This campaign is about financial accountability, responsible governance, and making sure Custer County is positioned to protect taxpayers and pursue every dollar our community is entitled to.
Transparency — plain-language updates on decisions, spending, and progress so residents are never left guessing.
Accountability — corrective actions tracked to completion and results measured, not just promised.
Grant Readiness — stronger financial posture so Custer County can pursue every dollar of funding it is entitled to.
21+ years in cybersecurity and compliance. RNC delegate. Custer County resident committed to financial accountability and local voices.
These aren't abstract concerns — they are documented, public record, and directly affecting our community right now.
Four consecutive audit cycles — 2016 through 2023 — with the same repeat findings: cash reconciliation failures, illegal overspending, and failure to file required financial reports. County management has never formally responded.
In December 2025, the commission unanimously rejected the City of Custer's law enforcement contract — ending 45 years of cooperation. For the first time since 1980, the city has no police coverage.
FEMA audits grant recipients. With the Qury Fire FEMA grant approved, Custer County must be financially sound to receive and keep every dollar. Counties with repeat audit findings face reduced reimbursements or clawbacks.
Our fees and levies go up consistently, yet the same financial problems appear year after year with no response from management. The people who have dedicated their lives to this community, raised families here, and carried on the traditions that built Custer County deserve to know why.
I bring over 21 years of professional experience in cybersecurity, governance, risk, and compliance — fields where audit readiness and accountability are daily requirements, not optional. I'm running to bring that same standard to county government.
If we do not get our budgets in check, this county will become too expensive for the very people who made it worth living in.
Sourced from public records, local news, and county commission documents. Updated regularly.
The Qury Fire ignited in Custer County and rapidly grew to over 7,000 acres, forcing mandatory evacuations in multiple areas. Governor Rhoden secured a FEMA Fire Management Assistance Grant. Counties with repeat audit findings face scrutiny when FEMA audits grant recipients — putting maximum reimbursement at risk for Custer County.
Source: SD Dept. of Public Safety / FEMA.govThe commission demanded $750,000 — a 72% increase — in late summer 2025. Negotiations continued through December 18th. The city's final counteroffer would have reached that exact figure by 2028. The commission rejected it and rescinded all previous offers. When the city expressed regret that an agreement could not be reached, Commissioner Hindle said "So are we" — and the commissioners voted unanimously to dissolve the contract, effectively ending 45 years of cooperation.
Source: Custer County ChronicleThe 2023 audit found inadequate internal controls, failure to file annual financial reports, and county expenditures exceeding appropriations — the fourth consecutive audit with similar findings. Management did not formally respond.
Source: SD Legislative Audit Division