Beth Fraser makes it official

Here's Beth Fraser's official announcement, following her   appearance at the DFL Senate District 64 meeting last night.

BETH FRASER FOR MN HOUSE

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

December 11, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Nevitt

612-708-4644

bethforhouse@gmail.com

Beth Fraser announces candidacy for Minnesota House of Representatives

SAINT PAUL, MN – Beth Fraser announced today that she is seeking the House seat for district 64B, currently held by Representative Michael Paymar who recently announced his retirement.

Fraser lives in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood and has spent the last seven years working for Secretary of State Mark Ritchie. As the Deputy Secretary of State, she manages the Secretary of State’s legislative initiatives and oversees the Safe at Home address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence and stalking. Fraser has consistently won passage of legislation to make it easier for eligible voters to cast ballots and to strengthen the protection provided by Safe at Home. She frequently provides testimony before legislative committees, including against adoption of the “Photo ID” Constitutional Amendment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlx5eeWxQQs. Once the legislature decided to put it on the ballot, Fraser led the Office’s educational efforts about the potential impact of the proposed Constitutional Amendment.

Prior to joining the Secretary Ritchie’s staff, Fraser spent eight years leading the public policy work at the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action (now TakeAction Minnesota). There she gained experience in building broad coalitions and legislative advocacy. Fraser succeeded at winning passage of nation-leading legislation to ensure that private corporations who receive public subsidies meet specific job goals or return the public’s money. She also advocated for Fair And Clean Elections and a state budget that supports the public good, and founded the Voting Rights Coalition.

Fraser came to Minnesota nearly twenty years ago to organize community members in the Jordan neighborhood of Minneapolis through the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. She stayed in Minnesota and spent time working to organize mobile home residents who were facing buyouts.

“I have spent the last 20 years fighting for Minnesotans all across the state to make sure their voices matter,” Fraser said. “As a State Legislator, I will continue the fight, on behalf of my neighbors and the community in 64B, to ensure that all Minnesotans, no matter their economic status, their gender identity or the color of their skin, get dignity and respect and have a say over their own destiny,” concluded Fraser.

Pinto announces he's in

Here's his release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               

CONTACT: Megan Ryan, 651.252.1706, media@davepinto.com  

December 5, 2013                                              

DAVE PINTO ANNOUNCES RUN FOR DISTRICT 64B

Prosecutor of domestic violence and sex trafficking vows to be “champion for kids, champion for all”

(Saint Paul, MN) – Today Dave Pinto joined the field seeking the DFL endorsement for the Highland Park seat that will open when Representative Michael Paymar steps down. As a senior prosecutor in the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, Pinto has had great success using the law to champion the underserved and hopes to bring his passion and experience to the Capitol to advocate for kids and work for a better future for Minnesota.

In a letter to DFL delegates of the district, Pinto highlighted his progressive agenda and belief in a minimum wage that can support a family, universal health care, a strong education system, affordable housing for families and seniors, and equity in opportunity, among other progressive issues.

Pinto wrote, “I’ve lived out this belief in my day-to-day work through advocating for and protecting children. As a lawyer in private practice, I helped change a suburban high school’s discriminatory treatment of its LGBT students. At the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, I’ve led a team of attorneys prosecuting domestic violence involving children, and now focus on juvenile sex trafficking, taking on traffickers and working for policy change to protect our kids from this modern-day form of slavery.”

Pinto’s work in prosecuting juvenile sex trafficking and domestic violence has been gaining attention. He successfully prosecuted two high-profile casesin November, where juries convicted two St. Paul men on sex-trafficking charges (see Star Tribune article). In September, he received an inaugural “Inspire Award” from the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.

“If we do all we can as advocates for kids, we will be doing all we can to create a better future in Minnesota,” said Dave Pinto, Ramsey County Prosecutor and candidate for House District 64B. “At the Capitol, I will strive to be a champion for kids, a champion for all.”

The Pinto Volunteer Committee is co-chaired by George Latimer and Marlene Kayser, who will host a fundraiser in January.

“I’ve known Dave for a long time and I support him because I’m impressed with his intellect, his integrity and his commitment to public service. With his background, Dave could have done anything. Instead, he worked for those in our community who need help the most,” said former Saint Paul Mayor George Latimer.

Pinto lives in Highland Park with his wife Abby and two sons. He grew up in Falcon Heights and has graduate degrees in law and business. He served in the Clinton White House and in Congressman Bruce Vento’s office. After law school he worked as an attorney at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, where he was recognized for providing legal services to the underserved prior to moving to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. He is a member of AFSCME Council 5, and has served on the Highland District Council and St. Paul’s Long-Term Capital Improvement Budget Committee. 

