Kurt Patrick Bills (born January 8, 1970) is an American educator and former politician. He has taught and coached high school since 1994. He served on the Rosemount City Council from 2008 to 2010. He then served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012. He was the Republican nominee for United States Senate in Minnesota in 2012, losing in a landslide to Democratic incumbent Amy Klobuchar.[2]
Kurt Bills | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 37B district | |
| In office January 4, 2011 – January 7, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Phil Sterner |
| Succeeded by | Nolan West |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kurt Patrick Bills[1] January 8, 1970 Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cindy Bills |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Winona State University (BA, MA) |
Early life, education, and early career
editBills attended Winona State University earning a B.S. in secondary social studies education, B.A. in US history, and M.A. in education.
Since 1996, Bills has worked as a secondary social studies teacher at Rosemount High School, teaching courses in Microeconomics, Macroeconomics[3] and American Government & Politics.[citation needed] He is also the former head coach of the wrestling team.[4]
Early political life
editIn 2008, Bills was elected to the Rosemount City Council from a field of 26 candidates.[5]
Bills cited his students for his reason to enter the political arena. In Bills words: "In 2007, when studying fiscal policy, national debt, deficits, and entitlements, a student asked why solutions are not sought if we know that we have structural problems. I explained how politicians make self-interested choices just like the rest of us. After a short discussion about party structure, media and election cycle politics, one of my more politically active students, in a mixture of depression, anger and frustration asked, 'Mr. Bills, what are we supposed to do about this?'" [6]
Minnesota House of Representatives
edit2010 election
editBills ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010 in District 37B. He defeated incumbent Democratic State Representative Phil Sterner, 58%–42%.[7]
Tenure
editBills's district included Rosemount and parts of Apple Valley, in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.[8]
Bills was a chief author of bills supporting scholarships for early high school graduation; reduction of pay for legislators if the budget were not balanced by the end of the legislative session; and making gold and silver legal tender in Minnesota.[9]
On May 21, 2011, Bills joined the House Republican Majority in voting for a constitutional amendment to constitutionally ban marriage for same-sex couples.[10] He was also among those legislators during the July 2011 Minnesota government shutdown who declined their pay.[11]
Committee assignments
edit- House Committee on Capital Investment
- House Committee on Education/Finance
- House Committee on Taxes[12]
2012 U.S. Senate election
editIn March 2012, Bills announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat held by Amy Klobuchar.[13] He was endorsed by GOP presidential contender Ron Paul,[14] U.S. senator Rand Paul and Minnesota House speaker Kurt Zellers.[15]
At the state Republican convention in May 2012, Bills received the Senate endorsement on the second ballot.[2] He won the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.
Klobuchar defeated Bills in the general election on November 6, 2012. Bills carried only two counties (Rock County and Pipestone County) while Klobuchar swept the rest of the state, winning with 65% of the vote.[16]
Post-election professional life
editIn March 2013, Forbes.com added Bills as a contributor to its website.[17]
In July 2013, H&H Partners Consulting Corporation named Bills to its board of directors as Executive Chairman and a Senior Advisor.[18]
Personal life
editBills and his wife, Cindy, own a licensed home daycare that she operates. They reside in Rosemount with their four children.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Bills, Kurt Patrick - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ a b "https://www.startribune.com/undefined/undefined". Star Tribune.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ Brooks, Jennifer. "Before hitting campaign trail, Kurt Bills is back in classroom". The Star Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
"If you want to write a diatribe against me, I completely understand and it's probably well deserved," Bills joked with his students as he urged them to fill out an evaluation of the year's lessons in micro and macroeconomics. He also asked them what he could improve on next year -- just in case he's not on his way to Washington.
- ^ "The Voter's Self Defense System".
- ^ Rupar, Aaron (March 8, 2012). "Kurt Bills, MNGOP Rep., seeking Republican endorsement to challenge Klobuchar - Minneapolis News - The Blotter". Blogs.citypages.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ [1] "How I Teach High Scholl Economics in the Scandinavian Socialist Midwest"
- ^ "MN House Seat 37B Race - Nov 02, 2010". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 15, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_search.php?body=House&session=0872011[]=&legid1=15343
- ^ "Roll call vote: Same-sex marriage ban amendment". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
- ^ "Many Local Lawmakers Getting Paid During Shutdown". WDIO.com. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ "Kurt Bills (R) 37B - Minnesota House of Representatives". House.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ Stassen, Rachel E. "GOP state Rep. Bills to run for U.S. Senate". StarTribune.com. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
- ^ Business Wire (March 29, 2012). "Ron Paul Endorses U.S. Senate Candidate Rep. Kurt Bills of Minnesota". Business Wire. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Croman, John. "Rosemount teacher to take on Klobuchar for Senate". Kare 11. Retrieved May 19, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "MN Election Results". Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2012. "MN Election Results"
- ^ [2] "Kurt Bills Profile on Forbes"
- ^ [3] "H&H Partners Announces Kurt Bills as Board Member"
- ^ Radomski, Lauren. "Bills Clinches Minn. GOP Senate Endorsement". 5 Eyewitness News. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
Bills and his wife, Cindy, have four children (Kyla, Cassandra, Hayden, and Olivia) and live in Rosemount, a suburb south St. Paul. They own a licensed home day care that she runs.
External links
edit- Kurt Bills at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
- Rep. Bills at the Minnesota House of Representatives
- Kurt Bills Campaign Web Site
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org