Sutton pledges to bring honesty, transparency to Pierre

If Billie Sutton is elected South Dakota’s next governor, the Democratic candidate hopes to unite legislators on both sides of the aisle and folks across the state.

“The reason I got into this race is that it felt like we’re very divided as a country and as a state, and I think we need leaders that are going to bring us together, not tear us apart. There is so much party rhetoric out there that I want to find what we can agree on and bring us together around shared values like honesty and integrity, things that we all value as South Dakotans and show that we have more in common that naught,” he said. 

The 34-year-old investment executive believes he did just that as an eight-year legislator, where he prevailed as a Democrat in back-to-back elections in a largely Republican district.   

“The last two cycles, I didn’t even have an opponent, and that is very uncommon as a Democrat in a Republican district but that’s because I don’t focus on partisan politics, I don’t focus on party registration. I focus on how we can get things done for South Dakota – common sense solutions. That’s what I’ve done in the legislature and that’s what I’ll do as Governor.”

Sutton said he’s worked with Republicans on issues dealing with education, economic development, corrections reform and roads and bridges. 

“I’ve been a part of every conversation and worked to build coalitions and worked with my friends on the other side of the aisle because they are my friends. I’ve built a lot of good relationships and I think that will serve me well as governor, having those relationships, and continuing to build better and stronger relationships,” he said.

He also feels his legislative experience would serve him well in office. Sutton served on appropriations for six of his eight years, served on state affairs, and was the minority leader the last four years.

Sutton has a vision to improve transparency and accountability in state government.

“I brought bills this past session and past sessions to look at more open records, more record retention, more access to state employee emails so we can get to the bottom of some of the things that have occurred over the last few years,” he said.

The perfect example, he said, is Gear Up. “When we look at that program, there were emails that were finally produced years later from the Directors of Indian Education saying there are problems with this program and they weren’t addressed. If those would have been open and we could’ve looked deeper at that, who knows,” he said.

He also introduced legislation requiring a 10-year retention of records, and in the end it was whittled to seven.

Sutton has also been at the table on a variety of hot-button issues: increased teacher pay, economic and workforce development. 

“I was part of a group of legislators on both sides of the aisle that came together and crafted Building South Dakota, which focused on low to moderate housing support and local infrastructure and providing support for local governments to improve infrastructure in cities and counties,” he informs. “We also focused on education as a piece of workforce development, career and technical education, specifically … but we’ve got our work cut out for us because economic development in South Dakota is a very grass roots movement.”

Sutton said it’s important to keep South Dakota’s “best and brightest” here, but the cost of higher education is pushing students to other states. “We used to have the second lowest tuition rates in the region and now we have the second highest, and that has occurred over about a 10-year time period. We’re limiting opportunities for our own kids to stay here, live and raise their families here, because once they go out of state, it’s hard to get them back,” he said.

A key to supplying the workforce is support at the local level at an earlier stage, he said. Sutton is a proponent of the career and technical education at the high school level. “We need to work together in how we solve that problem. We need to get all the stakeholders involved – the board of regents, family, state government, local educators – because the cost of higher education has gotten out of control.”

For the remainder of Sutton’s story, go to brandonvalleyjournal.com.

Sutton is the first to admit that he never saw himself in politics. Growing up, he fell in love with rodeo at age 4, then went on to compete in 4-H and high school, where he finished second in nation in saddle bronc riding at the national high school finals as a senior. 

“That opened up a big door for me. The University of Wyoming rodeo coach was there and he offered me a full-ride scholarship, which was a great opportunity for me,” he shares.

He went on to have a stellar college career and at the same time competed professionally. At a rodeo in Minot, N.D. in 2007, Sutton’s life changed drastically when a horse fell on him in the chute, shattering two vertebrae and damaging his spinal cord, instantly paralyzing him from the waist down. 

“It was a pretty stark moment for somebody who was so focused on my rodeo career and that’s all I really cared about to being told that not only would I ever rodeo again, I may never walk again,” he recalls. “I really had to re-evaluate where my life was headed and face some tough realities of what my life was going to look like. I was raised to never give up no matter the situation and to do your best no matter what, but I had two choices: I could quit and throw in the towel or I could fight for a better life and that’s what I decided to do.

“It was a situation where one door closed and another door opened. I finished my degree in 2008… was asked to run for legislature in 2010 and fortunate to get elected.”

The conversation for running for governor really didn’t occur until after the 2016 election, he said. “My wife and I sat down and said if we want to be part of positive change for South Dakota, then we have to consider taking a bigger leadership role.”

The repeal of Initiated Measure 22 – the anti-corruption measure – also encouraged him to seek the position. “The legislature repealed that in 2017 and that was really the push that I needed to say ‘What’s going on here is not right.’ The voters passed the initiative they felt strongly about and the legislature overturned it. I decided I needed to be the voice of the people – not just one party.”

He announced his candidacy in late May 2017.

“The Governor of South Dakota should be the biggest advocate for your state and show people in other states what a great life we have here, that we’re all proud of what we do here in South Dakota, that we’re South Dakota nice and that it’s a great place to raise a family and make a life for yourself,” he said. “We’ll continue traveling the state and meeting South Dakota voters. I love to go out and meet folks, and I just know we’re on the right track because we all do hold the same values. We want what is best for our state and our communities, our families and we just need to work together to improve on what we have.”