John Hult, South Dakota Searchlight
Lawmakers on the state’s budget-setting committee gave 24 roses Thursday to the longest-serving female member of the South Dakota Legislature.
Sen. Jean Hunhoff, R-Yankton, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2000. She’s bounced back and forth between the House and Senate over the years, and has been a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee for more than a decade. The committee’s gift was one flower for each year of her service.
Hunhoff lost her primary race for reelection by 96 votes in June to challenger Lauren Nelson, who went on to victory in the general election.
Thursday morning’s meeting of the Joint Appropriations Committee in Pierre, which she co-chairs, comes near the end of her time as a lawmaker. Several other members of the committee thanked Hunhoff for her commitment to budgetary oversight and praised her for helping newer lawmakers navigate the workings of legislating during her historic run of service.
Tony Venhuizen, a Sioux Falls Republican representative who blogs about the history of state government, noted that no other female lawmaker has served 20 years, let alone 24.
“I don’t need to get into too many details, but I will say that during her first year in the Legislature, I was a Senate page,” Venhuizen said.
Hunhoff’s voice cracked with emotion as she thanked her fellow lawmakers for the flowers, which she said she liked even though “they make me think of a funeral.”
“I tried to listen, and I’ve tried to do my best,” Hunhoff said.