South Dakota attorney Matt McGovern announced today that he is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination as a candidate for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission against Kristie Fiegen. “I am running for the Public Utilities Commission because we need commissioners who will stand up for consumers not corporations. It is time for the PUC to serve the people of South Dakota and not the companies they are supposed to regulate,” McGovern said. “I will be an independent voice in Pierre and refuse to accept campaign contributions from the utilities the PUC regulates or lobbyists,” he continued.
McGovern is a long-time advocate for South Dakota’s wind industry and the new jobs that clean energy creates in the state. “I support policies to help consumers save money through energy efficiency while creating long-term, high paying jobs in South Dakota,” said McGovern.
McGovern is the grandson of George and Eleanor McGovern. He got his first experience in South Dakota politics traveling around the state as a young child with his grandfather during the 1980 Senate campaign.
As a law student, he worked in a prosecutor’s office and for the United States Department of Justice. McGovern came to South Dakota after law school to work for the United States District Court in Rapid City. McGovern, a South Dakota attorney, has represented working people, small business owners, and people developing South Dakota’s wind industry. He has also stood up for South Dakota ranchers defending their property rights in court.
McGovern lives in Sioux Falls and will be working hard to earn the nomination and working for every vote in the general election this fall. “I’m excited about this campaign and I’m looking forward to hearing from South Dakotans from all across the state about what they want from their elected officials in Pierre,” McGovern said.