Margaret Anderson Kelliher

Margaret Anderson Kelliher (born March 11, 1968) is an American politician, Director of the Minneapolis Department of Public Works, former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, she represented District 60A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, located in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. First elected in 1999, she served until 2011, also serving as the Speaker from 2007 to 2011. She is the second woman (after Dee Long) to hold the position of House speaker. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the DFL nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 2010 gubernatorial election, losing to former Senator Mark Dayton. Anderson left the Minnesota House of Representatives at the conclusion of her term in 2011 and re-entered politics when she ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018, losing to Ilhan Omar. Since 2019 Kelliher, has worked in transportation management roles for the government, first as Commissioner of MnDOT, and later as Director of Public Works for the city of Minneapolis.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher
Director of The Minneapolis Department of Public Works
Assumed office
March 2, 2022
Appointed byJacob Frey
Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Transportation
In office
January 7, 2019 – March 1, 2022
GovernorTim Walz
Preceded byCharles Zelle
Succeeded byNancy Daubenberger (Acting)
57th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 4, 2011
Preceded bySteve Sviggum
Succeeded byKurt Zellers
Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives
In office
June 20, 2006 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byMatt Entenza
Succeeded byMarty Seifert
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 60A district
In office
January 5, 1999 – January 4, 2011
Preceded byDee Long
Succeeded byMarion Greene
Personal details
Born (1968-03-11) March 11, 1968
Mankato, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDavid Kelliher
Children2
EducationGustavus Adolphus College (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)

Political career

Kelliher worked as a legislative staffer for then-Speaker Robert Vanasek and then-Senate President Allan Spear before being elected to the legislature herself.[1][2]

Anderson Kelliher served as Minority Whip from 2003 to 2006, and in January 2006 became the first Assistant Minority Leader of the Minnesota House. In June 2006, she was selected by her caucus to succeed Rep. Matt Entenza as Minority Leader, assuming the position after the legislative session came to a close. After the Democrats won control of the House in the 2006 election, she was selected by her caucus to be Speaker starting in January 2007.[3] She succeeded Rep. Steve Sviggum in that position. On January 6, 2009, she was re-elected Speaker for the 2009–2010 biennium.

A woman wearing a suit with a Margaret Anderson Kelliher for Governor button.
Kelliher campaigning for governor in 2010

2010 gubernatorial campaign
Main article: Minnesota gubernatorial election, 2010

On September 16, 2009, Anderson Kelliher announced that she would seek the DFL endorsement for governor in 2010. She joined a field that included two other former house minority leaders, Democrat Matt Entenza and Republican Marty Seifert.[4]

On April 24, 2010, Anderson Kelliher was endorsed by the DFL state convention to serve as the party's candidate for governor. Anderson Kelliher won after her closest rival, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, dropped out after the sixth convention ballot.[5] This made her the first woman to earn major-party endorsement for a gubernatorial election in Minnesota.

While Kelliher won the party's endorsement, she still had to win the Democratic primary. On August 10, 2010, Kelliher lost a narrow primary election to former U.S. Senator Mark Dayton, ending her campaign.[6]

Post gubernatorial campaign

Anderson ran for the DFL nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2018, losing to Ilhan Omar.[7][8]

Political positions

During her 2010 primary campaign Kelliher announced several policy and budget initiatives. In July 2010, she proposed that the state of Minnesota should borrow 2 billion dollars over 5 years to stimulate the construction industry in Minnesota;[9] however, she did not support using general fund dollars to build a new Vikings Stadium.[10]

Transportation management

In 2019, Anderson Kelliher was appointed by Governor Tim Walz to serve as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. On March 2, 2022, she became Director of the Minneapolis Public Works Department.[11][12][13] During the redesign of Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis, Kelliher changed the proposed design of the street change from 24/7 bus lanes to allowing parking in bus lanes during certain hours of the day. Public works staff considered dynamic parking lanes to "pose a moderate to high risk" to the Metro E Line, an analysis that was not presented to the city council committee in charge of approving the design. Mayor Jacob Frey and Kelliher argued that allowing parking would help business owners in the corridor.[14]

Personal life

Anderson Kelliher grew up on a dairy farm in rural Blue Earth County, Minnesota. After graduating from Mankato West High School, she received a B.A. in history and political science from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. Anderson Kelliher and her husband, David Kelliher, have two children, Patrick and Frances.

See also

References
  1. Speaker of the House Margaret Anderson Kelliher Minnesota House of Representatives
  2. Profile: New House Majority Leadership Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Jeff Fecke, Minnesota Monitor, November 15, 2006
  3. Two Minneapolis lawmakers will lead Legislature Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Janet Kubat Willette, Agri News, November 14, 2006
  4. "Kelliher announces that she's running for governor". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  5. "DFL endorses House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher for governor". Archived from the original on April 29, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  6. AP: Dayton Wins DFL Nomination For Governor
  7. Brodey, Sam (June 20, 2018). "Margaret Anderson Kelliher is back after eight years out of politics. Can she win over today's DFL?". MinnPost. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  8. Rao, Maya; Galioto, Katie (August 15, 2018). "Ilhan Omar rolls to victory in primary to replace Keith Ellison in Congress". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  9. "Kelliher proposes borrowing $2 billion to create jobs | StarTribune.com". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  11. "MnDOT commissioner confirmed as new Minneapolis Public Works head". KSTP. February 10, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  12. "Margaret Anderson Kelliher Confirmed as Public Works Director - City of Minneapolis".
  13. Sepic, Matt; Pugmire, Tim (January 7, 2022). "Transportation commissioner to head Minneapolis public works". MPR News. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. Harlow, Tim (July 13, 2022). "Hennepin Avenue bus lane advocates say Minneapolis withheld data". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
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