Kaela Berg (born September 15, 1973) is an American politician serving 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 Pa ...

since 2021. A member of the

Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

(DFL), Berg represents District 55B in the southern

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 statu ...

metropolitan area, which includes the city of Burnsville and parts 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 ...

Early life, education and career

Berg earned an associate degree from

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member o ...

(now

Brigham Young University–Idaho Brigham Young University–Idaho (BYU–Idaho or BYU–I) is a private college in Rexburg, Idaho. Founded in 1888, the college is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Previously known as Ricks Colleg ...

). Since 2003, Berg has been a flight attendant for

Endeavor Air Endeavor Air is an American regional airline that operates as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. The airline was founded as Express Airlines I in 1985 and was renamed Pinnacle Airlines in 2002. In 2012, Pinnacle's parent company filed for Cha ...

. She has also worked as a union organizer and representative. She worked as a union steward for

United Steelworkers The United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, commonly known as the United Steelworkers (USW), is a general trade union with members across North America. Headquar ...

and the

Association of Flight Attendants The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (commonly known as AFA) is a union representing flight attendants in the United States. As of January 2018, AFA represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. Since 2004, AFA has been part of the Comm ...

, and as director of the Minnesota Fair Trade coalition. Berg was a delegate to the

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

for

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

, and was critical of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, saying, "she has blood on her hands." Berg voted for Clinton after Sanders urged delegates to support Clinton to ensure

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

would be defeated.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Berg was elected to the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and was reelected in 2022. She first ran after one-term DFL incumbent

Alice Mann Alice Mann (October 10, 1899 – March 2, 1986) was an American silent film actress. Biography Mann began her film career in late 1915 with the Lubin Manufacturing Company, appearing in six shorts before the production company ceased operat ...

announced she would not seek reelection. In the general election, Berg defeated former

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 ...

state representative

Roz Peterson Roz Peterson is an American politician, businesswoman, and realtor. She is a former Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 56B in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area. Early life Peterson attend ...

, who represented the district before Mann. In 2020, Berg had her election results challenged, but a judge dismissed the case for failing to state a claim and a lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. Berg is the vice chair of the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee, and sits on the Education Policy and State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committees. She also serves as an assistant majority leader for the DFL House Caucus. Berg is a member of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, and is pro-choice. In February 2022, in response to high gas prices, she joined other DFL legislators advocating for a temporary repeal of the state gas tax.

Electoral history

Personal life

Berg lives in

Burnsville, Minnesota Burnsville () is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota. The city lies on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the Minnesota River upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. Burnsville and nearby subur ...

, and has two children.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Kaela Living people Brigham Young University–Idaho alumni Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Women state legislators in Minnesota Flight attendants 1973 births