Pinto Volunteer Committee

Former Mayor George Latimer and Marlene Kayser, Honorary Co-Chairs, Steve Cohen, Treasurer, P.O. Box 8119, St. Paul, MN 55108-8119, 651.252.1706, info@davepinto.com, www.davepinto.com

###

Bergeron makes it official: he's in

Legislative staffer and one-time lobbyist Matthew Bergeron says he's made up his mind and he's going for it: he has officially announced he's running for the 64B House seat being vacated by Michael Paymar next year.

You can read Bergeron's official release on the subject below. It's chock-a-block with legislative references and includes laudatory comments -- though not quite endorsements -- from Rochester Rep. Tina Liebling as well as Golden Valley DFLer Ryan Winkler. (And a campaign contact phone number with a 763 area code to match.)

Bergeron is the 5th candidate to officially announce for the race. Two more may join them yet this week.

Bergeron Announcement Press Release by Tim Nelson

Dave Pinto says he'll announce his 64B intentions soon

Ramsey County prosecutor Dave Pinto is getting his case together for the 64B race left open by the decision by Michael Paymar not to run in 2014.

"I'm not ready to announce," Pinto said in an interview this weekend. "But I would say it would be soon."

The assistant Ramsey County Attorney made his political debut in 2010, contending with John Choi for the DFL endorsement. Choi got it and won the election, but Pinto is working for him now.

Pinto has been a senior prosecutor focusing on domestic abuse cases where children are involved, and does policy and legislative work on the issue now. He's also a key player in the Ramsey County Attorney's efforts to combat juvenile sex trafficking.

Pinto grew up in Falcon Heights and went to school in Roseville. He went to Harvard, and then on to the University of Virginia for an MBA and a law degree. He's since clerked for 8th Circuit Court of Appeals judge Diana Murphy and is a Robins, Kaplan, Miller and Ciresi alum, as well.

But he says public service drew him away from the law firm to the Ramsey County Attorney's office: "I just wanted my day to day work to mean something more, to take care of the community."

And he thinks the next logical step for that is the Legislature.

Pinto says fighting sex trafficking and domestic violence remain priorities for him, but he'd like to expand the scope of his work. "I think of it generally as taking care of kids. Everything from early childhood education, to anti-bullying and the Safe Schools for All. I think the child protection and child welfare systems need a good look. And, of course, education."

Pinto has had some volunteer community: he has served in the past on the Highland District Council and serves on the city of St. Paul's Long Range Capital Improvement Budget Committee (along with fellow 64B contender Melanie McMahon).

Look for a formal announcement and a website at http://www.davepinto.com

Bergstrom: I'm in it to win it, but I won't run against the DFL endorsement in 2014

Greta Bergstrom has made up her mind, and she's decided to make a run for it: she put up a website and says she's decided to run for the 64B seat.

It's actually her third campaign in the district. She managed Howard Orenstein's re-election in 1992 and sought the seat when he retired in 1996.

Bergstrom says its home turf, and not just because of her political experience. She grew up in the neighborhood and went to Groveland Park elementary and Highland Junior and Senior High.

She's a Macalester grad, and but for a couple years when she was a guardian ad litem and thinking about a law career in Washington, D.C., Bergstrom says she's lived in Senate District 64 almost her entire life.

"My values really have been shaped by the people in the district," she says. "Whether its the schools - the public schools or college - or my neighbors or the people I grew up with... I know this district."

Bergstrom is currently the communications director for TakeAction Minnesota, the St. Paul-based liberal action group. She's also worked in corporate communications for Best Buy, particularly in the Hispanic market. At North Woods advertising, she helped work on the campaigns of the likes of Ned Lamont, the U.S. Senate contender in Connecticut and John Hickenlooper, the Denver mayoral candidate and now Colorado governor.

A political communications veteran, she says she's ready to sit at the other side of the desk, listening to constituents and advocates make their case and be a decision maker.

"My job to to listen to people about the issues that impact their lives, help shape their stories and connect these stories to decision-makers at the Capitol and beyond," Bergstrom says. "That's what I do on a daily basis and it's great experience for becoming a state legislator."

She says she's focused on equity issues, on minimum wage, on income and educational disparities, and health care access. Bergstrom concedes the district is relatively well off, but thinks people care about those issues, nonetheless.

