William Weber (born April 3, 1956) is an American politician and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any U.S. state legislature. Floor sessions are hel ...

. He represents District 21, which includes all or parts of Cottonwood,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

Nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, Pipestone,

Redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...

, and Rock Counties in the southwestern part of the state.

Early life, education, and family

Weber was raised in

Rock County, Minnesota Rock County is a County (United States), county at the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 9,704. Its county seat is Luverne, Minnesota, Luverne. History The c ...

. He graduated from

Luverne High School Luverne () is a city in Rock County, Minnesota, United States, along the Rock River. The population was 4,946 at the 2020 census. It is one of four towns profiled in the 2007 Ken Burns documentary '' The War''. It is the main setting for the s ...

and attended Nettleton Business College, where he graduated with a degree in professional accounting. He served on the Luverne City Council from 1984 to 1992, and was the city's mayor from 1992 to 2001. A licensed

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

, he and his wife, Barb, continue to reside in Luverne, and have two adult children. He is a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Minnesota Senate

Weber first ran for the Minnesota Senate in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, losing to longtime Democratic incumbent

Jim Vickerman James Murray Vickerman (May 1, 1931 – January 19, 2021) was an American politician from Minnesota who served as Minnesota Senate, Minnesota State Senator, first elected in 1986 in the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's "firestorm" that s ...

. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, after incumbent Republican Senator

Doug Magnus Douglas Rudy Magnus (born November 1950) is an American, Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate, who represented District 22, which includes all of Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock counties in ...

announced he would not seek reelection, he ran again and was elected. He was reelected in 2016 and 2020. Weber serves as chair of the Senate's Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Policy Committee, as vice chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Legacy Finance Committee, and as a member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Housing Finance Committee and the Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee.

Political views

Weber has opposed penalties for property owners who do not maintain vegetative buffers around water. When asked about

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

, Weber said mistakes were "made in terms of George Floyd's arrest and how he was treated afterward." He also condemned rioting and the burning of police precincts, saying there was "no excuse for that type of violence."

References

External links

Senator Bill Weber
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Senator Bill Weber
''official campaign website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Weber, Bill 1956 births Living people Republican Party Minnesota state senators People from Luverne, Minnesota Minnesota city council members Mayors of places in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians Lutherans from Minnesota