Jeff Backer Jr. (born January 3, 1967) is an American politician serving in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the Min ...

since 2015. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the oldest active political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Minnesota Republican Party’s platform is relatively moderate. The party’s main issues are economic growth, education, healthcare, civ ...

, Backer represents District 9A in western

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 ...

, which includes the city of

Fergus Falls Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,119 at the 2020 census. History The falls from which the city gets part of its name were discovered by Joe Whitford (a Scotti ...

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States *Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

Traverse Traverse may refer to: * Traverse (climbing), skiing, and in the engineering of roads into slopes * Traverse (surveying), a method of establishing basic points in the field * Movement of a machine slide on a machine tool * Traverse stage, a style ...

, and Wilkin Counties, and parts of

Otter Tail County Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 60,081. Its county seat is Fergus Falls. Otter Tail County comprises the Fergus Falls micropolitan statistical area. With 1,048 lakes in it ...

. Backer was Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens' pick for lieutenant governor in the Republican primary for the 2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election; the pair withdrew from the race during the Republican party state convention.

Early life, education, and career

Backer was born and raised in

Browns Valley, Minnesota Browns Valley is a city in Traverse County, Minnesota, United States, adjacent to the South Dakota border. The population was 558 at the 2020 census. Browns Valley lies along the Little Minnesota River between the northern end of Big Stone ...

and graduated from Browns Valley High School. He attended St. Cloud State University, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in chemistry and public administration. Backer has served as a volunteer EMT for Browns Valley Ambulance since 1995. Backer was a member of the

Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is an administrative body of the State of Minnesota that sets regulations and controls the training and licensing of police officers. The Minnesota legislature replaced the Minnes ...

from 2007 to 2010. He served as a member of the Browns Valley School Board, and was elected to Browns Valley City Council in 2000. Backer was elected mayor in 2004 and served until 2010. Backer was mayor during a major flood in 2007 in Browns Valley and sought federal and state disaster assistance, eventually receiving $2 million in flood relief fom the state legislature. Following the flood, Backer led efforts on a flood prevention and control project.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Backer was elected to the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and has been reelected every two years since. He defeated one-term DFL incumbent Jay McNamar. Backer dubbed his opponent "Metro Jay" and attacked him for his votes on taxes, increasing the minimum wage, and to legalize protections for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

. Backer serves as the minority lead for the Legacy Finance Committee, and also sits on the Health Finance and Policy and Human Services Policy Committees.

Agriculture and the environment

Backer has opposed environmental protections and agricultural regulations, calling them "reckless" and "irresponsible". He sponsored bills to limit the authority of Governor Mark Dayton's administration to make rules on farm fertilizers, and criticized Dayton's executive orders to protect pollinators. Backer advocated requiring departments get legislative approval before making new regulations and rules.

Other political positions

Backer opposed measures to raise the minimum wage in Minnesota. He attacked Governor Dayton for his commitment to the Southwest light rail project. Backer was a member of a task force to reform child protection laws, and supported a 2018 bill to extend funding for mental health care for children. He signed on to a letter calling on the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

to stop participating in research on "aborted human fetal organs," and signed on to a letter calling on Attorney General

Lori Swanson Lori Swanson (born December 16, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the attorney general of Minnesota from 2007 to 2019. She was the first female attorney general elected in Minnesota. In 2018, she ran for Governor of Minne ...

to investigate

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

for allegedly selling fetal body parts. Backer praised a bill passed by the House in December 2020 providing aid to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Electoral history

Personal life

Backer lives in

with his wife, and has one child. Backer taught fifth and sixth grade release time at Browns Valley's Zion Lutheran Church, where he is an active member. He is a member of the Browns Valley Lions Club.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backer, Jeff 1967 births Living people People from Browns Valley, Minnesota St. Cloud State University alumni Minnesota city council members Mayors of places in Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American legislators Lutherans from Minnesota