Pamela J. Myhra (born 1957) is an American politician and served as a 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 ...

during the 87th and 88th legislative sessions. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

, she represented portions of

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

and

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

counties in the southern

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. During her first term representing Minnesota House District 40A; January 4, 2011 to January 7, 2013; Myhra served as a member of the Capital Investment, Education Finance, Education Policy and Tax committees. During her second term representing Minnesota House District 56A; January 8, 2013 to January 5, 2015; Myhra served as the minority lead member on the Early Childhood and Youth Development Policy committee and as a member of the Education Finance and Tax committees. In her second term she was appointed the minority party House legislative liaison to the Minnesota Early Learning Council and to the Minnesota Youth Council. Myhra is a

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

with an active license.

Early life, education, and career

Myhra is a long-term resident of Burnsville where she graduated from

Burnsville High School Burnsville High School (BHS) is a four-year public high school in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States. Burnsville is a southern suburb about 15 miles south of Minneapolis. The school is part of Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191, whic ...

in 1975. After graduating from the University of St. Thomas in

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 ...

, earning her

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 ...

with honors in Business Administration, she joined the public accounting firm,

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

. As a

, she specialized in banking, insurance, and government until placing her career on hold to have a family and home educate her three children. Active in her community, she has also served as a director of a girls’ club and teacher of numerous parenting classes.

Political career

Myhra is a graduate of the Minnesota Excellence in Public Service Series, a communication, leadership, and management program for female leaders and, while serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives, was a fellow of the National Conference of State Legislatures Early Learning program and a Council of State Governments Early Childhood Development program participant. Myhra received the "Elected Women of Excellence Award" from the National Foundation of Women Legislators in November 2013. Myhra was first elected to the District 56A of the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

in 2010, and was re-elected in 2012. She did not seek re-election in 2014. Myhra ran as a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota The lieutenant governor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Fifty individuals have held the office of lieutenant governor since statehood. The incumbent is Peggy Flanagan, a Democratic ...

as the running mate of GOP gubernatorial candidate,

Marty Seifert Martin John "Marty" Seifert (born April 23, 1972) is a former Republican Minority Leader and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. He represented District 21A, a predominantly rural district in southwestern Minnesota that in ...

, who ran for the Republican nomination for

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...

. Their ticket was defeated in the Republican primary on August 12, 2014. Myhra opted to run for lieutenant governor, rather than seek re-election to her House seat in 2014. In 2018, Myhra ran for

Minnesota State Auditor The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor ...

, but lost to

Julie Blaha Julie Blaha (born May 2, 1970) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the 19th state auditor of Minnesota since 2019. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election as auditor, Blaha se ...

. In 2020, Myhra ran for her previously held House seat, but narrowly lost to Jessica Hanson. In 2022, she ran for the Minnesota state Senate, but lost to incumbent Lindsey Port.https://ballotpedia.org/Pam_Myhra

References

External links

Rep. Myhra Web Page

Project Votesmart - Rep. Pam Myhra Profile

Pam Myhra Campaign Web Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myhra, Pam 1957 births 21st-century American women politicians Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni People from Burnsville, Minnesota Women state legislators in Minnesota Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Candidates in the 2018 United States elections American accountants American women accountants 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature