Chris Gerlach

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Chris Gerlach
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 37th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 21, 2004
Preceded by David Knutson
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 36A, 37A district
In office
January 5, 1999 – July 21, 2004
Preceded by Eileen Tompkins
Succeeded by Lloyd Cybart
Personal details
Born November 17, 1964 (1964-11-17) (age 47)
Political party Republican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s) Shelli
Children 2
Residence Apple Valley, Minnesota
Alma mater University of St. Thomas
University of South Dakota
Occupation real estate agent, businessman, legislator, veteran
Religion Covenant[disambiguation needed ]

Chris Gerlach (born November 17, 1964) is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate representing District 37, which includes portions of the cities of Apple Valley, Burnsville and Rosemount in Dakota County, which is located in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.[1]

Contents

[edit] Service in Minnesota House and Senate

A Republican, Gerlach was first elected to the Senate in a July 2004 special election after Senator David Knutson was appointed a Dakota County District Court judge by Governor Tim Pawlenty. He was re-elected in 2006 and 2010. He served as an assistant minority leader from 2005 to 2006.[2]

Prior to being elected to the Senate, Gerlach was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, being first elected in 1998 in the old House District 36A, and re-elected in 2000 and 2002. After the 2002 redistricting, the area was known as House District 37A.[3]

Gerlach served as assistant majority leader in the Senate from January through December 2011.[4] He chairs the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, and is also a member of the Senate's Capital Investment, Environment and Natural Resources, and Rules and Administration committees.[5] His special legislative concerns include tax relief, less government spending, education reform, and public safety.[6]

On May 21, 2011, Gerlach joined the Senate Republican Majority in voting for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman.[7]

[edit] Education, military service and career

Gerlach is a former real estate agent and a small business owner. He attended Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, then went on to the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, where he received a B.A. in political science. He joined the United States Air Force, and was a lieutenant and intercontinental ballistic missile crew commander at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and a member of the auxiliary Civil Air Patrol. He later earned his M.B.A. at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota. He and his wife, Shelli, live in Apple Valley, and have two children.[8][9]

[edit] References

[edit] External links


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