Tim Walz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tim Walz
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Gil Gutknecht |
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| Born | April 6, 1964 West Point, Nebraska |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor |
| Spouse | Gwen (Whipple) Walz |
| Residence | Mankato, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Chadron State College, Minnesota State University |
| Profession | high school teacher, retired soldier |
| Religion | Lutheran (raised Catholic)[1] |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army National Guard |
| Rank | Command Sergeant Major |
| Battles/wars | Operation Enduring Freedom |
Timothy James Walz (born April 6, 1964)[2] is an American politician. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Walz is the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 1st congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. The district comprises the state's southern end, including his home town, Mankato, and Rochester, where he also has an office.
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[edit] Biography
Walz, the son of a public school administrator and community activist, was raised in a rural community in West Point, Nebraska. He graduated from Butte High School in a class of 25 students, and went on to earn a Bachelor's of Science degree in social science education from Chadron State College. Walz's first teaching experience was at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Walz then accepted a teaching position through Harvard University, teaching in the People's Republic of China.[3]
Walz enlisted in the National Guard in 1981, and over the course of his 24-year career rose to the rank of command sergeant major. In 1989, he earned the title of Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the Year. After a deployment to Italy with his Guard unit as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Walz retired from the National Guard and resumed teaching as a geography teacher and football coach at Mankato West Senior High School.[3]
Walz's 1993 high school geography class studied genocide and its underlying conditions and causes, and predicted the genocide in Rwanda one year before it occurred, citing the ethnic divide, favoritism, etc.[4]
He and his wife Gwen ran Educational Travel Adventures, accompanying high school juniors and seniors on summer educational trips to China. He is father to a 7-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son.[5]
[edit] U.S. Representative
Walz was first inspired to run for office in part by an occurrence at a 2004 rally for George W. Bush at a Mankato quarry, "where he and two students were removed due to a John Kerry sticker on one of the students' wallets".[6] Walz had no opponent in the race for the DFL nomination for the seat in the September 12, 2006 primary election. He beat incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht in the general election on November 7, and took office on January 4, 2007. In his victory speech, Walz said "they should've let us into the quarry."[7] Congressman Walz is believed to be the highest-ranking graduate of Wellstone Action's Camp Wellstone.[8]
Upon his swearing in, Walz became the highest-ranking retired enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress[9], as well as only the fourth non-Republican to represent Minnesota's First Congressional District.[10]
Walz serves on the House Agriculture Committee,[11] Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Along with fellow Minnesota freshman Democrat, Keith Ellison, Walz opposed President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq.[12] In his first week as a legislator, Walz cosponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage, voted for stem cell research, voted to allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices, and voiced support for pay-as-you-go budget rules, requiring that tax cuts and spending increases be offset by tax increases or spending cuts.[13]
[edit] Committee assignments
- Committee on Agriculture
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
[edit] Election campaigns
[edit] 2008
| 2008 First Congressional District of Minnesota Elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Tim Walz (Incumbent) | 207,748 | 62.5 | +9.5 | |
| Republican | Brian J. Davis | 109,446 | 32.9 | - | |
| Independence | Gregory Mikkelson | 14,903 | 4.5 | - | |
[edit] 2006
| 2006 First Congressional District of Minnesota Elections | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Tim Walz | 141,622 | 53 | - | |
| Republican | Gil Gutknecht (Incumbent) | 126,487 | 47 | -13 | |
[edit] References
- ^ "Mr. Timothy J. Walz (MN)". Background Information. Project Vote Smart. 2006. http://vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=MMN28992. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ "Elections 2008". Chicago Sun-Times. 2008-10-23. http://elections.suntimes.com/dynamic/external/pre-election/bios/51531.html?SITE=ILCHSELN&SECTION=POLITICS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT. Retrieved on 2008-10-24.
- ^ a b "Tim Walz for US Congress". http://www.timwalz.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B9BFE9881-E930-49EA-A44A-7D2E8DF34BDE%7D. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ New York Times, "High School Project on Genocide Was a Portent of Real-Life Events"
- ^ Felker, Ed (2007-01-05). "Walz pledges new direction in capital". Post-Bulletin Company, LLC. http://news.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=279968&z=16. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Ed Felker. "Walz stays mum on choice for No. 2 House leader". http://www.bluestemprairie.com/a_bluestem_prairie/2006/11/rochester_post__4.html. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
- ^ "Tim Walz' Victory Speech". Minnesota Public Radio. 2006-11-06. http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/news/features/2006/11/08_extra_walzspeech. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
- ^ Horrigan, Marie (2006-10-17). "Minn. Roundup: Walz a Legit Barrier to Gutknecht in 1st District". CQPolitics.com. New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/10/17/cq_1650.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ "Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz to Deliver Democratic Radio Address". Tim Walz. http://walz.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=56057. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
- ^ The others were Thomas Wilson 1887-1889 (D), William Harries 1891-1893 (D), and Tim Penny 1983-1995 (DFL).
- ^ "Walz, Ellison, get first committee assignments". StarTribune.com. 2007-01-08. http://www.startribune.com/587/story/871432.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Diaz, Kevin (2007-01-08). "Minnesota delegation offers cool response". Star Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/587/story/923881.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
- ^ Fischenich, Mark (2007-01-07). "Walz eager to dig into legislative issues". Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.. http://www.mankatofreepress.com/local/local_story_007001204.html. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
[edit] External links
- Representative Tim Walz official U.S. House website
- Tim Walz for U.S. Congress official campaign website
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia
- Tim Walz at the Open Directory Project
- Campaign 2006: Tim Walz profile from Minnesota Public Radio
Articles
- A New Battleground: War veterans try to topple congressional incumbents and their bigger war chests, Capital Eye, March 6, 2006
- National Guard Vet Seeks Minn. House Seat CBS News, July 17, 2006
| United States House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by Gil Gutknecht |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 1st congressional district 2007–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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