Arne Carlson
Arne Carlson | |
---|---|
37th Governor of Minnesota | |
In office January 7, 1991 – January 4, 1999 | |
Lieutenant | Joanell Dyrstad Joanne Benson |
Preceded by | Rudy Perpich |
Succeeded by | Jesse Ventura |
14th Auditor of Minnesota | |
In office January 4, 1979 – January 7, 1991 | |
Governor | Al Quie Rudy Perpich |
Preceded by | Bob Mattson |
Succeeded by | Mark Dayton |
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives | |
In office January 5, 1971 – January 2, 1979 | |
Preceded by | Thor Anderson |
Succeeded by | Todd Otis |
Constituency | 36th district (1971–1973) District 58B (1973–1979) |
Member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 12th Ward | |
In office 1965–1967 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Arne Helge Carlson September 24, 1934 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Republican (1960–present) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 1960) |
Spouses |
|
Children | 3 |
Education | Williams College (BA) |
Arne Helge Carlson (born September 24, 1934) is an American politician who served as the
Born into poverty in
He went on to serve in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1971 until 1979. Carlson then was the Minnesota State Auditor from 1979 until 1991. He launched a bid for the Republican nomination for governor of Minnesota in 1990. He lost the primary election to businessman Jon Grunseth. However, Grunseth became embroiled in a scandal weeks before the election causing Carlson to take his place on the ballot. He defeated incumbent governor Rudy Perpich. In 1994, he easily won reelection to a second term. Since his return to private life in 1999, he has been an active supporter of Democratic candidates but remains a Republican.
Early years, education and family
Born in
Career
Early career
Carlson served one term on the
Minnesota Governor
Election in 1990
Carlson's long tenure as auditor, in addition to his noted speaking abilities, made him a leading contender for the Republican nomination in 1990. However, although he initially led in public opinion surveys, his status as a
In the Republican primary, Grunseth defeated Carlson, who came in second place.
On October 15, 1990, with fifteen days of campaigning left before
Tenure
Carlson was elected the 37th governor of Minnesota in the November 1990 general election, and served from January 7, 1991, to January 4, 1999. He won as a member of the Independent-Republican Party. In September 1995, the party changed its name to, simply, the "Republican Party."
During his administration, Carlson worked to solve an inherited $2 billion state budget deficit. By the end of his term, the state had surpluses of $2.3 billion in FY1997 and $1.9 billion in FY1998. His administration restored the AAA bond rating from all three Wall Street major bond houses and was the first such state to receive the upgrade in 25 years.
Carlson increased funding for elementary and secondary education by 9%, created a top-level Children's Cabinet to develop a single integrated agenda and budget for all state children's programs and initiatives, laid the groundwork for the first light rail in Minneapolis with state and federal funding of $160 million and was successful in getting school choice funded which was hailed by the "Wall Street Journal" as a model for the rest of the country.
In 1993, Carlson served as Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association. That same year he signed into law the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which banned LGBT discrimination in housing, employment, and education.[11]
In 1994, the delegates to the Minnesota Republican Party State Convention viewed Carlson, who supported gay rights and
As governor, Carlson was known as a
Post-governorship
In 1998, after leaving office, Carlson was appointed to the board of directors of the IDS Mutual Fund Group, which was part of the American Express Financial Advisors, a Minneapolis-based company.[15] He was named chairman and CEO of the board the next year.[16]
Carlson has remained politically active in retirement. On 2010, he announced that he would embark on a "Paul Revere" tour of Minnesota to bring attention to fiscal problems facing the state.[17] During the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown, which occurred after Democratic Governor Mark Dayton and the Republican state legislative leaders could not agree on a budget, Carlson collaborated with Walter Mondale and several other prominent political and business leaders to propose a nonpartisan budget commission.[18]
In 2001, in a MPR-St. Paul Pioneer Press Poll Carlson ranked second (behind Hubert Humphrey) among prominent Minnesota political figures on their contributions to the state. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said Carlson made a "great or major contribution" to the state.[19]
In retirement, Carlson often endorsed Democratic and DFL candidates over Republican candidates. He endorsed
Carlson was an outspoken critic of Joan Gabel's performance as president of the University of Minnesota.[28]
Carlson and Mondale also teamed to oppose a
Carlson is a longtime
Carlson has been fighting PolyMet, a massive mining conglomerate that used
Personal life
Carlson was married to
Electoral history
- 1994 race for Governor
- Arne Carlson (I-R) (inc.), 63%
- John Marty (DFL), 34%
- 1990 race for Governor
- Arne Carlson (I-R), 50%
- Rudy Perpich (DFL) (inc.), 47%
- 1986 race for State Auditor
- Arne Carlson (I-R) (inc.)
