Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Margaret Anderson Kelliher
56th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office January 3, 2007 – January 4, 2011
Preceded by	Steve Sviggum
Succeeded by	Kurt Zellers
Minnesota House Minority Leader
In office June 20, 2006 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Matt Entenza
Succeeded by	Marty Seifert
Minnesota State Representative from District 60A
In office January 1999 – January 4, 2011
Preceded by	Dee Long
Succeeded by	Marion Greene
Personal details
Born	March 11, 1968 (1968-03-11) (age 43) Mankato, Minnesota
Political party	DFL
Spouse(s)	David Kelliher
Children	Patrick, Francis
Residence	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Alma mater	Gustavus Adolphus College Harvard University
Profession	community organizer
Religion	Roman Catholic

Margaret Anderson Kelliher (born March 11, 1968) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Democrat, she represented District 60A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999, she served as the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2007–2011. She was also the DFL-endorsed candidate in the 2010 gubernatorial election. She is the second woman (after Dee Long) to hold the position of House speaker, and the first woman to earn major-party endorsement for a gubernatorial election in Minnesota.

Political career

Kelliher worked as a legislative staffer for then-Speaker Robert Vanasek and then-Senate President Allan Spear before being elected to the legislature herself.^[1][2]

Anderson Kelliher served as Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006, and in January 2006 became the first Assistant Minority Leader of the Minnesota House. In June 2006, she was selected by her caucus to succeed Rep. Matt Entenza as Minority Leader, assuming the position after the legislative session came to a close. After the Democrats won control of the House in the 2006 election, she was selected by her caucus to be Speaker starting in January 2007.^[3] She succeeded Rep. Steve Sviggum in that position. On January 6, 2009, she was re-elected Speaker for the 2009–2010 biennium.

2010 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2010

Kelliher campaigning for governor in 2010

On September 16, 2009, Anderson Kelliher announced that she would seek the DFL endorsement for governor in 2010. She joined a field that included two other former house minority leaders, Democrat Matt Entenza and Republican Marty Seifert.^[4]

On April 24, 2010, Anderson Kelliher was endorsed by the DFL state convention to serve as the party's candidate for governor. Anderson Kelliher won after her closest rival, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, dropped out after the sixth convention ballot.^[5]

While Kelliher won the party's endorsement, she still had to win a primary election to earn a spot on the November ballot. On August 10, 2010, Kelliher lost a narrow primary election to former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, ending her campaign.^[6]

Political Positions

During her 2010 primary campaign Kelliher announced several policy and budget initiatives. In July 2010, she proposed that the state of Minnesota should borrow 2 billion dollars over 5 years to stimulate the construction industry in Minnesota^[7] however, she does not support using general fund dollars to build a new Vikings Stadium.^[8]

Personal life

Anderson Kelliher grew up on a dairy farm in rural Blue Earth County, Minnesota. After graduating from Mankato West High School, she received a B.A. in history and political science from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Anderson Kelliher and her husband, David Kelliher, have two children, Patrick and Frances.

References

1. ^ Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher Minnesota House of Representatives
2. ^ Profile: New House Majority Leadership Jeff Fecke, Minnesota Monitor, November 15, 2006
3. ^ Two Minneapolis lawmakers will lead Legislature Janet Kubat Willette , Agri News, November 14, 2006
4. ^ Kelliher announces that she's running for governor
5. ^ Kelliher endorsed: Rybak concedes nomination
6. ^ AP: Dayton Wins DFL Nomination For Governor
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ [2]

• Minnesota Legislators Past and Present

External links

• Margaret Anderson Kelliher at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Representative Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) District: 60A official MN House website
• Margaret Anderson Kelliher for Governor official campaign website
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Voting record (2005–2008) at Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker

Political offices
Preceded by Steve Sviggum	Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives 2007–2011	Succeeded by Kurt Zellers
Preceded by Matt Entenza	Minnesota House Minority Leader 2006–2007	Succeeded by Marty Seifert
Preceded by Dee Long	State Representative from Minnesota District 60A 1999–2011	Succeeded by Marion Greene
Party political offices
Preceded by Mike Hatch	Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate, Minnesota DFL State Convention 2010	Succeeded by Most Recent Endorsee

Persondata
Name	Anderson Kelliher, Margaret
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 11, 1968
Place of birth	Mankato, Minnesota
Date of death
Place of death