Still, its the DFL endorsement she'll have to win first. 

TakeAction-backed race Rena Moran ran against the DFL's Jeremiah Ellis in 2010 and beat him after Cy Thao decided not to run again. There may well be some suspicion that if TakeAction endorses in 64B, that could conflict with the party process again.

Bergstrom says she doesn't know if TakeAction will even get involved in the 64B race, let alone if she'll be their candidate.

But even if she is, she says she won't mount a primary challenge. "I'm seeking the DFL endorsement," Bergstrom says. "If somebody else wins it, I won't challenge... If there's a district that you can expect to make a strong endorsement and move forward, its this one. And I expect we can all come together."

You can check out her webpage at http://gretafor64b.com.

Martin Ludden, war vet and Comcast exec, "considering" 64B race

Iraq vet, Nativity alum and former Klobuchar staffer Martin Ludden says he's now "definitely considering" a run for the 64B seat in the Legislature being vacated by Michael Paymar.

"I grew up in 64B, just down the street from Widmers," Ludden said in an interview today. He also went to St. Thomas and got a degree in photography and American studies from the U of M.

He'a an Army vet. He joined the Reserves in the spring of 2001, and stayed in the reserves for almost 10 years, including two stints in Iraq, in 2003-2004 and again as a squad leader in 2009-2010.

After college, he joined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and worked as a veterans service representative, processing claims by vets for the agency. He worked out at Fort Snelling, where U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar had her office, and eventually joined her staff as an outreach director with a focus on veterans and public safety.

He did a brief stint after that as the executive director of the Disabled American Veterans Foundation, and then joined Comcast, where he's a government affairs manager focusing on their Internet Essentials program.

"It's getting low income families hooked up to the internet with a very low price product," he says. "It's helping kind of bridge the digital divide, which I would argue is a significant part of the achievement gap. Or can be."

(Vice president for Ludden's Comcast division, for those of you keeping track at home, is Emmett Coleman, brother of St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman.)

Ludden says he moved back into the district in 2010 and thinks he's be a good fit representing the area at the Capitol.

"I think I've got kind of a unique skill set," Ludden says. "I have cross-sector experience, public, private, military, non-profit, and that comes with having to work with people of a pretty broad background in order to get stuff done. And I think that's a skill set that would translate pretty well to the Capitol."

Ludden says he plans to seek the DFL endorsement. 

UPDATE: He says he hopes to make a decision in the next week or so.

Beth Fraser "very very seriously considering" 64B run

Beth Fraser could very well be Deputy Secretary of State for the next 13 months. But even if she can’t keep her job after 2014, she’d like to keep her address. Fraser, in an interview today, confirmed that she’s thinking of running for the 64B seat, possibly moving into the House DFL caucus digs upstairs from her State Office Building office. "I’m very, very seriously considering running,” Fraser said. “I’ve been doing legislative and public policy work for 15 years and building a track record for getting things done and pushing progressive policy change at the state level.” Fraser has lived in St. Paul for most of the last decade, and for about a year and a half in 64B. She originally came to Minnesota after college, to work for the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, a year long service program that had her working in Minneapolis’ Jordan neighborhood. After that, she moved out to work on poverty issues in the suburbs and got a taste of public policy -- she says she helped pass a law that made it easier for home owners to sell their homes in mobile home parks. She says poverty and social justice issues remain a passion. She went on to work for the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action, a precursor, along with Progressive Minnesota, to TakeAction Minnesota. Fraser worked first as a policy organizer, then as the group’s public policy director. Fraser went to work for Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in 2007 and took the No. 2 position in the office in July. She’s worked on issues like absentee voting for out of state military personnel and voter registration reforms. She was also led the Secretary of State's office's public and legislative outreach effort on the 2012 Voter ID amendment. “I work very closely with legislators, drafting bills and doing a lot of testifying,” Fraser says. She says she will seek the DFL endorsement, and is working the phones this week to gauge interest in supporting her run.

Matthew Bergeron is also thinking about 64B race

Next up: Matthew Bergeron, a veteran of Paul Thissen's 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Lockridge alum and committee administrator for the Health and Human Service Policy Committee in the House.

Bergeron confirmed tonight that he's thinking about a bid for the DFL endorsement for the 64B seat being vacated by Michael Paymar next year. Bergeron is an attorney who also staffs Rep. Ryan Winkler's Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs.

"I've gotten a lot of encouragement and support," he says of the race, although he's not ready to commit yet. "I think I've got a background and skill set that will allow me to be really effective at the Capitol."

