Pillar H · Economy
Economic Development and the Rapid City Region
“Grow what we already love.”
No corporate tax carveouts. Strong regional support for Ellsworth AFB and the B-21 mission, even though Ellsworth sits in the next district over. Build the infrastructure, housing, and small business climate the heart of Rapid City needs to grow on its own terms.
Where I stand
- Oppose corporate carveouts. SB 239 (2026) modified the reinvestment payment program in ways that benefit data centers. SB 135 (2026) addresses utility cost and regulatory authority around data centers.
- Back the Ellsworth AFB expansion and the B-21 Raider mission as a regional priority that lifts all of Rapid City. SB 130 (2026) appropriated for Ellsworth roadway infrastructure.
- Invest in downtown and North Rapid infrastructure, housing, and small-business policy.
Pushback, answered
The hard questions, answered straight.
These are the real objections this position gets, with the same answers Zac gives in person. No talking points. No dodges.
“So you are anti-growth?”
No, I am anti-favoritism. Growth that only happens because the state cut one industry a special deal is not really growth, it is a transaction, and it lasts exactly as long as the deal does. The growth I want is what this region already knows how to produce: a base expanding because the mission matters, a downtown thriving because the businesses are good, neighborhoods rising because the state finally treated them like a priority. Level the field and Rapid City will grow on its own terms. That is confidence in Rapid City, not hostility to business.
“Ellsworth is not in District 32. Why is it your fight?”
Because District 32 cashes the paychecks. The base sits outside the district line, but the families it supports live across this city. They buy homes here, eat downtown, and shop on our streets. A regional asset that size does not respect a line on a map, and a representative who only looks inside his own lines is doing half the job.
“Isn't the Ellsworth road money just another carveout?”
No, and the difference matters. A road is public, everyone drives on it, and the Ellsworth roadways serve a national defense mission the whole country depends on. That is what SB 130 funded. A reinvestment payment that lands on one industry's bottom line is something else entirely. Building public infrastructure is the state doing its job. Cutting special deals is the state picking winners.
“What can a state legislator actually do for downtown and North Rapid?”
More than most people think. The reinvestment payment program is a state program. Utility regulatory authority gets decided at the state level. The Ellsworth roadway money was a state appropriation. Housing policy and small-business rules run through state law before they ever reach a city council agenda. Pierre showed in one session how fast it can move when data centers ask, and I want it moving that fast when the heart of Rapid City asks.