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Kurt Patrick Bills (born January 8, 1970) is an American educator and former politician. He has taught and coached high school since 1994. He served on the Rosemount City Council from 2008 to 2010. He then 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 2011 to 2012. He was the Republican nominee for
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in Minnesota in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, losing in a landslide to Democratic incumbent
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...
.


Early life, education, and early career

Bills attended
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 ...
earning a B.S. in secondary social studies education,
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 US history, and M.A. in education. Since 1996, Bills has worked as a secondary social studies teacher at Rosemount High School, teaching courses in
Microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...
,
Macroeconomics Macroeconomics is a branch of economics that deals with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole. This includes regional, national, and global economies. Macroeconomists study topics such as output (econ ...
and American Government & Politics. He is also the former head coach of the wrestling team.


Early political life

In 2008, Bills was elected to the Rosemount City Council from a field of 26 candidates. Bills cited his students for his reason to enter the political arena. In Bills words: "In 2007, when studying fiscal policy, national debt, deficits, and entitlements, a student asked why solutions are not sought if we know that we have structural problems. I explained how politicians make self-interested choices just like the rest of us. After a short discussion about party structure, media and election cycle politics, one of my more politically active students, in a mixture of depression, anger and frustration asked, 'Mr. Bills, what are we supposed to do about this?'"


Minnesota House of Representatives


2010 election

Bills ran for 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 ...
in 2010 in District 37B. He defeated incumbent Democratic State Representative Phil Sterner, 58%–42%.


Tenure

Bills's district included Rosemount and parts of Apple Valley, in the southeastern
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. Bills was a chief author of bills supporting scholarships for early high school graduation; reduction of pay for legislators if the budget were not balanced by the end of the legislative session; and making gold and silver legal tender in Minnesota. On May 21, 2011, Bills joined the House Republican Majority in voting for a constitutional amendment to constitutionally ban marriage for same-sex couples. He was also among those legislators during the July 2011 Minnesota government shutdown who declined their pay.


Committee assignments

*House Committee on Capital Investment *House Committee on Education/Finance *House Committee on Taxes


2012 U.S. Senate election

In March 2012, Bills announced his candidacy for the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
seat held by
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...
. He was endorsed by GOP presidential contender
Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...
, U.S. senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and Minnesota House speaker Kurt Zellers. At the state Republican convention in May 2012, Bills received the Senate endorsement on the second ballot. He won the Republican primary on August 14, 2012. Klobuchar defeated Bills in the general election on November 6, 2012. Bills carried only two counties ( Rock County and Pipestone County) while Klobuchar swept the rest of the state, winning with 65% of the vote.


Post-election professional life

In March 2013, Forbes.com added Bills as a contributor to its website. In July 2013, H&H Partners Consulting Corporation named Bills to its board of directors as Executive Chairman and a Senior Advisor.


Personal life

Bills and his wife, Cindy, own a licensed home daycare that she operates. They reside in Rosemount with their four children.


References


External links


Rep. Bills
at the Minnesota House of Representatives
Kurt Bills Campaign Web Site
*
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Bills, Kurt 1970 births Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives People from Rosemount, Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature