| John Lesch | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 66A district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 7, 2003 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 15, 1973 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Political party | Democratic Farmer Labor Party |
| Residence | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Saint Louis University Hamline University |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Lesch (born January 15, 1973) is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and a prosecuting attorney for the city of Saint Paul. He has served as a state representative for District 66A since 2003. The district includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, which is in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
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Lesch attended St. Louis University, graduating with degrees in philosophy and psychology, and later a law degree from Hamline University. Through high school and college, he spent three years at the seminary with the Redemptorists Order of Catholic Priests and Brothers.
Before running for the Minnesota House of Representatives, Lesch interned for former Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) Representative Andy Dawkins in 1997 and 1998. He worked on several campaigns and chaired the Senate District 66 DFL Party from 2000 to 2002. He was also a legislative aid to former St. Paul Council member and now Mayor Chris Coleman. When Representative Tom Osthoff announced his retirement in 2002, he decided to run for the House.[1]
On October 8, 2009, it was reported that Lesch had joined the Minnesota National Guard.[2] He completed his Basic Training and Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, on February 12, 2010, graduating with a 90% rank in physical performance and rifle marksmanship. Lesch was commissioned at Ft. Benning, GA, on Sept. 2, 2010, graduating 7th in a class of over 100. He maintains a rank of 2nd Lieutenant (O-1) and leads a platoon of light infantry soldiers with the 34th Infantry Division, (Red Bulls).
On November 16, 2010, incoming Minority Leader Paul Thissen announced that Lesch will be one of four Minority Whips during the 2011-2012 legislative session.[3]
In March 2011, Lesch announced that he will seek the Minnesota Senate District 66 seat being vacated by Senator Ellen Anderson, who was appointed chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission by Governor Mark Dayton.[4] In the primary Lesch lost to former State Representative Mary Jo McGuire.[5]
In February 2006, Lesch made a personal trip to Iraq at his own expense with the stated intention of learning as much as possible about the conflict in as short a time as possible. His plans to blog the trip soon leaked to the press and the trip became a several day news story. "While it is true that most folks would choose more stable settings for their vacation, I believe the Iraq war is the seminal conflict for our age," Lesch wrote in announcing his departure. "What happens there today will affect many generations of Americans and Iraqis..." Lesch received some praise, but mostly sharp criticism in the local press for making the trip. He said he'd wanted to see firsthand what conditions were like there, and that the trip was the most rewarding he'd ever taken. Despite the substantial criticism the trip had evoked in the press, Lesch said he had no regrets for making it.[6][7][8]
In June 2007, Lesch proposed legislation to ban five breeds of dogs identified as especially aggressive by the Center for Disease Control: Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Akitas, Chow Chows, and wolf hybrids. Mixes of these breeds would also have been banned under the bill. A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association in 2000 found that half of the 238 human deaths it identified as dog-related over the preceding 20-year period involved either pit bull-type dogs or Rottweilers.[9][10][11]
A study conducted by epidemiologists from the Minnesota Department of Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Unit found that hospital-treated dog bites increased by 40 percent over the interval from 1998-2005. In Minnesota 849 people were hospitalized for dog bites and more than 24,000 were treated in emergency rooms during this eight-year interval, according to the study. The highest rate of treatment and hospitalization was for children ages one to four.[10]
Opponents to Lesch's proposal argued that bite statistics are more a factor of the popularity of certain breeds than any predisposition to aggression: The more dogs of a certain type, the greater the number of bite incidents that will occur involving dogs of that type, they said. Opponents also identified owner behavior as being the determining factor in canine aggression, rather than dog breed, and pointed to the difficulty of exactly identifying a dog of mixed breed without genetic testing as a practical barrier to implementation.[9][10][11]
In February 2007, Lesch stated he was considering running for the United States Senate seat held by Norm Coleman.[12] No campaign announcement was ever made.
In 2009, Lesch enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard and completed Basic Combat Training. While most lawyers who join the military select the Judge Advocate General's (or JAG) Corps, Lesch opted to join the Infantry. In 2010, Lesch completed Officer Candidate School (OCS) training at Fort Benning, Georgia and accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant. While attending OCS, Lesch commenced his reelection campaign for his seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives via Facebook and Twitter. Minnesota's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board determined there are no restrictions on running for office while in the military, and no complaint was brought against Lesch. The military's own rules about political activity are complicated, however. Although neither the Army nor Minnesota National Guard has issued a formal statement regarding Lesch's campaign activities and no complaints have been made, unintentional violations of those rules can easily occur.[13]
In March 2011, newly elected Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton appointed District 66 State Senator Ellen Anderson as chair of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. After she announced her resignation from the Senate, effective March 21, 2011, a number of individuals announced that they would run for the seat, including former DFL State Rep. Mary Jo McGuire, DFL Attorney Steve Marchese, Republican Greg Copeland and Lesch. The primary election was scheduled for Tuesday, March 29, 2011 and the general election was scheduled for two weeks later, April 12, 2011.[14][15]
Since the district leans heavily Democrat, the key election was the March 29, 2011, DFL Primary. During the primary campaign, the then current District 66B Rep. Alice Hausman announced that she was backing McGuire.[16] Lesch subsequently lost the DFL Primary to McGuire by 54% to 36%, [17] and McGuire went on to win in the general election.
In late December 2011 Lesch proposed to Melissa Reed, a lobbyist for the City of Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Holidazzle Parade, in the presence of Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybek, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and a crowd of others.[18] Lesch has been married previously and has a child by that previous marriage.
| Minnesota Legislature - Senate District 66 - 2011 Special Election - DFL Primary [5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | Mary Jo McGuire | 2,006 | 54.07% | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 1,350 | 36.39% | |
| DFL | Steven Marchese | 354 | 9.54% | |
| 2010 Minnesota Legislature - House District 66A[19] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 4,894 | 71.2% | |
| Republican | Chris Conner | 1,952 | 28.4% | |
| 2008 Minnesota Legislature - House District 66A[20] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 9,001 | 76.8% | |
| Republican | Gilbert A. Higuera | 2,665 | 22.7% | |
| 2006 Minnesota Legislature - House District 66A[21] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 6,007 | 77.5% | |
| Republican | David R. Buehler | 1,712 | 22.1% | |
| 2004 Minnesota Legislature - House District 66A[22] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 8,850 | 74.6% | |
| Republican | Greg Copeland | 1,712 | 22.1% | |
| 2002 Minnesota Legislature - House District 66A[23] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| DFL | John Lesch | 6,489 | 71.5% | |
| Republican | Greg Copeland | 2,550 | 28.1% | |