Meet the new Senate majority

Posted at 9:39 AM on November 29, 2010 by Tim Pugmire
Filed under: 2011 Freshman class, MN Legislature

When the new Republican majority takes control of the Minnesota Senate there will be 21 new members in the GOP caucus. Capitol View will highlight the new legislators in a series of posts in the coming weeks. Here are the first four profiles:

Senator-elect Michelle Benson, R-Ham Lake, District 49
Election: Defeated DFL candidate Paul Meunier for the seat vacated by Sen. Debbie Johnson, R-Ham Lake
Family: Married, two children
Occupation: CPA
Education: BA, St. Catherine University; MBA, University of St. Thomas

Benson said she expects a lot of hard work ahead to balance the state budget. She said she's particularly interested in digging into health and human services spending.

"Health and human services has the challenge of being highly federally regulated and very personal," Benson said. "And so it's going to take deep contemplation, empathy and efficiency in order to get that budget moved in a direction that's going to be helpful to everyone in the state."

Senator-elect David Brown, R-Becker, District 16
Election: Defeated incumbent Sen. Lisa Fobbe, DFL-Zimmerman
Family: Married, two children
Occupation: Insurance agent
Education: BA, Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Brown said he decided to make his first bid for elected office because he was concerned about the direction of state government. He said his goals include a cap on state spending and improving the state's tax climate for businesses.

"I've worked for the private sector my whole life," Brown said. "I've never worked for government. I think my lack of a political background is a plus."

Senator-elect John Carlson, R-Bemidji, District 4
Election: Defeated incumbent Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji
Family: Married, two children
Occupation: Insurance agent
Education: BS, Bemidji State University; CMA, Institute of Management Accountants

Carlson ran unsuccessfully for the Minnesota House in 2008. He said his goals for 2011 include making structural changes in the state budget to focus on the outcome of state spending.

"Everything we do is based on how much money did you spend," Carlson said. "We're not worrying about have we done any good for anyone."

Senator-elect Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, District 53
Election: Defeated incumbent Sen. Sandy Rummel, DFL-White Bear Lake
Family: Married, two children
Occupation: Business taxation
Education: BS, Metropolitan State University

Chamberlain is another political newcomer, who describes himself as an average person with real-world experience. Chamberlain said he thinks the Legislature can have an impact quickly on job creation.

"I think if you do some things with the tax structure, if you show businesses that you've taken steps to solidify that budget, you can attract some new investment fairly quickly," Chamberlain said. Overnight? No. Over a few months, over a year? Absolutely."

(Photos courtesy of the Minnesota Senate)

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories