John Marty | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Marty in 2022 | |
| Member of theMinnesota Senate | |
| Assumed office January 6, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Neil Dieterich |
| Constituency | 63rd district (1987–1993) 54th district (1993–2013) 66th district (2013–2023) 40th district (2023–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1956-11-01)November 1, 1956 (age 68) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |
| Spouse | Connie Jaarsma |
| Education | St. Olaf College (BA) |
John J. Marty (born November 1, 1956) is a member of theMinnesota Senate, representing District 40,[1] which includes parts ofRamsey County in the northernTwin Cities metropolitan area. As a young state senator, he ran forgovernor of Minnesota in 1994. He won theDFL nomination and the Democratic primary but lost the general election to the incumbent governor,Arne Carlson. Marty ran for governor again in2010, but withdrew from the race after failing to win his party's endorsement.[2]
As senator, Marty representsRoseville,Arden Hills,Shoreview,New Brighton, andMounds View.
John Marty was born inEvanston, Illinois, on November 1, 1956. He is the son of author and theologianMartin E. Marty. He attendedSt. Olaf College, graduating with a BA in ethics in 1978. In 1979 and 1980 he worked in the DFL Party as a campaign aide andcommunications director. He became an administrator and researcher for the Criminal Justice Committee of theMinnesota House of Representatives in 1980, before working as a grant administrator at theLutheran Brotherhood Foundation for two years beginning in 1985. After his election to theMinnesota Senate in 1986, Marty became a member of the board of directors of theNational Youth Leadership Council. From 1993 to 1996, he served on the board of Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota, a local nonprofit organization.[3][4]
Marty was elected state senator from District 63 on November 4, 1986, andsworn in on January 6, 1987, for the 75th legislative session.[5] The 1992 legislativeredistricting, in conjunction with theU.S. census, changed Marty's district from 63 to 54.
On November 7, 2006, Marty was reelected to a sixth term, winning 62% of the vote and carrying each of the seven suburbs in his district.[6]
The 2012 legislative redistricting changed Marty's district from 54 to 66.
In 1994, Marty sought to unseat incumbentRepublican governorArne Carlson. He was the DFL nominee, winning its primary by two percentage points over former state commerce commissioner and futureattorney generalMike Hatch (the other candidates were Richard T. Van Bergen and formerMinneapolis Police ChiefTony Bouza.) Marty's self-imposedcampaign finance limits, feasible in his small state senate reelection campaigns, severely handicapped his ability to reach as far as his opponent statewide. After spending most of his campaign funds on the primary, he lost to Carlson by a nearly two-to-one margin.
Marty was one of seven DFLers who entered the 1998 gubernatorial campaign, but he dropped out of the race without filing for office. Eventually the party nominated stateAttorney GeneralHubert H. "Skip" Humphrey III. In an upset, theReform Party nominee, former professional wrestlerJesse Ventura, won the election.
On December 22, 2008, Marty announced that he had launched an exploratory campaign for governor after encouragement from health care reformers.[7] He made a formal announcement several months later.
On February 2, 2010, Marty finished in fourth place in a precinct caucus straw poll with 9.5% of the vote, behindMinneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak and Speaker of the Minnesota HouseMargaret Anderson Kelliher, who each received more than 20%. Uncommitted voters came in third, with approximately 14.7%.[8]
On March 31, 2010, Marty announced state senatorPatricia Torres Ray as his running mate.[9]
On April 24, 2010, Marty withdrew from the race at the DFL state convention after it became clear he could not win the endorsement. He gave his support to Kelliher, whom the party endorsed.[2]
When the nationalDemocratic Party was picking its2004 presidential nominee, Marty joined State SenateMajority LeaderJohn Hottinger in endorsing CongressmanDennis Kucinich ofOhio. OnSuper Tuesday, Kucinich received 17% of the vote in Minnesota's presidentialcaucus, one of his best showings that year. During the2008 presidential campaign, Marty was a strong supporter ofBarack Obama.
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Marty is best known to Minnesota residents as an advocate on environmental issues, health-care reform, and government ethics and campaign-finance reform. He is the author of the Minnesota Health Plan, a comprehensive single-payer healthcare plan.[10] In 2016, he wrote a book,Healing Healthcare, that makes the case for a universal healthcare system.[11] Marty does not acceptsoft money contributions or contributions fromlobbyists, and sharply limits the contributions he will accept from any one person.[12] Among Marty's ethics legislation was the Minnesota law banning lobbyists from giving gifts to public officials.[12] Marty opposes public funding of stadiums and professional sports teams and was outspoken in his criticism of proposals for new stadiums for theMinnesota Twins andMinnesota Vikings.[13] He also supports medical marijuana, and appeared in the movieSuper High Me.
Over the years, Marty has pushed for legislation that was initially dismissed as being politically impossible due to opposition of powerful interest groups, eventually building support and passing legislation several years later. He has authored a wide range of laws, including renewable energy legislation that createdcommunity solar and multiplied the use of solar power in Minnesota. He also authored the ban on mercury in consumer products, creation of public benefit corporations as an alternative form of business enterprise, authorization for nurses to dispense oral contraceptives in family planning clinics, significant restrictions on special interest money in politics, and numerous DWI and public safety laws.
Marty’s legislative ideas have frequently made Minnesota the first state to adopt such ideas, with other states following suit, such as his law banning smoking in hospitals and health care facilities, and a ban on the pesticide Triclosan and a prohibition on using several toxic flame retardants.
On LGBTQ rights, Marty was pushing for equality in early 1990s amid of strong public support forDOMA. Marty introduced marriage equality legislation in 2008 and publicly said that despite the position's unpopularity, he thought it could pass within five years, which turned out to be true.
John Marty is married to Connie Marty (née Jaarsma). They live in Roseville, Minnesota, and have two children. He is Lutheran.[5]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Minnesota 1994 | Succeeded by |