City rejects county nominee for human rights spot

BROOKINGS — The Brookings City Council unanimously rebuked the Brookings County Commission on the record this week after the commissioners sent the mayor and council a candidate for a volunteer board they did not approve.

The Council voted 7-0 against the appointment of Jeff Struwe to the Brookings Human Rights Commission after heavy public input as well as statements from most of the councilors, with Deputy Mayor Nick Wendell doing the heaviest lifting.

Wendell agreed with the majority of commenters at the public session who argued that Struwe’s public comments in the past made him a poor fit for a human rights commission, but also questioned why the County Commission would bring the appointment forward, unless they were manufacturing political mud to sling ahead of this fall’s election.

“But I would want us to pull back one step to a broader concern I have, which is that the Brookings County Commission unanimously approved this recommendation to the Human Rights Commission, knowing all the things we know about Jeff Struwe’s background, and that's really concerning to me,” Wendell said. And it isn't just that he applied for this post and was unanimously approved. They recruited him to apply for this seat on the Human Rights Commission. There's more than 28,000 adults in Brookings County, and our commission decided that Jeff Struwe best represented the mission of the Human Rights Commission, and he should occupy the one seat they appoint to that commission?”

Wendell continued: “I would describe it as baffling, but I'm actually not baffled by that action. I know exactly what the intention behind that action was. I'll be very transparent and say I'm exhausted, and I think a lot of you are exhausted by life these days, that every issue becomes divisive and partisan and politicized. Even something as simple as the appointment to a local board or committee or commission has become intentionally weaponized by elected officials to test their colleagues,” Wendell said. “We're not going to appoint Jeff Struwe to a seat at the Human Rights Commission, but we should ask how he received unanimous support and was recruited by our county commission to this seat.”

Struwe has recently been a regular at County Commission meetings, where he has alleged that Brookings Public Library offers pornography and has asked the commission to withhold funding from the library.

Struwe also helped lead a book banning effort in Brookings Schools that eventually led to the school board making minor changes to policies it already had in place.

He also unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for District 7 State House in 2024. He was defeated in the primary election by incumbent Republicans Roger DeGroot and Mellissa Heermann. 

Despite all that, Struwe received a unanimous approval vote from the county commission.

His nomination was initially listed in the consent agenda of the regular Tuesday council meeting. The consent agenda of a public meeting is meant for routine, non-controversial items the group can approve of with a single vote, simply to save time. Appointments to volunteer city boards regularly appear in the consent agenda.

But the City Council made a point of pulling it out of the consent agenda to allow public debate followed by council debate.

While Wendell was the most outspoken, the entire council was exasperated by what they viewed as a political stunt. Mayor Ope Niemeyer said he was bringing the issue up only “...as a courtesy” to the county commission, and opened the discussion with his own strong statement declaring he would vote no before anyone else had spoken.

“The city charter states the mayor's responsibility is to appoint members to the city's volunteer boards with the advice and consent of the city council. The county commission has recommended Jeff Struwe to serve as its representative on the City of Brookings Human Rights Commission. As a courtesy to the city's partners at Brookings County, I am bringing their recommendations to council for consideration. The Human Rights Commission has a responsibility to promote human and civil rights, discourage discrimination and make Brookings an inclusive and welcoming or community,” Niemeyer said. “I do not believe the candidates' past public comments and expressed views reflect the purpose or the intent of the Human Rights Commission. In full transparency, I do not personally support this appointment. I will be voting no on this appointment, and I would ask the county commission to provide an alternative recommendation.”

Council Member Lisa Hager said Struwe’s divisive public statements disqualify him from serving on the Human Rights Commission.

“Through his various comments on public record, it is clear he will not advance the Human Rights Commission’s mission that is centered on ‘fighting discrimination’ and ensuring that Brookings is an ‘inclusive and welcoming community.’ In my opinion, this mission is not partisan or ideological and is unifying across most of the political spectrum. It’s about being a good neighbor and treating people how you would want to be treated. Unfortunately the County Commission chose to make this political,” Hager said, echoing Wendell.

Struwe was not at the meeting where his appointment was decided, though three citizens did speak on his behalf. Seven spoke against the appointment, with councilors noting that they received nearly unanimous negative feedback about the appointment through emails, calls, texts and social media posts.

Struwe did fill out the county application for appointment to a volunteer board on July 20. He described his interest in the position as wanting to help veterans and people in wheel chairs.

The spot on the commission is usually reserved for a county resident and sent over from the County Commission, though Niemeyer said at the end of the meeting he would like the Brookings City Staff to look into the exact verbiage of the ordinances, with an eye to possibly changing that going forward.

Struwe did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Linehan is the Beacon’s managing editor and welcomes story tips and comments at BrookingsBeacon@gmail.com