I was surprised it hadn’t been mentioned in the conversations so far, but I’m informed by incoming Lt. Governor Tony Venhuizen that he will take office as a full-time Lieutenant Governor.
Under South Dakota Law, the Lieutenant Governor is in a unique position unlike other constitutional officeholders where he has the option under SDCL § 1-7-5.1 to earn compensation in addition to the salary prescribed in § 3-8-2.1, conditional upon performance of additional duties which the governor may assign. In other words, he can choose to be full-time or part time, and Tony informs me that he will serve in the position in a full-time role for the Rhoden Administration.
Venhuizen had previously served in the Governor’s office in various roles, including as chief of staff from 2014-19, with Tony staying on in the administration of Governor Noem as a senior advisor in 2019, and then returning as chief of staff in 2020-21. With Governor Rhoden having already named Mackenzie Decker as his Chief of Staff, I suspect Tony’s role is yet to be fully determined, but will likely involve his experience in helping Governor Rhoden wrap his arms around his new role as our state’s chief executive.
It’s an exciting time in government as there are a number of things happening, and besides the legislative session, with Larry R. taking over midway in the term of office there will likely be turnover as executive level leadership within the departments of the executive branch determine if they are going to remain in the pressure cooker of state government, or move to the private sector (it always happens as we get towards the end of a term).
But as I noted, Tony has significant enough experience in the Governor’s office that he can assist the new Governor with keeping the cats herded.