Pat Garofalo
Pat Garofalo | |
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Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 58B district 36B (2005–2013) | |
In office January 4, 2005 – July 14, 2024 | |
Preceded by | Steve Strachan |
Succeeded by | Vacant |
Personal details | |
Born | (1971-09-23) September 23, 1971 (age 52)[1] Saint Paul, Minnesota |
Political party | Republican Party of Minnesota |
Spouse | Julie Garofalo |
Children | 2 |
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 former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 58B, which includes portions of Dakota and Goodhue counties in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Education
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
Garofalo was first elected in 2004 and was reelected every two years thereafter. 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 served as 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]
In January 2024, Garofalo announced that he would not seek reelection after his term finished. In a letter to Governor Tim Walz dated July 9, 2024, he gave notice of his intent to resign. Garofalo stepped down effective July 14 at 11:59 PM.[8][9]
Personal life
Pat Garofalo is married to Julie (Rohloff) Garofalo, has two children, and lives in Farmington, Minnesota.[10] He is a network engineer who works on computer infrastructure and IP telephony systems, and was the technology coordinator for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign.[2]
Electoral history
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
- ^ 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 (3 September 2015). "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.
- ^ HPIS Staff (July 9, 2024). "Garofalo to resign from House". house.mn.gov.
- ^ "Rep. Pat Garofalo". house.mn.gov.
- ^ "About | patgarofalo".
External links
- 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
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- Melissa Hortman (DFL)
- Majority Leader
- Jamie Long (DFL)
- Minority Leader
- Lisa Demuth (R)
- ▌Democratic–Farmer–Labor (68)
- ▌Republican (64)
- ▌Vacant (2)