges in his quest to improve both business and recreational opportunities on public lands. Healy is the nation's youngest land commissioner.

Raised on a farm/ranch near Pukwana, South Dakota, Bryce Healy graduated from Chamberlain High School before earning a Bachelor's degree in Ag-Business from South Dakota State University. Healy and his family still own the farm/ranch operation, as they have for the past century. Healy is the son of a prominent cattleman who was active in the Farmer's Union and several public service boards and commissions, including the State Fair Board. Before being elected to public office, Healy previously served as the Director of Field Services for the South Dakota Farmers Union, where he focused on building and enhancing producer owned value-added processing cooperatives and worked closely with farmers and ranchers throughout South Dakota.

Bryce Healy is well-liked on both sides of the aisle for his knowledge and integrity. He is currently a member of several public interest oriented groups including the South Dakota Boys' State Corporation Board, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, the Wild Turkey Federation, and the South Dakota Shooting Sports Association. Healy and his wife Mary have two daughters Hannah and Kennedy.

The Issues

Agriculture and livestock compose the largest elements of South Dakota's economy, though minerals also play a considerable role. Bryce Healy's track record shows that he understands land leasing for those purposes constitutes a significant portion of the state's yield from its trust fund lands. Through his commitment to increased accessibility, Healy has demonstrated that he understands the correct formula for making public lands a more attractive investment opportunity, something he'll continue to perfect in a second term.

South Dakotans greatly value the outdoors, whether it be for hiking, hunting or fishing. Many South Dakotans regard land access for recreation, specifically for sporting purposes, as one of their most critical political issues. Between the emergence of fee-hunting as a lucrative venture for private landowners, the recent success of private hunting preserve businesses and a perceived lack of sufficient access to quality public hunting lands, there are concerns that average South Dakota hunters could be gradually squeezed from the state's prime hunting lands. As Commissioner, Healy vows to do all in his power to ensure that never happens. Bryce Healy is unequivocally committed to access to public lands for recreational use, and has allowed public access for hunting on every parcel of trust fund land. His Republican opponent's commitment to these principles is noticeably unclear at best.

If re-elected, Healy hopes to explore the prospect of wind energy on public lands, simultaneously helping to curb America's oil addiction while raising money for the state's school districts. If the state is able to develop means for transferring power, thus making it saleable, Healy believes the venture could be another potentially large revenue stream for the state's schools. Healy has also proven his ability to secure needed federal money for South Dakota, working alongside other government agencies and private groups to enhance wildlife habitats. At the same time, he has already increased exploration for oil, natural gas and other alternative energy resources by 45 percent with revenues from these resources up 20 percent, thus proving that land conservation for future generations and business-friendly policy are not mutually exclusive.

Because the trust fund directly benefits South Dakota schools, Healy will use his position to advocate for higher teacher compensation, as South Dakota ranked last in the nation in teacher pay. This year, education funding is a particularly important issue for voters, as 60 districts are suing the state for what they claim is an inefficient funding formula. Healy is unconnected to the lawsuit, but well-positioned to help the state devise a plan to ensure proper school funding.

Healy's Republican opponent, Jarrod Johnson, is a cattleman from Corson, outside of South Dakota's largest city, Sioux Falls. Also a lifelong South Dakotan, Johnson has been politically involved in South Dakota's Republican circles for years. In 2002, he ran an unsuccessful race for the State Senate. Healy also faces a Libertarian opponent, as he did four years ago when he won his seat with 49.83% of the vote and a 7000 vote-margin. The Libertarian candidate that year won 8000 votes, many of which may have otherwise gone to the Republican candidate.

Healy has proven himself to be a prolific fundraiser in South Dakota, but it is common knowledge that the South Dakota Republican Party drastically outfunds the Democratic Party and their candidates. As Johnson will have to try to win over moderates, especially from the Sioux Falls area, the state's Republican Party money could better help him do that through media buys. To counter this strategy, it is essential that Healy be able to deliver his own campaign message to South Dakota voters. Although this will most likely be a very close race, Healy is in a strong position to pull out a victory heading into the home stretch.

Why CNM Supports Bryce Healy

Although Republicans control both houses of the state legislature by wide margins, Democrat Tim Johnson holds one US Senate seat and Democrat Stephanie Herseth is South Dakota's lone Congressperson. Still, Bryce Healy is South Dakota's only Democrat in a statewide executive office, and thus the only statewide Democrat who spends his entire year in South Dakota. In an office that can substantially impact the lives of everyday South Dakotans, Healy is right candidate at the right time for South Dakota.

Democrats and the State of South Dakota are both served well with Bryce Healy in office. CNM believes that Bryce Healy is uniquely well-positioned to serve as the vanguard of the emerging wave of Democratic politics that merges the important issues of land access, land use, hunting and conservation. This field is one in which Democrats have a natural advantage: we believe in access to land for those wanting to make good use of it, not in cutting off parcels to be enjoyed exclusively by the richest Americans. Especially in America's western states, this is a message on which Democrats can and will win. Our party's values in this field appeal to hunters, sportsmen and farmers. Bryce Healy's track record and candidacy are harbingers of the emerging Democratic message on how America should best make use of its lands.

Healy also understands the importance of personal relationships and is at ease when campaigning and meeting locals throughout the state, whether at a fair or small gathering. Healy has had an impressive tenure in office; but he has an equally promising future representing South Dakotans in statewide office, possibly including even higher office.

CNM believes that Bryce Healy's record of sound public management and insistence on access to public lands for all exemplify why he deserves another term in office.

Support Bryce Healy for Commissioner of School and Public Lands of South Dakota

CNM is proud to endorse Bryce Healy for Commissioner of School and Public Lands of South Dakota. We encourage you to give him your support.

Please contribute directly to Bryce Healy's Campaign by clicking here!


You can also send checks to:

Attn: Michael Fertik

Campaign for National Majority
251 W. 89th St. #7D
New York, NY 10024