Matthew "Matt" Keating Entenza (born October 4, 1961) is a Minnesota lawyer and former politician who served six terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He served as House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2006. After leaving the legislature, he was an unsuccessful candidate for various statewide offices, including governor, attorney general, and most recently state auditor.
Matt Entenza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minnesota House Minority Leader | |
| In office January 7, 2003 – June 20, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Pugh |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Anderson Kelliher |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 64A district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – June 20, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Kathleen Vellenga |
| Succeeded by | Erin Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4, 1961 Santa Monica, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |
| Spouse | Lois Quam (divorced) |
| Children | Ben, Will, and Steve |
| Residence | St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Alma mater | Macalester College Oxford University University of Minnesota |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Background
editEntenza was born in Santa Monica, California.[1] He studied at Augustana College in South Dakota before transferring to Macalester College. After graduating, Entenza studied law at Oxford University and taught high school. After returning to Minnesota, he received his J.D. with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School.[1]
Service in the Minnesota House of Representatives
editA Democrat, Entenza was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives from District 64A in 1994. The district includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County. He served on the K-12 Finance, Education Policy, and Commerce committees.[1]
2006 Minnesota Attorney General race
editIn 2006, Entenza resigned as House Minority Leader to focus on a campaign for Minnesota Attorney General. He withdrew from that race on July 18, 2006. Critics had raised concerns of a conflict of interest due to Entenza's wife's high ranking executive position at UnitedHealth Group. Entenza's political campaign committee was also fined $28,000 by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board on August 15, 2006, for exceeding the legal amount for contributions.[2]
2010 gubernatorial campaign
editEntenza sought the office of governor in 2010.[3] He first announced that he would seek the Minnesota DFL's endorsement for the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial race, later dropping out of the endorsement process and running a primary campaign without the DFL endorsement. Before removing himself from the official endorsement process, he was endorsed by Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison in May 2009[4] and Minnesota Stonewall DFL in December 2009.[5] On May 27, 2010, he announced television broadcaster Robyne Robinson as his lieutenant governor running mate.[6]
Entenza was not endorsed by the state party, and elected to participate in the primary election, in which he finished third, after Mark Dayton and Margaret Anderson Kelliher.[7]
2014 Minnesota State Auditor race
editIn the 2014 election, Entenza ran for Minnesota State Auditor against the DFL-endorsed incumbent, Rebecca Otto.[8] He bypassed public financing, which allowed him to exceed state spending limits.[9] Despite spending more than $675,000 of his personal money on the race, Entenza received only 19% of the votes cast in the primary contest on August 12.[10][11][12]
Personal life
editEntenza has three adult sons and is divorced from their mother, Lois Quam. He has since remarried, to Minnesota-native Jean Fox Entenza.[13][14] Entenza is a Lutheran.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Entenza, Matthew Keating". Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091750/http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/state/minnesota/15288038.htm. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Patricia Lopez, Entenza announces bid for Governor in '10". Star Tribune. April 23, 2009. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ Broom, Sean. "Ellison Endorses Entenza « MNpublius.com". Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ "Stonewall DFL Endorses Matt Entenza for Governor". TheColu.mn. December 14, 2009. Retrieved 2014-08-12.
- ^ [1] Archived June 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ AP: Dayton Wins DFL Nomination For Governor[dead link]
- ^ "Entenza files to challenge Otto for state auditor". MPR News. 2014-06-03. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ "Entenza to bypass public financing for auditor race". MPR News. 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ "Intense Race For Usually Obscure Auditor's Office - CBS Minnesota". www.cbsnews.com. 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Grow, Doug (2014-08-13). "State auditor: Otto trounces Entenza". MinnPost. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
- ^ "Otto Beats Entenza In Auditor Race - CBS Minnesota". www.cbsnews.com. 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
- ^ Beard, Alison (January 2011). "Crucible: Surviving Twin Challenges—at Home and Work". Harvard Business Review.
- ^ Nord, James (June 6, 2014). "Entenza's auditor bid riles DFLers". Politics in Minnesota.
External links
edit- Matt Entenza at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
- Entenza Robinson for Minnesota official campaign site
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Voting record (2005-2006) at Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker