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Margaret Sitte
Margaret Sitte is a former Republican member of the North Dakota State Senate, representing District 35 from 2010 to 2014.
Sitte served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005.
Biography
Sitte earned her A.A. from Bismarck State College, her B.S. from North Dakota State University and her M.A. from the University of North Dakota. She has been the owner of Buy-Rite Grocery, an Assistant Director of Community Affairs for the Department of Transportation and an English teacher. In 1993, she began writing a weekly editorial column for the Bismark Tribune.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Sitte served on the following committees:
| North Dakota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Transportation |
| • Judiciary |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Sitte served on these committees:
| North Dakota committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Transportation |
| • Judiciary |
Issues
Law enforcement drones
On January 21, 2013, Sitte and Representatives Rick Becker, Dick Anderson, Thomas Beadle, Joe Heilman, Curt Hofstad, David Monson, Karen Rohr, Nathan Toman and Ben Hanson introduced HB 1373 to restrict the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) by law enforcement agencies. This bill would have required agencies to receive a court warrant for any drone use, and such warrants would have only be obtainable for felony investigations. Exceptions would be made for drones used to patrol the Canadian border, aid law enforcement agencies where there is "reasonable suspicion" that quick action is necessary and evaluate damage during and after natural disasters. HB 1373 would have also allowed people injured by governmental violation of these restrictions to sue the offending law enforcement agencies. The bill would have expressly prohibited surveillance by drones with lethal or non-lethal weapons, private surveillance of other private parties without informed consent and surveillance of people exercising their constitutional rights of free speech and assembly.[1][2] On January 28, the Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on the bill.[3] The bill passed the House of Representatives on February 22 and was sent to the state Senate. The bill died in the state Senate.[4]
Elections
2014
Elections for the North Dakota State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 7, 2014. Incumbent Margaret Sitte was unopposed in the Republican primary, while Erin Oban was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Oban defeated Sitte in the general election.[5][6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Erin Oban |
56.8% | 3,658 | |
| Republican | Margaret Sitte Incumbent | 43.2% | 2,781 | |
| Total Votes | 6,439 | |||
2010
Sitte won election to the North Dakota State Senate in the November 2 general election. She defeated Nick Archuleta (D).[8]
| North Dakota Senate General Election, District 35 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Margaret Sitte (R)
|
3,451 | 59.47% | ||
| Nick Archuleta (D) | 2,343 | 40.38% | ||
Campaign themes
2014
Sitte's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[9]
On Government
- Excerpt: "Government is a servant of the people, providing for whatever needs to be done, while regulating people’s lives as little as possible."
On Life
- Excerpt: "This nation is founded upon the principle of certain inalienable—unalterable—rights, and among these is the right to life."
On Business
- Excerpt: "A strong business climate is the heartbeat of a state. Businesses provide jobs, tax revenues and prosperity for all. North Dakota’s future is directly linked to lowering taxes so that small businesses can develop and thrive."
On Second Amendment Rights
- Excerpt: "Hunting and fishing are some of the most fundamental recreational activities in North Dakota, and I fully support the right to bear arms. Then NRA has endorsed me and given me an A+ rating several times."
On the State’s Budget
- Excerpt: "North Dakota is collecting approximately $300 million in oil taxes per month! Yet oil is a finite resource, and we have seen boom and bust cycles in the past. We must return some of this money to the people in tax cuts; we must build the roads and other infrastructure necessary for a strong economy; and we must save some of this revenue for the future."
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Dakota scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the 63rd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 8 to May 4.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2011, the 62nd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in regular session from January 4 through April 28. A special session was called by Governor Jack Dalrymple from November 7 through 12 to cover legislative redistricting and disaster relief.[10]
|
NDPC: North Dakota Legislative Review
The North Dakota Policy Council, a North Dakota-based nonprofit research organization which describes itself as "liberty-based", published the North Dakota Legislative Review, a comprehensive report on how state legislators voted during the 2011 legislative session. The scorecard seeks to show how North Dakota legislators voted on the principles the Council seeks to promote. The Council recorded and scored votes on both spending bills and policy bills, and awarded points accordingly. Policy issues voted upon included income tax cuts, pension reform, and government transparency. On spending legislation, the Council accorded a percentage score based on how much spending the legislator voted against. On policy legislation, scores range from the highest score (100%) to the lowest (0%). A higher score indicates that the legislator voted more in favor of the values supported by the Council.[11] Sitte received a score of 93.94% on policy legislation and voted against 4.93% of state spending. On policy, Sitte was ranked 6th and on spending was ranked 15th, out of 46 Senate members evaluated for the study.[12]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Sitte and her husband, David, have four children. They currently reside in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Margaret + Sitte + North + Dakota + Senate"
See also
- North Dakota State Senate
- Senate Committees
- North Dakota Legislative Assembly
- North Dakota state legislative districts
External links
- Official campaign Website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Assembly, "Text of HB 1373," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "North Dakota lawmaker wants limits on drone use," January 6, 2013
- ↑ North Dakota Legislative Assembly, "Bill Actions for HB 1373," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ legiscan.com, "North Dakota House Bill 1373," accessed June 4, 2015
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed April 9, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results Primary Election - June 10, 2014," accessed July 8, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official General Election Results," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2010 General Election Results," accessed May 29, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Sitte campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2014
- ↑ The Bismarck Tribune, "N.D. House leader: Special session starts Nov. 7," accessed September 15, 2011
- ↑ North Dakota Policy Council, "The North Dakota Legislative Review - 2011," accessed January 20, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Policy Council, "2011 North Dakota Legislative Review Rankings," accessed January 26, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tracy Potter (D) |
North Dakota State Senate District 35 2010–2014 |
Succeeded by Erin Oban (D) |
