Son says Janklow licensed, insured

By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, August 22, 2003

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Russ Janklow says speculation that his father, Congressman Bill Janklow, was driving without insurance or a drivers license when he collided with a motorcyclist last weekend is "absolute lunacy."

"My dad is insured, that's a given," Russ Janklow said Thursday. "And I know there's this crazy story about him having his license suspended. That's all crazy. It's bull."

The speculation arose when an accident report showed that the 1995 Cadillac DeVille driven by Janklow was owned by a longtime family friend, Marc Tobias. Tobias is a lawyer and private investigator in Sioux Falls who has worked with the Janklow family on business matters.

Russ Janklow said it isn't unusual for his father to borrow a car from Tobias, other friends or family members.

"My dad's borrowed my cars, but he's got plenty of his own," Russ Janklow said.

When the accident occurred, Bill Janklow was returning to his home near Brandon after a hectic Friday-Saturday trip from Sioux Falls to Rapid City to Aberdeen. Janklow and his chief of staff, Chris Braendlin, were coming back from Aberdeen and had stopped in Janklow's hometown of Flandreau before heading south on Moody County Road 13.

The congressman drove through a stop sign at the intersection of that road and Moody County Road 14 on Saturday afternoon at a speed estimated by investigators at 70-75 mph. He collided with a Harley-Davidson driven by 55-year-old Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Scott smashed into the driver's-side rear door of the car and died at the scene.

The investigation continues, but charges against Janklow are expected.

Russ Janklow said his father was making one of his countless and usually rushed trips across the state, a sometimes-burdensome obligation that dominated his 21 years in elected office in South Dakota.

"My dad has been in public life since I was in the fifth grade, and I don't think the public understands the demand on these people's time," Russ Janklow said. "He has lots of demands. My dad drives fast to get to these events."

Often in the past, Bill Janklow has driven too fast. Always a man with a heavy foot and hectic schedule, Janklow got several speeding tickets during his first term as governor, which began in 1979. He received a warning that year that he was in danger of a license suspension for speeding violations. He received a similar warning in 1982, after being stopped for going 80 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Janklow received 12 speeding tickets in 11 South Dakota counties from 1990 to 1994, a period when he was out of elected office. His last ticket for speeding in state records was Oct. 30, 1994. He was elected to his third term as governor that November.

The nine-year gap in tickets for a man who likes to speed has fueled speculation that Janklow's real records might have been hidden or that he got special treatment from law enforcement during his last eight years as governor.

"I can assure you that no state employee was directed to clean my dad's records," Russ Janklow said. "That's ridiculous."

Russ Janklow said there probably were instances when his dad was allowed to speed as part of his job. They would have included emergency situations, such as when Janklow was responding to storms and fires, he said.

There might have been other times when Janklow had to hurry to meet packed appointment schedules as governor, his son said.

"And it's a desolate world out in parts of this country," he said.

Retired Highway Patrol Capt. Terry Mayes of Rapid City was in the patrol for 31 years and was in charge of 40 troopers west of the Missouri River from 1991 to 1998.

Mayes said he was surprised to hear that Janklow didn't get any tickets during his last eight years as governor. But he also said he never heard of the governor "getting let off" from a speeding ticket.

"My experience was that he never, ever tried to talk himself out of a ticket," Mayes said. "When he was governor and he was stopped, he insisted that he receive a ticket if he deserved it. He was known for that."

Republican state Sen. Gene Abdallah of Sioux Falls was Janklow's superintendent of the Highway Patrol from 1995 to 2000. He said he never sought favors for Janklow from troopers, nor did he hear of any being given.

"He never asked me for anything like that, and I never offered it," Abdallah said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com