Gene P. Pelowski, Jr. (born February 2, 1952) is an American politician, teacher, and 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 ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

(DFL), he represented District 26A, which included the cities of Winona and Goodview and parts of Winona County in southeastern Minnesota. On January 7, 2024, Pelowski announced he would not seek reelection to the Minnesota House after serving 38 years. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving House member.

Early life and education

Born in 1952, Pelowski attended Red Wing High School. He received a bachelor's degree in social studies and a master's in education from

Winona State University Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the fi ...

. Pelowski taught and coached debate at Winona High School and was a

golf pro A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

fessional when he was elected to the legislature.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Pelowski was first elected in 1986, and has been reelected every two years since, for a total of 19 terms. He represented the old District 34B before the 1992 legislative

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, and the old District 32A before the 2002 legislative redistricting. After the 2022 election, he represented the new District 26A. As of 2023, he is the longest-serving member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. During his time in the legislature, Pelowski has served on and chaired numerous committees. In 1997-98, he chaired the Higher Education Committee. Pelowski was an assistant minority leader during the 2003-04 session. After the DFL retook the House in 2006, Pelowski chaired the Governmental Operations, Reform, Technology and Elections Committee until 2011. In 2013-14, he again chaired the Higher Education Committee. After House DFLers regained the majority in 2018, Pelowski chaired both the Subcommittee on Legislative Process Reform and the Industrial Education Jobs and Economic Development Finance Division until the end of the 2021 session. He now again chairs the Higher Education Committee. In 2013, Pelowski was honored at the Polish Consulate during a visit to the Polish museum in Winona.

References

External links

Rep. Pelowski Web Page

Gene Pelowski Campaign Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelowski, Gene 1952 births Living people People from Winona, Minnesota Winona State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American politicians of Polish descent 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature