James P. Metzen (October 26, 1943 – July 11, 2016) was an American politician and 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 h ...

. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Repr ...

(DFL), he represented District 52, which included portions of

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

in the southeastern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

metropolitan area.

Early career

Metzen started in the banking business at Southview Bank, working his way up the chain of command until he sold his interest in the bank in 1992. He is a former Vice President of Community Affairs at Key Community Bank, which has branches in Inver Grove Heights and

South St. Paul South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, located immediately south and southeast of Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Paul. It is also east of West St. Paul, Minnesota, West St. Paul. The population ...

. Metzen was integral in the bank's initial startup. His father, Butch, was a

union organizer A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...

and one-time

Commissioner.

Minnesota Legislature

Prior to his election to the Senate, Metzen served in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

from 1975 to 1986, representing the old District 52A before the 1982 legislative redistricting and District 39B thereafter. He was also a member of the South St. Paul City Council from 1967 to 1974. Metzen was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after serving 12 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He was

President of the Minnesota Senate The president of the Minnesota Senate is the presiding officer of the Minnesota Senate. Until 1973, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota served as the Senate president. Since then, presidents have been elected by the body, usually at the nominatio ...

from 2003 to 2011. He was chair of the Senate Business, Industry and Jobs Committee from 2007 to 2011, chair of the Senate Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities Committee from 2001 to 2003, chair of the Senate Governmental Operations and Veterans Committee from 1995 to 2001, chair of the Senate Governmental Operations and Reform Committee from 1993 to 1995, and chair of the Senate Economic Development and Housing Committee from 1991 to 1993. He has also chaired multiple subcommittees. Lastly, he chaired the Senate Commerce Committee while also serving as a member of the Senate Rules and Administration, Capital Investment, and State Department and Veterans Division Committees.

Personal life

Metzen resided in

with his wife, Sandie. His brother, David, is a former

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

hockey standout, and a former regent of the University of Minnesota. David's wife, Leslie, is a former district court judge in Dakota County. Metzen has two children Jeff and John. He also has two grandchildren. On the morning of May 22, 2007, Metzen was arrested for driving under the influence just hours after the 2007

legislative session A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two election ...

came to an end. The arrest occurred less than a mile away from his home. During a field sobriety test, he blew a 0.15, which is nearly twice the Minnesota legal limit of 0.08. He wrote a letter of apology for the incident to

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

Larry Pogemiller Lawrence "Larry" J. Pogemiller (born September 18, 1951) is an American politician from Minnesota, and the Commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he represented northeast ...

and his peers. On June 14, 2007, he was sentenced to 20 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $377 fine for the arrest. In September 2015, Metzen was diagnosed with a recurrence of lung cancer. He began oral chemotherapy at his home shortly thereafter. On July 11, 2016, Metzen died of cancer.

References

External links

Minnesota Public Radio – Votetracker: James P. Metzen Voting RecordVote Smart – Senator James Metzen Profile''Follow the Money'' – James Metzen Campaign Contributions
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Metzen, Jim Presidents of the Minnesota Senate Democratic Party Minnesota state senators Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota city council members 1943 births 2016 deaths People from South St. Paul, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni Businesspeople from Minnesota 21st-century American politicians Deaths from cancer in Minnesota Deaths from lung cancer 20th-century American businesspeople