Collin_Peterson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Collin Peterson Collin Peterson Collin Peterson congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota. The district, Minnesota’s largest and most rural district, includes the entire northwestern area of the state. It includes Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Bemidji, Thief River Falls, Willmar, Marshall, and Alexandria. Since 2007, Peterson has been chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. Background and education Collin Peterson was born in Fargo, North Dakota, grew up on a farm in Baker, Minnesota, and received his B.A. at Moorhead State University in Moorhead. His current home is Detroit Lakes, just east of Moorhead. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota’s 7th district Incumbent Assumed office January 3, 1991 Preceded by Born Political party Spouse Residence Alma mater Occupation Religion Military service Service/ branch Years of service United States Army National Guard 1963-1969 Arlan Stangeland June 29, 1944 (1944-06-29) Fargo, North Dakota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Divorced Detroit Lakes, Minnesota Moorhead State University accountant Lutheran Campaigns Peterson was a member of the Minnesota State Senate for the Democratic-FarmerLabor Party (the Minnesota branch of the Democratic Party) from 1977 to 1986, representing a district in northwestern Minnesota. He was elected to the Congress in 1990, defeating seven-term Republican Arlan Stangeland in 1990 on his fourth try after unsuccessful attempts in 1984, 1986 and 1988. The 7th has always been a somewhat conservative district and Peterson struggled to hold on to his seat in close elections. In 1992 he narrowly won re-election by a 50-49% margin against former state representative Bernie Omann. In a 1994 re-match against Omann, Peterson won by a 51-49% margin. From 1996 on, he has been re-elected by a wide margin, with voters giving him between 65 and 72 percent of the vote. He has served in the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, and 111th congresses thus far (January 3, 1991–present). Collin Clark Peterson (b. June 29, 1944 in Fargo, North Dakota), is an American politician from the U.S. state of Minnesota. Peterson has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing Minnesota’s 7th Issues and positions Peterson was a cosponsor of the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2005, which would provide amnesty and 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia job protection for three million illegal immigrant agricultural workers and their families, and extend the visas of legal immigrant agricultural workers. In 1998, Peterson gained attention by proposing a constitutional amendment that would allow the residents of Minnesota’s Northwest Angle to vote on whether they wanted to secede from the United States and join the Canadian province of Manitoba. Peterson was one of the seven original founders of the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats in the House. An avid hunter, Peterson is known for his interest in conservation and sportsmen’s issues. In 2000, he introduced H.R. 1275 to stop the interstate shipping of birds for cockfighting, a bill with 206 cosponsors that did not make it out of committee. He is a strong supporter of preserving wildlife and gaming refuges. Representing a mostly rural district, Peterson takes a strong interest in corporate agriculture issues, and support for increasing agricultural investment programs, farm support programs, and promoting the use of ethanol and biodiesel fuels. In January 2005, he was selected by the House Democratic Caucus to succeed former Texas Congressman Charlie Stenholm as the Ranking Member on the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. He became the committee’s chairman after the Democrats won control of the House two years later. Peterson is considered to be the most conservative Democrat in the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress, scoring 50% conservative by a conservative group[1] and 57% progressive by a liberal group.[2] He is somewhat conservative on social issues; he strongly opposes abortion and has been one of the few Democrats to vote against even stem cell research and the vast majority of gun control measures. He has voted to ban physician assisted suicide and also to approve the flag desecration amendment. Peterson also supports the federal marriage amendment and the death penalty. His socially conservative views are not surprising given the makeup of his district. The 7th contains some of the most conservative counties in the state. As previously mentioned, it is also the state’s most rural district; many DFLers outside the Twin Cities are hunters and trappers who oppose gun control. Collin Peterson On economic issues, however, he is somewhat closer to the liberal wing of his party: he has voted against most free trade agreements, the Freedom to Farm Act, and the Telecom Act of 1996. He also voted against both versions of the Patriot Act and he has been sharply critical of the No Child Left Behind Act, which he contends is unfair to rural students. Since becoming ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, Peterson has voted more often with liberal Democrats. However, political commentators often note that Peterson once dated former Congresswoman Katherine Harris, who, as the Republican Secretary of State of Florida during the 2000 presidential election, infuriated Democrats by certifying George W. Bush as the election winner.[1] Peterson was one of the few Democrats to vote in favor of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.[2] Along with John Conyers, in April 2006 Peterson brought an action against George W. Bush and others alleging violations of the Constitution in the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005[3]. The case (Conyers v. Bush) was ultimately dismissed.[4] In May 2007, Peterson was the lone Democrat to vote against the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act.[5] On January 28, 2009, Peterson was amongst the seven Democrats who voted in the House together with the unanimous Republican opposition against President Obama’s stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).