Matt Entenza

Matt Entenza
Minnesota House Minority Leader
In office January 7, 2003 – June 20, 2006
Preceded by	Tom Pugh
Succeeded by	Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 64A district
In office January 3, 1995 – June 20, 2006
Preceded by	C. Thomas Osthoff
Succeeded by	Erin Murphy
Personal details
Born	October 4, 1961 (1961-10-04) (age 50) Santa Monica, California
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Lois Quam
Children	Ben, Will and Steve
Residence	St. Paul, Minnesota
Alma mater	Macalester College Oxford University University of Minnesota
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Lutheran

Matthew "Matt" Entenza is a Minnesota lawyer and politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives and also ran for state attorney general. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003–2006, stepping down to focus on the attorney general's race. He withdrew from that race on July 18, 2006.

Entenza sought the office of governor in 2010.^[1] After failing to gain the DFL caucus endorsement, he declined to withdraw from the race, ultimately finishing third in the August 2010 primary election, behind former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton.^[2]

Background

Entenza was born in Santa Monica, California.^[3] He studied at Augustana College in South Dakota before transferring to Macalester College. After graduating, Entenza studied law at Oxford University and taught high school. After returning to Minnesota, he received his J.D. with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.^[3]

After graduating, Entenza clerked for U.S. District Judge Harry H. MacLaughlin. He then joined the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, assigned to the Charities Division. Entenza also concurrently taught law at St. Mary's University. He later joined the Hennepin County Attorney's office, principally prosecuting white-collar crime.

Service in the Minnesota House of Representatives

A Democrat, Entenza was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 64A in 1994. The district includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County. He served on the K-12 Finance, Education Policy, and Commerce committees.^[3] He was chief author of the “Do Not Call List” law, a consumer privacy initiative. In 2004, his caucus won 14 legislative seats, resulting in a 68-66 House divide.

2006 Minnesota Attorney General race

On July 18, 2006, Entenza withdrew his candidacy from the race for Minnesota Attorney General. Critics had raised concerns of a conflict of interest due to Entenza's wife's high ranking executive position at UnitedHealth Group. Entenza's political campaign committee was also fined $28,000 by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board on August 15, 2006, for exceeding the legal amount for contributions. ^[4]

Minnesota 2020

Entenza founded a Saint Paul-based think tank called Minnesota 2020 in June 2007. ^[5]

2010 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2010

Entenza announced that he would seek the Minnesota DFL's endorsement for the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial race, later dropping out of the endorsement process and running a primary campaign without the DFL endorsement. Before removing himself from the official endorsement process, he was endorsed by Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison in May 2009^[6] and Minnesota Stonewall DFL in December 2009.^[7] On May 27, 2010, he announced television broadcaster Robyne Robinson as his lieutenant governor running mate.^[8]

Unlike other DFL candidates, who withdrew from the race after failing to gain the DFL caucus endorsement, Entenza elected to participate in the primary election. Entenza ultimately finished third in the 2010 DFL primary election, coming in behind Mark Dayton and Margaret Anderson Kelliher.

Personal

Entenza and his wife have been married for 24 years. Lois Quam was featured in Fortune Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful Women”^[9] while working at UnitedHealth Group for 17 year period, during which in 1993 she served as a senior adviser on rural health issues to then First Lady Hillary Clinton as a member of President Clinton's Task Force on Health Care Reform from 1993 to 1994.^[10] Lois Quam served as a Leader in Strategic Investor for the Green Economy and Health at Piper Jaffray from 2007 to April 2009, when she founded Tysvar, an investment firm that focuses on the green economy.

They have three sons, Ben, Will and Steve.

References

1. ^ Patricia Lopez, Entenza announces bid for Governor in '10. Star Tribune, April 23, 2009.
2. ^ AP: Dayton Wins DFL Nomination For Governor
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Entenza, Matthew Keating". Leg.state.mn.us. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10163. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
4. ^ http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/state/minnesota/15288038.htm
5. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
6. ^ Broom, Sean. "Ellison Endorses Entenza." MNPublius.com, May 4, 2009
7. ^ "Stonewall DFL Endorses Matt Entenza for Governor." TheColu.mn, December 14, 2009
8. ^ [2]"http://entenza.com/news_and_events/recent_news/detail/2010-05-matt-entenza-picks-robyne-robinson-for-lg"
9. ^ [3]^{[dead link]}
10. ^ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956083/posts

External links

• Matt Entenza at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Entenza Robinson for Minnesota official campaign site
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Voting record (2005-2006) at Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker

Political offices
Preceded by Tom Pugh	Minnesota House Minority Leader 2003 – 2006	Succeeded by Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Minnesota House of Representatives
Preceded by C. Thomas Osthoff	State Representative from Minnesota District 64A 1995 – 2006	Succeeded by Erin Murphy

Persondata
Name	Entenza, Matt
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 4, 1961
Place of birth	Santa Monica, California
Date of death
Place of death