Bergeron also says he's got family ties to the district. His dad was a United Food and Commercial Workers member and steward at the Highland Park Lunds. His dad's a Tommie. Mom was a Katie.

Bergeron is actually a Mounds View native, and graduated from Irondale. But he went to Macalester, and like so many other alums, didn't make it far off campus after graduation. He also went to William Mitchell, where he got his law degree in 2011.

Along the way, he took some time off from law school to work on Thissen's 2010 campaign as a field organizer for the 4th, 6th and 8th Congressional Districts. He went to work for Lockridge Grindal Nauen as a legislative assistant for the 2011 session.

After Lockridge, he started his own lobbying firm, the Bergeron Strategies Group after that. Bergeron says he repped the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators, an affiliate of the Association of Minnesota Counties.

You can see his LinkedIn profile here.

And when Thissen and the DFL hit the jackpot in 2012 and took the House back, Bergeron signed on as caucus staff, where he works today for committee chair Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester. (Bergeron is also a college friend of Crosby 10B DFLer Rep. Joe Radinovich.) He hopes his background as a lobbyist, legislative staffer and long time campaigner will give him a leg up in an endorsement bid.

UPDATED: "Game on" says Gloria Zaiger for 64B seat

Gloria Zaiger says she's in.

Zaiger is an IT specialist for US Bank, where she's been for the last 24 years. She's a long time St. Paulite, and long time Como Park area resident. She was also campaign manager for DFL state Rep. Alice Hausman in the 2006 and 2008 cycles. 

Zaiger is making a very enthusiastic commitment on her Facebook page. Here's her announcement:

"I am very excited to make my Big Announcement! I want to let everyone know, I have announced my candidacy for the MN State House of Representatives! I am running for Rep Paymar's open seat in district 64B. I am excited to have this opportunity to serve my district and my state. I long admired Rep Paymar's willingness to take on tough issues, like better background checks on gun purchases and animal cruelty issues. I want to continue his work on those issues and more. I have long been passionate about the environment, especially open space preservation and climate change. Being married to a public school teacher, I am intimately aware of the struggles happening in our schools, and believe we need to do more to highlight the daily battles our educators face to educate our kids. But, I feel we aren't accomplishing all we could for our state because of the anger and bitterness between the parties. I want to emulate our great Senator Amy Klobuchar, who worked with Republican women in the Senate to end the federal shutdown. I know it will take a lot to change the tone in politics, but it has to start somewhere. I want to reach out, listen, and find common ground, and disagree with respect. That's who I am, that why I'm running. I look forward to speaking with you more about the issues and the campaign. Woohoo- game on, folks!"

She moved to 64B in 2009 and has been a caucus organizer for the last two cycles. Zaiger has served in the past as an envelope stuffer, door knocker, affirmative action chair and picnic organizer. 

"I've worn a lot of hats in the DFL," she said in an interview tonight, although she says, most of her work has been has been in District 66.

Zaiger says she's long wanted to see politics as a candidate, and wants primarily to work on environmental issues if she wins.

"I will seek the DFL endorsement," she says. "And I will abide by it."

You can see her campaign Facebook page here.

Former legislator Brian Bergson mulling 64B race

Former DFL legislator Brian Bergson says he's thinking about getting into the 64B race as well. He says people have talked to him about it, but he's hasn't made any decisions.

Bergson works now as an Assistant to the Commissioner in Minnesota’s Department of Labor and Industry.

Bergson's resume includes being a principal at SquareOne Consulting, LLC., and a stint at Goff Public, the Lowertown public affairs/public relations shop.

Before that, he was communications and legislative affairs director for Minnesota attorney general Lori Swanson, handling both press and lobbying duties. He also worked for eight years as a lobbyist for the Minnesota Association of Professional employees. 

In the mid 90s, he was a co-owner of Capitol Targeting, "a political polling, fundraising and consulting business.”

Bergson is also a veteran of the US Military.  He served in the US Army for 21 years, and most recently the USAF.  In 2011 he deployed to Afghanistan.


Before that, he served District 48A in 1993-1994, representing Osseo, Brooklyn Park and Champlin.

Upon further review, Ted Davis says he won't run

Davis Communications principal Ted Davis said last night that he's decided against running for the eventually- to-be-vacant-64B seat in the Minnesota Legislature. He says "things are changing," and for now he'll be a spectator for the bid for the DFL endorsement and, eventually, the seat. Davis says he's not backing anybody "at this time."

