Ellen Anderson (born November 25, 1959) 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, and an advisor to former Minnesota Governor

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

. Anderson is a former member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, 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 State legislature (Unite ...

who represented District 66, which includes the northern portion of the city of

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 Larry Pogemiller 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 (MPUC) is an independent regulatory agency within the U.S. state of Minnesota responsible for the oversight and regulation of public utilities, including electric, natural gas, and telecommunications servi ...

. 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

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 St ...

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 **
2008

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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 women politicians 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature