Susan M. Wismer
(born December 13, 1955) is an American politician and a former
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
member of the
South Dakota House of Representatives
The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided in ...
who represented District 1. Wismer was the Democratic nominee in the
2014 South Dakota gubernatorial election
The 2014 South Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, concurrently with the election of South Dakota's Class II U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to ...
.
Biography
Susan M. (Jones) Wismer was born in
Britton, South Dakota
Britton is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,215 at the 2020 census.
A weekly newspaper, the ''Britton Journal,'' is published in Britton.
History
Britton was founded in 1884 a ...
to Maurice and Dorthy Jones. She's the oldest of six siblings and grew up on the family farm in northeast South Dakota. She attended Britton Elementary and High schools (now Britton-Hecla) and graduated with a degree in English from
Augustana College in 1978. After college she taught high school English for a year in Iowa. In 1979, Susan married Mark Wismer, also of Britton. She and Mark moved to Washington for his job, and she studied and became a certified public accountant. In 1983, Susan and Mark moved back to Britton with their newborn son, and continued to raise their children, three in all, in South Dakota close to family. Upon their return to Britton, Wismer and one of her sisters founded, and currently own and operate, Britton Bookkeeping and Tax Service. All of Wismer's children attended in-state universities.
Wismer has always been an active member of her hometown church, First Presbyterian, in Britton. She has served as an elder, vocal and bell choir member, Sunday school teacher and has volunteered her time to serve on many local and Presbytery-wide committees.
Many family members have been active in politics. Wismer's grandfather, Art Jones, was the first president of Basin Electric and a legislator. Her uncle, Curtis 'Curtie' Jones also served in the legislature from 1971 to 1986 and was a Regent on the South Dakota Board of Regents. As a high school student, Susan served as an intern in the South Dakota legislature. In 2008, once all of her children had graduated high school, she ran for the South Dakota House of Representatives to represent District One which include Roberts, Day, Marshall, and parts of Brown County. Wismer is now in her 3rd term (6th year). Wismer has served on the Appropriations Committee since the beginning of her legislative service. She is a current member of Government Operations and Audit Committee, and has served on the legislative redistricting and various summer study committees. She is a representative to the Midwestern Higher Education Compact and on the planning committee for the International Legislators Conference. She is an alumna of the Midwestern Council of State Government's Bowhay Legislative Leadership Development Program. She was a member of the first class of South Dakota Ag and Rural Leadership.
Elections
*2012 With incumbent Democratic representative
David Sigdestad leaving the Legislature and leaving a District 1 seat open, Wismer and
Dennis Feickert were unopposed for both the June 5, 2012 Democratic primary and the November 6, 2012, general election, where Feickert took the first seat and Wismer took the second seat with 4,833 votes (44.8%).
*2008 When District 1 incumbent Democratic representatives David Sigdestad was
term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential ...
ed and
Clayton Halverson left the Legislature leaving both District 1 seats open, Wismer ran in the four-way June 3, 2008 Democratic primary and placed first with 2,073 votes (34.49%), in the five-way November 4, 2008 general election fellow Democratic nominee
Jason Frerichs
Jason Elliott Frerichs (born November 24, 1984) is a former state senator and state representative from South Dakota.
Early life and education
Frerichs graduated from South Dakota State University in 2007, earning a B.S. in Agriculture Education. ...
took the first seat and Wismer took the second seat with 4,940 votes (31.22%) ahead of
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...
nominees Ron Olson, Scott German, and
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
candidate Franklin de Padilla.
*2010 With incumbent Democratic representative Frerichs ran for
South Dakota Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre.
Composition
:''92nd Legislature (2019)''
Officers
L ...
and left a District 1 seat open, Wismer and former representative Sigdestad were unopposed for both the June 8, 2010 Democratic primary and the November 2, 2010, general election, where former representative Sigdestad took the first seat and Wismer took the second seat with 4,336 votes (49.79%).
References
External links
Official pageat the
South Dakota Legislature
The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, whic ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wismer, Susan
1955 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American accountants
American women accountants
Augustana University alumni
Candidates in the 2014 United States elections
Living people
Democratic Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives
Democratic Party South Dakota state senators
People from Britton, South Dakota
Women state legislators in South Dakota