Carolyn Jane (Deshon) Rodriguez (January 25, 1944 – March 7, 2002) was an American teacher and politician. Born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Rodriguez received her degree from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

and went to the University of Madrid. In 1976, Rodriguez moved to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. She served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from 1981 until 1984 from

Apple Valley, Minnesota Apple Valley is a city in northwestern Dakota County, Minnesota, and a suburb of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities. The population was 56,374 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Minnes ...

. She died of bone cancer in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Rodriquez was a member of the Metropolitan Council and known for her work involving transit. She authored the legislation that allowed for the creation of the suburban opt-out transit authorities such as Maple Grove Transit, Plymouth Metrolink, SouthWest Transit, and

Minnesota Valley Transit Authority The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route a ...

Notes

1944 births 2002 deaths People from Apple Valley, Minnesota Politicians from San Francisco University of Texas at Austin alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Deaths from cancer in Minnesota 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature {{Minnesota-MNRepresentative-Democratic-stub