State Democratic chair defiant against resignation calls

Broad swath of party leaders call on Jennifer Slaight-Hansen to resign

State Democratic Party Chair Jennifer Slaight-Hansen addresses delegates shortly after her election as party chair. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

Calls by numerous Democratic Party leaders for Jennifer Slaight-Hansen to resign her post as the state’s party chair aren’t going to be enough to force the Aberdeen native out.

That’s according to what Slaight-Hansen told The Dakota Scout Thursday, in response to criticism of her still young tenure as leader of the South Dakota Democratic Party.

“I do not intend to resign, and I am continuing to have conversations with the party,” Slaight-Hansen said. “We are still trying to determine what the best next step is for the party.”

Slaight-Hansen was the recipient of a letter obtained by The Dakota Scout co-authored by state house and Senate leadership, three of Sleight-Hansen’s fellow party officers, and the heads of three of the party’s biggest chapters in the state.

“Yesterday our legal counsel resigned because of the split in our party caused by you, yet you failed to communicate this to our Executive Board,” the letter reads. “We are unified in upholding the South Dakota Democratic Party Constitution and recalling you as SDDP Chair.”

NEWS: Nine charged in Mitchell baseball team rape probe