Pat Garofalo
Pat Garofalo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 58B district 36B (2005–2013) | |
| Assumed office January 4, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Steve Strachan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 23, 1971[1] Saint Paul, Minnesota |
| Political party | Republican Party of Minnesota |
| Spouse | Julie |
| Children | Two |
| Residence | Farmington, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Minnesota State University, Mankato (B.S.) |
| Occupation | network engineer, legislator |
Patrick "Pat" Garofalo (born September 23, 1971) is an American politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 58B, which includes portions of Dakota and Goodhue counties in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Education[edit]
Born in 1971 in Saint Paul, Minnesota,[1] Garofalo graduated from Rosemount High School in Rosemount in 1989, then went on to Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, earning his B.S. in law enforcement in 1994.
Minnesota House of Representatives[edit]
Garofalo was first elected in 2004 and has been reelected every two years since. In February 2008, he was named assistant minority whip for the Republican caucus. Garofalo served one term as chair of the Education Finance Committee in 2011–12, and chaired the Job Growth & Energy Affordability Committee from 2015 to 2018. He is now the minority lead of the Ways and Means Committee.[2]
In March 2015, Garofalo posted on Twitter that if a majority of National Basketball Association teams were to fold, "nobody would notice a difference [with the] possible exception of increase in streetcrime [sic]."[3][4] He said he was making an observation about crime among professional athletes, not a racist comment.[3] He later apologized.[5]
In 2015, after U.S. Representative John Kline announced he was not running for reelection, attention turned to Garofalo as a possible contender for the seat. After a recruiting visit to Washington, D.C., with House leadership, Garofalo told local media, "I would rather stick a fork in my eye than run for Congress".[6]
In 2021, Garofalo called the U.S. Capitol attack by Donald Trump supporters "ridiculous" and "banana republic shit".[7]
Personal life[edit]
Garofalo and his family live in Farmington. He is a network engineer who works on computer infrastructure and IP telephony systems. He was the technology coordinator for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign.[2]
Electoral history[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 11,549 | 58.84 | |
| DFL | Marla Vagts | 8,060 | 41.06 | |
| Write-in | 20 | 0.10 | ||
| Total votes | 19,629 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 13,926 | 64.78 | |
| DFL | Marla Vagts | 7,542 | 35.08 | |
| Write-in | 29 | 0.13 | ||
| Total votes | 21,497 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 8,878 | 63.85 | |
| DFL | Marla Vagts | 5,008 | 36.02 | |
| Write-in | 18 | 0.13 | ||
| Total votes | 13,904 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 12,520 | 59.47 | |
| DFL | Jim Arlt | 8,512 | 40.04 | |
| Write-in | 19 | 0.09 | ||
| Total votes | 21,051 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 12,317 | 65.81 | |
| DFL | Sigrid Iversen | 6,381 | 34.10 | |
| Write-in | 17 | 0.09 | ||
| Total votes | 18,715 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 14,235 | 56.01 | |
| DFL | Bev Topp | 11,144 | 43.85 | |
| Write-in | 36 | 0.14 | ||
| Total votes | 25,415 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 10,304 | 55.85 | |
| DFL | Paul Hardt | 8,123 | 44.03 | |
| Write-in | 23 | 0.12 | ||
| Total votes | 18,450 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Garofalo | 14,511 | 62.39 | |
| DFL | Benjamin Coler | 8,718 | 37.48 | |
| Write-in | 31 | 0.13 | ||
| Total votes | 23,260 | 100 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Garofalo, Patrick "Pat" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
- ^ a b "Garofalo, Patrick "Pat"". Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- ^ a b Lee, Jolie (March 10, 2014). "Minn. lawmaker responds to tweet about NBA, street crime". USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (March 10, 2014). "Farmington legislator's tweet on NBA called racist". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Brooks, Jennifer (March 11, 2014). "Rep. Garofalo apologizes for tweet on NBA that many called racist". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Tad. "Not a 2016 candidate, Kline focused on work ahead". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
- ^ Siders, David (January 13, 2021). "Capitol riot fueled by deep network of GOP statehouse support". Politico. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
External links[edit]
- Pat Garofalo at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
- Rep. Pat Garofalo – official Minnesota House of Representatives website
- Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Pat Garofalo
- Project Votesmart – Rep. Pat Garofalo Profile
- Rep. Pat Garofalo official campaign website