Margaret Aredondo Sutton

Senator Maggie Sutton

Maggie Sutton will tell you that life revolves around her faith and her family. Growing up you could often find the family around the kitchen table, for cooking was one of the activities everyone enjoyed. Maggie’s parents, of Hispanic descent, spoke only English in the home due to the negative impact they had growing up speaking Spanish as their first language.  They were hard workers who grew up during the depression and they sacrificed to make sure that their children had an opportunity to get a good education. Maggie did just that. She received an Associate degree in Business from Austin Community College and an Associate degree in Science and Technology from Texas State University.  

Growing up with all brothers, Maggie’s father would tell her "Margaret you can do whatever your brothers do, you're just as smart as they are.” Maggie spent time in many industries before getting into the High-Tech Industry. But once she found herself at Dell Computers and Applied Materials, she spent the next 20 plus years among various engineering teams. Her career at Dell would prove beneficial to the people of South Dakota during her later career in the SD State Legislature where, she explained, “My years as an engineering analyst taught me to look outside of the box and find creative solutions. Leadership is knowing when to take charge, possessing the ability not just to control and command but to guide, delegate and influence.”

Marriage to Tom Sutton brought her to South Dakota. But it was her deep passion to effect change in a positive and effective manner, along with her community involvement and volunteerism that caught the attention of then Governor Daugaard. He appointed her to the South Dakota Legislature in September 2018. The following year, she was re-elected by an overwhelming majority. Maggie served as Vice Chair for Military and Veterans’ Affairs and served on the Interim Rules Review Committee.  Maggie has served two terms on the Senate and Joint Appropriation Committees.  Maggie is the first Hispanic to serve in the South Dakota Legislature.