Quick Facts
Biography
Dusty Johnson (born September 30, 1978) is an American former Public Utilities Commissioner and chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard.
Johnson is currently the Vice President of Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell, South Dakota. On November 15, 2016, Johnson announced bid to become a Republican candidate for U.S. Representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district
Early life and education
Dustin "Dusty" Johnson was born in Pierre, South Dakota. Johnson graduated from T.F. Riggs High School in 1995. He earned his B.A. in political science from University of South Dakota in 1999, and his M.P.A. from University of Kansas in 2002. In 1998, Johnson was named a Truman Scholar. As a Truman Scholar, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Johnson served as a senior policy advisor for then-South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds.
Career and politics
In 2004, Johnson ran for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He was elected statewide to South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. Upon his election he subsequently became the youngest utilities commissioner in the nation. He was re-elected in 2010. Johnson was also a member of the executive board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
In 2007, he became the Chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission a position he held until his resignation in 2011. In 2010, he led a South Dakota delegation that included then-Governor Mike Rounds and state regulators that met with FCC Commissioners on concerns with the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and its impact on small and rural providers in South Dakota.
In 2011, he resigned his PUC position to become chief of staff for Governor Dennis Daugaard. Johnson served four years as chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard. As chief operating officer for much of state government he supervised Cabinet Secretaries, policy advisors and many of the Governor’s most important projects and initiatives. In 2014, he resigned his chief of staff position to work for Vantage Point Solutions. Fellow Truman Scholar Tony Venhuizen, succeeded Johnson as Chief of Staff.
On November 15, 2016, Johnson announced his bid for South Dakota's lone U.S. House seat shortly after Kristi Noem had announced she would not seek re-election in 2018 to run for Governor of South Dakota.
Personal life
Johnson has been actively involved as a state advisor for South Dakota Teen Age Republicans (TARs) and its Black Hills camp leader since 2004.Johnson serves on the board of directors for the W.O. Farber Fund, Abbott House, and served on the South Dakota Attorney General's Open Government Task Force. Johnson has served as an adjunct professor at Dakota Wesleyan University.