Tim Pawlenty
Timothy Pawlenty was born on November 27, 1960. He received a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Minnesota in 1983 and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1986. During law school, he interned at a labor law firm, where he got his first job after graduating. Later he served as V.P. for Wizmo Inc., a software company. In 1988, Eagan Mayor Vic Ellison appointed Pawlenty to the city’s Planning Commission. He was elected to a term on the City Council in 1989.
In 1992, Pawlenty won a Minnesota State House seat, where he remained for the next ten years. In 1998, he became the House Majority Leader when the Republicans took control of the State Legislature. He was known for his commitment to cutting taxes and fiscal conservancy.
It was Pawlenty s intention to run for the Senate in 2002, but he stepped aside in favor of Norm Coleman after a request from then-V.P. Dick Cheney. He instead decided to run for governor. He won the election after a very tight three-man race, campaigning on a platform to eliminate the state s deficit without increasing taxes. During his first term he was accused of not keeping his promise, due to his creating and increasing fees to generate revenue and reduce the deficit. He also received negative press for cutting funding to local governments and raising the student portion of tuition for state funded colleges and universities. Pawlenty ran for re-election in 2006, running on conservative issues, and won in a four-man race.
Over the course of his two terms in office, Pawlenty has signed legislation into effect that has doubled the minimum amount of ethanol in fuel from a current 10% to 20% by 2013, implemented a 24-hour waiting period for abortions, created a concealed-gun carry law and increased state educational requirements. He has been criticized for vetoing, or threatening to veto, funding for state highways and infrastructure several times, especially after the I-35W Mississippi Bridge collapse in 2007. He has also cut health and human services funding, especially for health care, after initial first-term requests to expand federal funding.
From 2007 to 2008, Pawlenty served as the chairman of the National Governor s Association. In 2007, he was asked to co-chair Senator John McCain s presidential exploratory committee, which led to his co-chairing McCain s unsuccessful presidential campaign against Senator Barack Obama. There was talk that Pawlenty would be tapped for the V.P. nomination, which ended when Alaska Governor Sarah Palin got the nod instead.
In June of 2009, Pawlenty announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2010. This announcement, and his numerous subsequent public appearances and national media interviews, have strengthened speculation that Pawlenty intends to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. Polls show an awareness of Pawlenty among GOP voters, but he does not have the recognition and support of front runners Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney.
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