Pat Garofalo

Patrick 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.

Pat Garofalo
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 58B district
36B (2005–2013)
Assumed office
January 4, 2005
Preceded bySteve Strachan
Personal details
Born (1971-09-23) September 23, 1971
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s)Julie
ChildrenTwo
ResidenceFarmington, Minnesota
Alma materMinnesota State University, Mankato (B.S.)
Occupationnetwork engineer, legislator

Education

Born in 1971,[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 has been reelected every two years since. He has been chairman of the Jobs, Energy and Housing Committee since 2015. He previously served one term as chairman of the Education Finance Committee in 2011-12.[2] Garofalo has been an advocate for lower taxes, has opposed government incentives to fund broadband in rural areas and has a voting record with some libertarian tendencies.

2016 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2016
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

2014 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2014
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

2012 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2012
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

2010 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2010
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

2008 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2008
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

2006 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2006
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

2004 Election Results
Minnesota's House Of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2004
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

Political History

After first being elected in 2004, Garofalo was challenged for the Republican Party endorsement in 2006. He eventually won endorsement after a long and divided convention.[3]

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain hosted a campaign town hall at Lakeville South High School in October 2008. McCain selected Garofalo, an early McCain supporter, to be a featured speaker at the event.

In 2010, Garofalo became a lightning rod for controversy when he publicly attacked the leadership of Education Minnesota, Minnesota's Teacher's Union. In 2011, he returned to the Minnesota legislature with a new Republican majority and was selected as Chairman of the Education Finance Committee.

In 2014, after Garofalo told activists that he would not run for reelection, local Republicans convinced him to change his mind.

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 returned to Minnesota and told local media, "I would rather stick a fork in my eye than run for Congress".[4]

Personal life

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 Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's first campaign in 2002.[2]

References
  1. https://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail?ID=12262
  2. "Garofalo, Patrick "Pat"". Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  3. newsroom, Hastings (2017-06-23). "Bipartisan spirit earns Garofalo major award, but irks some Republican..." www.hastingsstargazette.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  4. Johnson, Tad. "Not a 2016 candidate, Kline focused on work ahead". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
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