Tim Walz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 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 |
| Religion | Lutheran (raised Catholic)[1] |
Timothy J. Walz (born April 6, 1964) 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. He is currently serving in the freshman class of the 110th United States Congress.
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[edit] Biography
Walz is the son of a public school administrator and community activist and was raised in a rural community in West Point, Nebraska. He graduated from Butte High School in a class of 25 before earning 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. In 1989, he earned the title of Nebraska Citizen-Soldier of the Year as a member of the Army National Guard. Walz then accepted a teaching position through Harvard University, teaching in the People's Republic of China.[2]
After serving 24 years and attaining the rank of Command Sergeant Major in the National Guard, most recently deployed to Italy with his unit as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Walz retired and began teaching again as a geography teacher and football coach at Mankato West Senior High School.[2] He and his wife Gwen ran Educational Travel Adventures, through which he accompanied high school juniors and seniors on educational trips to China each summer. He has a 6-year-old daughter and an infant son.[3]
Walz taught a high school geography class in 1993 that studied genocide and underlying conditions and causes. Strikingly, they predicted genocide in Rwanda one year before it occurred, citing the ethnic divide, favoritism, etc. [1]
[edit] 2006 election
Walz was 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".[4] 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."[5] Congressman Walz is believed to be the highest-ranking graduate of Wellstone Action's Camp Wellstone.[6]
[edit] Congressional achievements
Upon his swearing in, Walz became the highest-ranking enlisted soldier ever to serve in Congress,[7] as well as only the third non-Republican to represent Minnesota's First Congressional District since 1893.
Walz serves on the House Agriculture Committee,[8] Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and is vice president of the Democratic freshman class.[9] He is 432nd in seniority in the congress, due to his lack of prior elective office experience.[3] Along with fellow Minnesota freshman Democrat, Keith Ellison, Walz opposed President Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq.[10] 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.[11]
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Agriculture Committee
- Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
- Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
- Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
- Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
- Veterans' Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
[edit] Electoral history
- 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 1st District
- Tim Walz (DFL), 53%
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 47%
Star Tribune reports on July 13, 2007 that Rep. Walz reported total contributions of $565,295 since he unseated six-term incumbent Republican Gil Gutknecht in the First District. He reported $482,413 in cash on hand.
[edit] References
- ^ Mr. Timothy J. Walz (MN). Background Information. Project Vote Smart (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ a b Tim Walz for US Congress. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ a b Felker, Ed (2007-01-05). Walz pledges new direction in capital. Post-Bulletin Company, LLC. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Ed Felker. Walz stays mum on choice for No. 2 House leader. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
- ^ Tim Walz' Victory Speech. Minnesota Public Radio (2006-11-6). 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. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
- ^ Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz to Deliver Democratic Radio Address. Tim Walz. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
- ^ Walz, Ellison, get first committee assignments. StarTribune.com (2007-01-08). Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Felker, Edward (2007-01-11). Walz named VP of freshmen Democrats. Post-Bulletin Company, LLC. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ Diaz, Kevin (2007-01-08). Minnesota delegation offers cool response. Star Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
- ^ Fischenich, Mark (2007-01-07). Walz eager to dig into legislative issues. Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.. 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
- MPR — 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
| Political offices | ||
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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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