Ellen Anderson (born November 25, 1959) is a
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
politician, and an advisor to former
Minnesota Governor
The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...
Mark Dayton
Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He was a United States Senator for Minnesota from 2001 to 2007, and the Minnesota State Auditor from 1991 to 1 ...
.
Anderson is a former member of the
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...
who represented District 66, which includes the northern portion of the city of
Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, as well as the entire city of
Falcon Heights in
Ramsey County, which is in the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...
metropolitan area. A
Democrat, she was first elected in 1992, and was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2010.
Anderson was a member of the Senate's Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications, Finance, Higher Education, and Local Government and Elections committees. In December 2008, she was appointed by Senate
Majority Leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. Larry Pogemiller
Lawrence "Larry" J. Pogemiller (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician from Minnesota, and the Commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he represented northeas ...
to the Minnesota Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council.
On March 9, 2011, Dayton announced her appointment as chair of the
Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is the consumer protection agency in the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with the regulation of public utilities such as electric and telephone service. Its commissioners are appointed by the gover ...
. She resigned her Senate seat effective March 20, 2011. A special election was held on April 12, 2011, to fill the vacancy.
Anderson was ousted as PUC chair on January 30, 2012, when the
Republican-controlled
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are h ...
voted not to confirm her appointment. Dayton subsequently appointed her to a position as a staff advisor on energy issues.
In 1995, Anderson married
Andy Dawkins
Andrew J. Dawkins (born July 29, 1950) is an American politician and attorney from Minnesota. Dawkins is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from Saint Paul. Running as a Democrat, Dawkins was first elected in 1986 to repre ...
, who served as a
state representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
from Saint Paul from 1987 to 2003.
They divorced in 2018.
References
External links
Senator Anderson Web Page Senator Ellen Anderson Campaign Web SiteMinnesota Public Radio - Votetracker: Ellen Anderson Voting RecordProject Vote Smart - Senator Ellen Anderson Profile*''Follow the Money'' - Ellen Anderson Campaign Contributions
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Ellen R.
Democratic Party Minnesota state senators
Minnesota lawyers
University of Minnesota Law School alumni
Carleton College alumni
1959 births
Living people
Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota
Women state legislators in Minnesota
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians