Pam Cole Explained

Pamela Merchant Cole
State Senate:	South Dakota
State:	South Dakota
District:	7th
Term Start:	2009
Term End:	2011
Preceded:	Orville B. Smidt
Succeeded:	Larry Tidemann
Party:	Democrat
Birth Date:	18 December 1967^[1]
Birth Place:	Walhalla, North Dakota^[2]
Birth Name:	Pamela Merchant
Alma Mater:	Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design South Dakota State University
Profession:	Graphic designer

Pamela Merchant Cole (born December 18, 1967) is a graphic designer and former Democratic member of the South Dakota Senate who represented the 7th district from 2009 to 2011. She was also the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party from 2020 to 2021.^{[3] [4]}

Career

Cole was elected to the 7th district state senate seat in the 2008 election, beating Republican Orville B. Smidt. She served on the Commerce Committee, the Health and Human Service Committee and the Taxation Committee. She lost her seat at the 2010 election, being beaten by Larry Tidemann.^[5]

In 2016, she moved from Brookings to Sioux Falls. She was made the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party in February 2020,^[6] after the party leadership had resigned due to the party misstating its finances and finding itself in debt.^[7] In September 2020, Cole announced that the party had been "extremely frugal" in its recent spending and was once again financially stable.^[8] She resigned in February 2021 for personal reasons.

In 2022, Cole filed to run for the at-large B seat on Sioux Falls city council as incumbent Christine Erickson was term limited. She lost to Rich Merkouris, a local pastor.^{[9] [10] [11]}

Electoral history

2022

Personal life

Cole married her husband Mike in 2018 and together they have a blended family of five adult children.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pamela K. Merchant . . 16 July 2022.
2. Web site: About Me . Merchant for Senate . 16 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100830174158/http://www.merchantforsenate.com/aboutme.html . 30 August 2010.
3. Web site: Cole named new SDDP director . . 16 July 2022 . 27 February 2020.
4. Web site: Executive Director of SDDP to leave position at end of February . . 16 July 2022 . 9 February 2021.
5. Web site: Pam Merchant . . 16 July 2022.
6. Web site: South Dakota Democratic Party hires new executive director . . 16 July 2022 . 26 February 2020.
7. Web site: Lisa Kaczke . South Dakota Democratic Party leadership resigns amid financial woes . . 16 July 2022 . 23 October 2019.
8. Web site: Lisa Kaczke . Last year, S.D. Democrats were in the red. With new leadership, the party now moves on. . . 16 July 2022 . 3 September 2020.
9. Web site: Trevor J. Mitchell . Local pastor, non-profit leader Rich Merkouris files to run for At-Large B council seat . . 16 July 2022 . 12 October 2021.
10. Web site: Trevor J. Mitchell . Former executive director of South Dakota Democratic Party files for At-Large B council seat . . 16 July 2022 . 10 January 2022.
11. Web site: 2022 Election Results . City of Sioux Falls . 16 July 2022 . 12 April 2022.
12. Web site: News: Cole to seek Sioux Falls At Large B city council seat . Pam Cole for Council . 16 July 2022 . 10 January 2022.