Greta Bergstrom mulling another run at 64B race

She was in contention back in 1996, when Howard Orenstein left the legislature and opened up the seat last time. And now Greta Bergstrom says she's thinking about giving it another shot.

TakeAction Minnesota's communications director said in an interview tonight that she's leaning towards a run for the seat.

"I haven't actually made a decision yet, but I am thinking about it," Bergstrom said. "I am seriously considering it."

She sought the DFL endorsement back in 1996, and was among the top contenders in the endorsement battle that Michael Paymar won. She finished just behind Pat Harris, who went on to win the Ward 3 council seat in 1999.

Bergstrom has been the communications director for the liberal political action group since January 2009, and before that worked for North Woods Advertising -- the Bill Hillsman shop known for its work on behalf of Paul Wellstone's 1990 campaign and Jesse Ventura's 1998 gubernatorial bid. (Ward 5 City Council member Amy Brendmoen is another North Woods alum.)

The most interesting part of a Bergstrom bid may well be her current employer. TakeAction's political arm has a full-on vetting process to look over a field of candidates, and it isn't even a sure thing that 64B is a race TakeAction would be involved in. So there's no guarantee that Bergstrom would have TakeAction's backing. 

But we saw in Rena Moran's 2010 election that TakeAction and its alumnae can be a formidable force. Moran beat Jeremiah Ellis and the DFL endorsement that year. And, of course, a Progressive Minnesota alumna, Betsy Hodges, will be taking the corner office in Minneapolis city hall on Jan. 2.

Bergstrom says she still has some people to talk to about a run, and hopes to make a decision by the end of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Matt Freeman makes it official and announces for 64B

Just weeks after helming mayor Chris Coleman's re-election campaign, Matt Freeman is hitting the trail again. He's officially announced he's in the 64B race and looking for the DFL endorsement.

Freeman has a long political pedigree, the grandson of a one-time governor and U.S. Agriculture secretary, and the son of former legislator and two-time gubernatorial contender Mike Freeman. Oh, yeah, and two-time Hennepin County Attorney, too.

Matt, though, has built up his own resume, including field and political director for Amy Klobuchar's 2012 re-election bid. He handled field staff, as well as endorsements by unions and other "electeds." He's still working part time in the office of St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman, as well.

And although he's still got that dreaded "612" prefix on his cell phone (see the announcement below), he's got some chops in the district. He ran Ward 3 council member Chris Tolbert's hard-fought campaign in 2011, including the contentious DFL endorsement process.

Tolbert is one of his campaign co-chairs this time, as is former Minnesota Nurses Association President Linda Slattengren. That organization played a key role the last time one of the neighborhood's legislative seats was open in 2006 -- and former MNA executive director Erin Murphy (64A) is now the House majority leader.

Freeman 64B Announcement Release by Tim Nelson

City Council member Chris Tolbert won't run in 64B race

First term St. Paul City Council member Chris Tolbert says he won't be throwing his hat in the ring for the 64B race.

"I like what I'm doing on the council," said Tolbert in an interview. He's two years into his first term on the council, facing a re-election in 2015.

He's also signed on as co-chair for the campaign of Matt Freeman, who ran his contentious bid for the DFL endorsement in Ward 3 in 2011 against John Mannillo.

"There's a lot to do here," Tobert said. "I want to work on transportation, and the redevelopment of the Ford Plant."

He's also, ahem, an assistant Hennepin County attorney, and well, with the boss's son weighing a run in the district, that might make an endorsement battle a little, well, awkward. Not to mention that Freeman's significant other, Nicole Wittig-Geske, is Tolbert's legislative aide.

McMahon steps into 64B race, maybe into boss's shoes

The first candidate into the race to replace Michael Paymar has tossed her hat in the ring. It's Melanie McMahon.

She's a familiar name to the district. McMahon was his campaign manager for his most recent re-election campaign -- the Facebook page for the effort has the doorknocking starting at her Sheffer Avenue home.

McMahon has also been the administrator for two and a half years for the Public Safety Finance Committee that Paymar chairs.

McMahon says she's got deep roots in the area. "My dad grew up in the district," she says, and running Paymar's campaign seems to have been successful: Paymar won with 72.11 percent of the vote, against 27.6 percent for Republican Brandon Carmack. You can see the Secretary of State's results here.