- John Dooley (DFL)
- 1982 race for State Auditor
- Arne Carlson (I-R) (inc.), 55%
- Paul Wellstone (DFL), 45%
- 1978 race for State Auditor
- Arne Carlson (I-R), 52%
- Robert W. Mattson Jr. (DFL) (inc.), 47%
References
- ^ "PS 36 Unionport - Homepage". January 29, 2016. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016.
- ^ "An Alternative to Public Schools When They Go Bad". New York Daily News. September 12, 1997.
- ^ "Arne Helge Carlson". National Governors Association. January 3, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ root. "Arne Helge Carlson". www.nga.org. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gilbert, Curtis (November 5, 2010). "Recent race tame compared to 1990 gubernatorial contest". Minnesota Public Radio.
- ^ a b c d e f 20 years ago: A three-week political roller coaster, Minnesota Public Radio News (November 5, 2010).
- ^ a b "Republican Quits Minnesota Governor's Race". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 29, 1990.
- ^ a b Randy Furst, Did a TV debate decide one of Minnesota's most scandalous elections?, Star Tribune (September 2, 2022).
- ^ "Minn. nominee quits gov's race". USA Today. October 29, 1990. Archived from the original on March 30, 2009.
- ^ Clark v. Growe, 462 N E.2d 385 (Minn. November 1, 1990).
- ^ Preston, Joshua. "Allan Spear and the Minnesota Human Rights Act." Minnesota History 65 (2016): 76-87.
- ^ Mary R. Sandok, Conservative Minnesota Republicans Refuse to Back Governor at Convention, Associated Press (June 18, 1994).
- ^ a b Dan Balz, Minnesota GOP opts for conservative, denies Gov. Carlson Its endorsement, Washington Post (June 18, 1994).
- ^ Minnesota Governor Prevails, Washington Post (September 14, 1994).
- ^ Gov. Carlson named to IDS board, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (November 9, 1998).
- ^ Arne Carlson appointed chairman, CEO of IDS Mutual Fund Board, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (March 2, 1999).
- ^ Gov. Arne Carlson on Paul Revere tour, Minnesota Public Radio.org (June 2, 2010).
- ^ Rachel Weiner (July 5, 2011). "Walter Mondale to help end Minnesota shutdown". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
- ^ "MPR: Poll: Ventura retains popularity". news.minnesota.publicradio.org. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ Kaszuba, Mike (October 23, 2008). "Carlson endorses Obama, spurred by Bachmann remarks". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Former Gov. Carlson endorses Walz, Star Tribune (October 24, 2010).
- ^ Mullen, Mike (June 15, 2016). "Why former Gov. Arne Carlson, Republican, is voting for Hillary Clinton". City Pages. Archived from the original on June 18, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ^ Former Gov. Arne Carlson, A Republican, Says He's Voting For Clinton, CBS Minnesota (August 7, 2016).
- ^ Three Minnesota Republicans back Biden over Trump, Forum News Service/St. Paul Pioneer Press (August 24, 2020).
- ^ Tom Scheck (October 25, 2010). "Arne Carlson backs Walz". Minnesota Public Radio. Archived from the original on October 26, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
- ^ Arne Carlson endorses Tom Horner for governor Archived September 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. MinnPost. Retrieved on February 14, 2016.
- ^ Hohmann, James (December 11, 2010). "Minnesota GOP brings out the knives for moderates". Politico.
- ^ Cathy Wurzer and Ellen Finn, Fmr. Gov. Arne Carlson reacts to Joan Gabel leaving U, Minnesota Public Radio (April 3, 2023).
- ^ ‘Teammates’ Walter Mondale and Arne Carlson find common ground on causes Archived August 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. MinnPost. Retrieved on February 14, 2016.
- ^ "ReFormers Caucus - Issue One". 2023.
- ^ Cyndy Brucato, Carlson, Marty plan bill to limit Citizens United decision, MinnPost (February 28, 2012).
- ^ "Former Gov. Arne Carlson is 88 and battling a massive mining conglomerate". Minnesota Reformer. June 8, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2024.