[6][7] In May 6, 2009, Peterson voiced his opposition to climate change legislation proposed by the Obama Administration saying, "I will not support any kind of climate change bill -- even if you fix this -- because I don’t trust anybody anymore. I’ve had it." Peterson predicted that an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to assess indirect effects of ethanol production on greenhouse gas emissions, combined with the climate change legislation, could "kill off corn ethanol."[8] Committee assignments • (Chairman) • Military Veterans Caucus, Co-chair 2 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Collin Peterson Democratic Republican Collin Peterson Michael Barrett 179,163 70 +4 74,680 29 1 - Agriculture Committee From 2003 through 2005, $14.7 billion in crop subsidies went to the congressional districts of members on the House Committee on Agriculture, an analysis by the non-partisan Environmental Working Group found. That was 42.4% of the total subsidies. Peterson is reported to have brought $874 million to his District. [9] In Peterson’s district, which includes sugar beets, wheat and poultry, 58% of the $2.8 billion paid out in crop subsidies from 1995 to 2005 went to 10% of recipients, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tracks farm spending. The chairman says he has no problem with that. "Ten percent of the farmers produce 90% of the food," he says. Rep. Peterson has been among the largest recipients of campaign contributions from farm interests. He has raised this year, as of June 30, 2007 from agricultural interests $153,667. From individuals - $47,530 From political action committees - $106,137 Other contributions - $206,295 Total receipts $359,962 Source: Center for Responsive Politics Constitution Ken Lucier 3,303 2004 2004 Seventh Congressional District of Minnesota Elections Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Collin Peterson Republican David Sturrock 207,254 66 +1 106,235 34 - 2002 2002 Seventh Congressional District of Minnesota Elections Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Collin Peterson Republican Dan Stevens 170,191 65 90,320 35 - Other activities In December 2005, Peterson joined with several other Congressmen to form the Second Amendments, a bipartisan rock and country band set to play for United States troops stationed overseas over the Holiday season. 1 1990 1990 Seventh Congressional District of Minnesota Elections Party Candidate Votes % ±% Democratic Collin Peterson Republican Arlan Stangeland 53 46 - Electoral history 2008 2008 Seventh Congressional District of Minnesota Elections References • Minnesota Legislators Past and Present [1] "Congressional Voting Scorecard 2005" Party Candidate Votes % ±% (pdf). SBE Council’s Congressional Democratic Collin 227,180 72.2 +2.2 Voting Scorecard 2005. Small Business Peterson & Entrepreneurship Council. June, 2006. http://www.sbecouncil.org/uploads/ Republican Glen 87,057 27.7 Ratings2005Scorecard.pdf. Retrieved on Menze 2006-11-02. N/A others 428 0.1 [2] "Leading with the Left". Progressive Punch. 2006 http://www.progressivepunch.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-02. 2006 Seventh Congressional District of [3] Associated Press (2006-04-27). "11 Minnesota Elections House Members to Sue Over Budget Party Candidate Votes % ±% Bill". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/ 3 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Political offices Preceded by Roger L. Hanson Vergas Preceded by Robert W. Goodlatte Virginia Preceded by Arlan Stangeland Minnesota Senate District 10 1977–1986 Chairman of House Agriculture Committee 2007–Present Collin Peterson Succeeded by Cal Larson Fergus Falls Succeeded by Incumbent United States House of Representatives Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Succeeded by from Minnesota’s 7th congressional district Incumbent 1991–Present [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Politics/wireStory?id=1898817. [9] Dilanian, Ken, " Billions go to House Retrieved on 2007-02-20. panel members’ districts", USA Today. Associated Press (2006-11-06). "Judge July 26, 2007. Dismisses Budget Bill Lawsuit". ABC • Collin Peterson at the Biographical News. http://abcnews.go.com/US/ Directory of the United States Congress wireStory?id=2633701. Retrieved on 2006-11-28. Clerk of the House of Representatives • Congressman Collin Peterson official (2007-05-23). "FINAL VOTE RESULTS U.S. House website FOR ROLL CALL 404". House of • Peterson for Congress official campaign Representatives Roll Call. website http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/ • Biography at the Biographical Directory of roll404.xml. Retrieved on 2007-05-24. the United States Congress Clerk of the House of Representatives • Voting record maintained by The (2009-01-28). "FINAL VOTE RESULTS Washington Post FOR ROLL CALL 46 on "Making • Campaign finance reports and data at the supplemental appropriations for fiscal Federal Election Commission year ending 2009"". House of • Campaign contributions at Representatives Roll Call. OpenSecrets.org http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/ • Biography, voting record, and interest roll046.xml. Retrieved on 2009-01-31. group ratings at Project Vote Smart Kevin Díaz (2009-01-30). "Rep. Peterson: • Issue positions and quotes at On The Stimulus is flawed". Star Tribune. Issues http://www.startribune.com/politics/ • Current Bills Sponsored at national/congress/ StateSurge.com 38731832.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhU6:_0c:QyDiiUiacyKUU. • MPR — Campaign 2006: Collin Peterson Retrieved on 2009-01-31. profile from Minnesota Public Radio Sally Schuff (2009-05-06). "Peterson • Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, cries foul on EPA ethanol proposal, vows and Security Act of 2005 not to support climate change bill". Feedstuffs. http://www.feedstuffs.com/ ME2/ dirmod.asp?sid=F4D1A9DFCD974EAD8CD5205E15C1CB42&nm=Breaking+News&type=news&mod Retrieved on 2009-05-07. External links Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collin_Peterson" Categories: 1944 births, Living people, Members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota, Minnesota State Senators, Minnesota Democrats, Minnesota State University Moorhead alumni, American Lutherans 4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Collin Peterson This page was last modified on 8 May 2009, at 03:24 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers 5