Here's the release from McMahon declaring her candidacy (and her "612" area code):

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

November 20, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Melanie McMahon,

612-387-3991,

mcmahonsd64@gmail.com

McMahon Announces Candidacy for Minnesota House District 64B

November 20, 2013 -- Melanie McMahon announced that she is running to serve as the State Representative for District 64B and plans to seek the DFL endorsement.  “I’m grateful for the leadership that Representative Paymar has provided for the district.  Having had the opportunity to work closely with him as a Committee Administrator to the Public Safety Finance Division of the House of Representatives and as his campaign manager, I know that he has served the district well and I wish him well on his new endeavor with Education for Critical Thinking”, said McMahon.

A Highland Park resident, McMahon currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Long Range Capitol Improvement Budget (CIB) Committee of St. Paul, as well as serves as the Grid #5 Representative on the Highland District Council.

McMahon has worked and volunteered in politics for her entire life and plans on seeking the DFL endorsement.  “As a lifelong progressive I believe strongly in the values of the DFL”, said McMahon.  “Having worked at the capitol and volunteering in the community I can be a strong advocate for those values.”

“When my grandmother, as a single mother with two young children was looking for a good neighborhood with access to transit, jobs and good schools she chose St. Paul and Highland Park. When my husband Scott and I were looking for a community with the same values that we could make home Highland Park is where we decided to live, too.” McMahon proclaimed. 

“We have chosen to stay in Highland Park to raise our two children because of the amazing opportunities the city continues to provide and the quality neighborhoods we have” said McMahon. “I want to bring progressive values to the capitol and ensure that we can provide a world class education for our children, jobs and opportunities for adults and a support system for our elderly and vulnerable citizens.”

McMahon is an attorney and community volunteer. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the College of St. Benedict and her Juris Doctorate from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, she practiced law both in the private sector and worked for the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Please contact Melanie McMahon with any questions you may have at 612.387.3991 or mcmahonsd64@gmail.com

Paymar retires, leaves open 64B seat in Minnesota Legislature

Nine-term DFL state representative Michael Paymar said today that he won't seek another term in the Minnesota Legislature in 2014.

Paymar is chair of the Public Safety Finance Committee in the House and made headlines fighting last legislative session for stricter gun control laws in the state.


Here's a quick look at his recent record, via Minnpost's Doug Grow. Here's the post from MPR's Capitol View, via Tim Pugmire.

Paymar will continue to serve out the rest of his present term, which will finish out in early January, 2015. Here's the Paymar's official retirement announcement, via Minnesota House New Media Coordinator Ted Modrich:

Rep. Michael Paymar

NEWS RELEASE

Minnesota House of Representatives

District 64B 651-296-4199 – rep.michael.paymar@house.mn

563 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Ted Modrich (651) 296-5809

November 20, 2013

Rep. Paymar Not Seeking Re-Election

St. Paul, Minnesota — State Representative Michael Paymar of St. Paul announced that he will not be seeking re-election to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Paymar is the chair of the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee and will be completing his 9^th term in the Legislature.

“It has been an incredible honor to serve and represent the Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods of St. Paul in the Minnesota House.

 “As chair of the Public Safety Committee, I’ve always believed that we needed to be smart as well as tough on fighting crime, which is why I’ve been an ardent supporter of drug courts, re-entry programs for offenders leaving prison so they can successfully reintegrate into society, drug and sex-offender treatment and youth intervention programs.”

Michael Paymar was one of the early critics of ethanol subsidies, one of only 19 members of the House to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1997, was active in getting the Freedom to Breathe Act passed, was the chief author of Governor Dayton’s Omnibus Tax Bill in 2011, secured funding for the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, passed legislation reforming the multi-jurisdictional Gang and Drug Task Forces, and was the chief author of three omnibus public safety bills.  

Paymar received accolades over his tenure for passing bills on preventing domestic and sexual assault and legislation confronting the sexual exploitation of children and sex-trafficking. He also was the chief author of the Gun Violence Prevention Act that would have expanded background checks to gun shows, the internet and private sales and given law enforcement more authority to deny a permit to purchase pistols and military assault style weapons.  This bill stalled during the legislative session.

Paymar explained that his decision to leave the legislature was due to other professional aspirations.

“A couple of years ago I started Education for Critical Thinking, a nonprofit organization seeking to reduce gender-based violence. We produced an award-winning documentary called With Impunity:Men and Gender Violence that aired on Twin Cities Public Television. I am hoping to grow our organization and expand my national and international human rights work in this area. I have a new book coming out in May and other opportunities that make balancing my time at the Legislature difficult.”   

-30-

Rep. Michael Paymar will be in his office November 20 from 10:30 – 1:30 for additional comments or an interview. His office number is 651-296-4199.