The last Democrat to serve as speaker of the South Dakota House has died. Gene Lebrun is remembered by friends and colleagues as a gracious public servant.
Knowing the rules makes a difference in the Capitol Written By: Terry Woster | ×
People who become speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives, even in this age of term limits, usually have several years of legislative experience in their resume before they take over the presiding officer’s gavel.
That wasn’t so back in 1973 when Democrats won an organizing majority in the House for the first time since early in the Depression years. I say organizing majority because the House had 35 Democrats and 35 Republicans. It was only because Gov. Dick Kneip was a Democrat that his party got to organize the House, appoint committees, choose employees and pick the speaker.