Deutsch seeks return to House

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WATERTOWN – Former legislator Fred Deutsch has announced his intention to run for the South Dakota House of Representatives for District 4 in the 2018 election. 

Deutsch, a Republican, served previously in the state Legislature from 2015-2016. He served on the Education, Health and Commerce committees.

On the state legislative level, there are six seats between districts 4 and 7 up for election this year, all with two-year terms.

For District 4, the spots are now held by Reps. Jason Kettwig and John Mills and Sen. John Wiik.

For District 7, currently serving are Reps. Spence Hawley and Tim Reed and Sen. Larry Tidemann. 

Hawley and Tidemann are both term-limited out of their current posts and do not plan to run for the other house. Republican V.J. Smith has announced plans to seek Tidemann’s seat, and independent Cory Ann Ellis is seeking a District 7 House of Representatives seat.

“I have spent my life dedicated to public service and to caring for people,” Deutsch said in a prepared statement. “When I heard one of the reps wasn’t planning to run again, Kathleen and I began to pray about returning to the Legislature. As things came together, we felt it right to run again.”

If elected, Deutsch said his priorities will include keeping children safe at school and improving transparency and civility in government.

“As a father and grandfather, and a former school board member, the only thing more important to me than providing our children world-class schools is providing them safe schools,” Deutsch continued.

“If the voters return me to Pierre, I will promote transparency and civility in government, and will always listen to the people. It was an honor to serve the people of District 4 and the State of South Dakota, and it would be my great honor to serve them again for the next two years.”

Deutsch has lived in rural Watertown since 1983. He met his wife Kathleen, a Webster native, at chiropractic school, and they have practiced together in Watertown for 35 years. They raised four daughters and have maintained an active life serving their patients, church and community, Deutsch said in a press release.

Deutsch is the son of a Holocaust survivor who came to America with a sixth-grade education and spent his life working as a laborer.

“Dad’s lesson to me as a child was ‘I want a better life for you.’ I continue to hear that refrain in my head today. Providing a better life for children is the main reason I served so many years on the Watertown School Board and is one of the reasons why I would like to return to the Legislature,” Deutsch said.

Deutsch has served as a mentor for boys without fathers, was president of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, a United Way board member, and served as a Girl Scout and Boy Scout leader. He is the current president of South Dakota Right to Life and is active in the Watertown Initiative to Prevent Sex Trafficking.

Petitions for county or legislative races can be picked up at the Brookings County Finance Office or printed from the South Dakota secretary of state’s website at www.sdsos.gov.

The petition-filing deadline for Republicans and Democrats is March 27. For those running as independents, the deadline for submitting petitions is April 24.

If there are any primaries for these races, they would be held on June 5. The general election takes place Nov. 6.

District 4 serves Grant, Deuel and rural Brookings and Codington counties. District 7 serves the City of Brookings and Brookings and Medary townships.