Gerald F. "Jerry" Newton (born September 15, 1937) is an American retired politician from

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

from 2009 to 2017, and again from 2023 to 2025, and in 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 ...

from 2017 to 2023. Newton represented District 35B in the northern

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, which includes the cities of Coon Rapids and

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

and parts of Anoka County.

Early life, education, and career

Newton graduated from Osseo High School in Osseo, Minnesota, then earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in government from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1973. He received his MA in international relations in 1975 from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, and studied political science at the doctoral level at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

Leuven, Belgium Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

, and at 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 ...

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 ...

. Newton served on active duty in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1955 to 1978, retiring as a

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

, having been deployed overseas for 18 of his 23 years of service, including in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and seven years in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. The

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm are among his 23 awards of medals, battle stars, services ribbons, and decorations. He taught courses in political science at the Overseas Division of the University of Maryland in 1975–76, at the University of Minnesota in 1979–80, and at Anoka Ramsey Community College from 2012 to 2014. He owned and managed the Blaine Dairy Store, Inc and Liberty Park Grocery from 1980 to 2001.

Minnesota State Senate

Newton was first elected to the Senate in 2016, succeeding the retiring Alice Johnson. He was a member of the following committees and commissions: *Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy *Ranking Minority Chair of Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy *Chair, Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission *Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission

Minnesota House of Representatives

Newton was first elected to the House in 2008, succeeding six-term Representative Kathy Tingelstad, who did not seek reelection. He was unseated by Republican Branden Petersen in the 2010 general election. He ran again and was elected in 2012. During his first term, he was a member of the House K-12 Finance Committee, House K-12 Policy Committee, the House Transportation Fiance Committee and was Vice Chair of the Veterans Affairs Division of the House Agriculture, Rural Economies and Veterans Affairs Committee. He was the Minnesota School Board Association 2009 Legislator of the Year for his leadership on hearings and legislation relating to special education. In 2009 Newton was also appointed by Speaker of the House Paul Thissen to perform an in-depth study of veterans homes. In 2010 Thissen appointed him to co-chair the Coon Rapids Dam Legislative Commission to provide a barrier for invasive species of fish from gaining access to northeastern Minnesota waterways.

Personal life

Active in his local community and government, Newton was a member of the Coon Rapids City Council from 1994 to 2000, and served as acting mayor from 1999 to 2000. He was a member of the

Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 The Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 is a school district in Minnesota, northwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The district serves 13 communities: All of Anoka, Champlin and Coon Rapids, and parts of Andover, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, ...

School Board from 2000 to 2008. He has chaired the Anoka Human Rights Council and served on the Anoka County Affordable Housing Coalition, the Coon Rapids Economic Development Authority, the

Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

Housing and Redevelopment Authority, the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an American advocacy organization that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a membership organization provi ...

(1995–2000), the Metropolitan Council Transportation Advisory Board (1996–2000), the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities, and the

Northstar Corridor The Northstar Line is a commuter rail route in the US state of Minnesota. Northstar runs from Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis at Target Field using existing track and right-of-way owned by the BNSF Railway. Passenger service began on Novem ...

Development Authority. Newton was a founding board member, president and emeritus director of Free2 Be, Inc. and is a former member of the Metro North Chamber of Commerce and the Coon Rapids Rotary, where he was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow. He is a life member of the VFW and is a member of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the Coon Rapids American Legion. Newton was best known locally for creating unique rail crossing quiet zones that set a national standard for enhanced rail crossing safety while silencing train horns. He initiated the local school district's first high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program at Blaine High School, the Baccalaureate program at Champlin Park High School and the Compass program to insure expelled students received continuing hands-on education.

References

External links

Official MN House Page for Rep. Newton

Campaign Web Page

Project Votesmart - Rep. Jerry Newton Profile

Session Weekly 1/23/2009: "No shortcut to service: Newton relishes opportunity to make tough decisions"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Jerry 1937 births Living people University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni People from Coon Rapids, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature