Dee Long
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Dee Long (born April 1939) is a
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 ...
politician, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and a former member of 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 ...
, representing part of
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. Long was the first woman to serve as
Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives This is a list of speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives. The speaker of the House is usually the leader of the majority party, and is the most powerful figure in the House. Territorial State {, class=wikitable style="text-al ...
, a position she held from 1992 to 1993.


Biography


Early life, education, and career

Long was born in Minneapolis to liberal Republican parents. Long attended
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
before transferring to the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, where she graduated
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
with a degree in
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. She became politically active in the 1960s due to the ongoing Civil Rights Movement and opposition to the Vietnam War. She began working in local Minneapolis politics such as a campaign manager for a city council candidate. She was active in women's issues, environmentalism, as a member of the
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...
, as well as LGBT issues.


Minnesota House of Representatives

Long first won election to the House of Representatives in 1978 with 57% of the vote, and represented districts based around the Minneapolis neighborhoods of Kenwood and Lowry Hill. Long was the House author for th
1983 Minnesota Environmental Response and Liability Act
the state equivalent to the federal
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
law. In 1989, Long became the first woman to chair the powerful House Tax Committee. She held that position until she was elected Majority Leader of the House DFL Caucus due to the appointment of Ann Wynia as Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. Following the 1991 Legislative Session, Robert Vanasek resigned the Speakership to become Executive Director of the Minnesota High Technology Council. The House DFL Caucus elected Long as his successor, and she would be formally elected as the first female Speaker of the Minnesota House in January 1992.


Speakership

Long's speakership saw the Minnesota Legislature face several challenges. In January 1992, the Legislature quickly passed a legislative redistricting bill, SF 1596, following litigation the previous year. Governor Arne Carlson would veto it, and litigation over redistricting would continue until new maps were passed in 1994. In 1993, the legislature passed
bill
banning discrimination against LGBT people in housing, education, and employment. It would be signed into law on April 2, 1993.


Phonegate

In 1993, the "Phonegate" scandal erupted, in which 64 legislators and 225 staff members were found to be using state toll-free access codes for personal use. Taxpayer-funded access codes from MCI were given to legislators to conduct business without paying for long distance charges calling outside of Saint Paul. In 1992, the Minnesota DNR's Detroit Lakes office received a bill of $57,000 in fraudulent long distance charges but it was found the codes had been stolen and employees were not responsible for the calls. Majority Leader Alan Welle had given his son his long distance code. His nephew would also get access to it, and the code was spread further around the country. Altogether, there were $89,000 in unauthorized charges. While known before, he publicly disclosed it in March 1993 and resigned his leadership position. Afterwards, records released showed other House members had made $28,000 in unauthorized charges. Duluth Senator Sam Solon was fined $500 and had to repay $2,431 after giving his code to his ex-wif

Pine County Senator Florian Chmielewski pled guilty and was fined in 1996 to giving his code out to his family, including after rules and reporting changes for phone calls. Welle would resign from the Legislature on January 4, 1994, as part of a plea agreement to lesser charges. In 1994, a number of legislators and staff with unauthorized charges under $200 would participate in an amnesty program to reimburse the state and avoid criminal charges from the Ramsey County Attorney. Long was not accused of any direct wrongdoing in unauthorized calls but was criticized for a lack of transparency on Welle and other legislators.


KSTP Report

In July, legislators nationwide attended the year's National Conference of State Legislatures, including Long. She was recorded playing golf and became the subject of a critical
KSTP-TV KSTP-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Hubbard Broadcasting, which has owned th ...
report, as the travel and lodging were taxpayer-funded. Taken with Phonegate, this proved untenable. The day after the report aired in August, Long resigned the speakership effective the next month.


Post-Speakership

Representatives Irv Anderson, Jerry Bauerly, and Ann Rest vied to replace her, with Anderson winning. Long served as chair of the then Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee in the 1995-1996 session and chair of the House Taxes Committee in the 1997-1998 session. She did not run for reelection in 1998 in order to seek the DFL endorsement for Secretary of State, losing to
Richfield Richfield may refer to: Places Canada *Richfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Richfield, Nova Scotia *Richfield, British Columbia, a ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush United States * Richfield, California *Richfield, Idaho * Richfiel ...
State Representative
Edwina Garcia Edwina Garcia (born December 8, 1944) is an American politician in the state of Minnesota. Garcia was born in Clovis, New Mexico. She went to University of Minnesota. Garcia served on the Richfield, Minnesota City Council. She served in the Minn ...
.


Personal life

After leaving the legislature, Long lobbied for energy independence and was an active political commentator, before retiring in 2007. Long and her spouse, Nicholas, have two children. She lives in
Minnetonka, Minnesota Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...
.


See also

*
List of female speakers of legislatures in the United States This is a list of women who have served as speakers and leaders of federal, state, and territorial legislatures in the United States. Congress State Territorial and the District of Columbia Notes References

{{Women in U.S. ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Dee Speakers of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 1939 births Living people University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Harvard University alumni American Congregationalists Women state legislators in Minnesota 2012 United States presidential electors 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature