Lieutenant governor candidate speaks at forum
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HURON – Michelle Lavallee has devoted her professional career to stepping in and working with corporate boards and leadership teams on rebranding strategies. The Republican-turned-
Democrat and running mate to gubernatorial candidate Billie Sutton thinks that after 44 years of GOP control it’s time to shake up Pierre.
“It is another one of those big, large bureaucratic organizations that hasn’t had the kind of change infusion that they need,” Lavallee, a Huron native, said Friday.
Sutton, a state senator, selected her to be his lieutenant governor because of her business expertise. She says she doesn’t think of herself as a politician, but a business person. She thinks she and Sutton complement each other, she said at the District 22 Democratic campaign luncheon.
Since returning to South Dakota to work for NorthWestern Energy, Lavallee has since been recruited by the University of South Dakota, Avera McKennan and Raven Industries. For the past couple years, she has run her own company, Lavallee Group.
“I go into companies that hire me to help them figure out what they want to be, what’s their vision for the future,” she said.
Since June, when she accepted Sutton’s offer to join the ticket, she has traveled the state meeting voters and sharing their own vision.
At this point, late in the campaign, both sides are claiming they have the momentum heading toward Election Day on Nov. 6.
Lavallee said the national media has turned its attention to the race, especially since the Cook Political Report upgraded their chances to a toss-up. The latest poll shows the two camps dead even, with 9 percent still undecided.