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Margaret Anderson Kelliher

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Margaret Anderson Kelliher
57th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 4, 2011
Preceded bySteve Sviggum
Succeeded byKurt Zellers
Minnesota House Minority Leader
In office
June 20, 2006 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byMatt Entenza
Succeeded byMarty Seifert
Minnesota State Representative from District 60A
In office
January 1999 – January 4, 2011
Preceded byDee Long
Succeeded byMarion Greene
Personal details
Born (1968-03-11) March 11, 1968 (age 56)
Mankato, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
SpouseDavid Kelliher
ChildrenPatrick, Frances
ResidenceMinneapolis, Minnesota
Alma materGustavus Adolphus College
Harvard University
Professioncommunity organizer

Margaret Anderson Kelliher (born March 11, 1968) is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, 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 until 2011, also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman (after Dee Long) to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election, losing to former Senator Mark Dayton.

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
A woman wearing a suit with a Margaret Anderson Kelliher for Governor button.
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] This made her the first woman to earn major-party endorsement for a gubernatorial election in Minnesota.

While Kelliher won the party's endorsement, she still had to win the Democratic primary. 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 did 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.

See also

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 House of Representatives
Preceded by Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
2007–2011 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minnesota House Minority Leader
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by State Representative from Minnesota District 60A
1999–2011 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate,
Minnesota DFL State Convention
2010 		Succeeded by
Most Recent Endorsee

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