Kerry Gauthier (born November 6, 1955) is an American politician who 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 Pa ...

from 2011 to 2013, representing portions of St. Louis County. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served as

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

for 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 ...

from 2005 to 2006, and Democratic Chairman of the state's 8th Congressional District from 2000 to 2006. He had been an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for the

Duluth City Council The Duluth City Council is part of the governing body of the City of Duluth, which is located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The council is part of a Mayor–Council Government The mayor–council government system is a system of local governme ...

and campaign consultant, notably for

Becky Lourey Becky Lourey (born September 24, 1943) is an American politician, a former Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) state senator and state representative, and a former Minnesota gubernatorial candidate. Her son Matt served in the U.S. Army ...

in the 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election. He retired in 2013 in the wake of a sex scandal.

Education and political career

Born in Duluth, Gauthier graduated from Morgan Park High School and received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree at the College of St. Scholastica and his

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

Counseling Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes. This is a list of co ...

from the

University of Wisconsin–Superior The University of Wisconsin–Superior (UW–Superior or UWS) is a public liberal arts university in Superior, Wisconsin. UW–Superior grants associate, bachelor's, master's and specialist's degrees. The university enrolls 2,559 undergraduates ...

. Prior to entering politics, he was a social services case manager at Lake Superior Treatment Center. From 2000 to 2006, Gauthier succeeded and preceded party activist Don Bye as the chairman of

Minnesota's 8th congressional district Minnesota's 8th congressional district covers the northeastern part of Minnesota. It is anchored by Duluth, the state's fourth-largest city. It also includes most of the Mesabi & Vermilion iron ranges, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in th ...

. In June 2006, he supported Becky Lourey's primary run in the

2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election The 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Tim Pawlenty was endorsed by the state Republican convention on June 2, 2006, while the state Democratic–Farmer–Labor convention endorsed Mike Hatch on June ...

against the party-endorsed candidate,

Mike Hatch Michael Alan Hatch (born November 12, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the Attorney General of Minnesota from 1999 to 2007, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce from 1983 to 1989, and chair of the Minnesota DF ...

. He resigned as treasurer of the state Democratic Party to assist her campaign. He was elected to the Duluth City Council in 2009 and served until his election to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2010. Gauthier was elected to the legislature filling the seat vacated by

Roger Reinert Roger Jonathon Reinert (born July 22, 1970) is an American politician, mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, and member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). He served in the Minnesota House from 2009 to 2011 and the Minnesota Senate f ...

who opted to run for 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 served on the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance, the State Government Finance, and the Transportation Policy and Finance committees. He is also a member of the

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

Regional Advisory Committee. In 2012, Gauthier endorsed

Rick Nolan Richard Michael Nolan (born December 17, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 8th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He previously served as the U.S. representative from Mi ...

for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Personal life

Gauthier was one of four

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

politicians serving in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decennia ...

during his tenure. On August 15, 2012, Gauthier became embroiled in a

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

after a liaison with a 17-year-old male at the Thompson Hill

rest stop A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway servi ...

near Duluth. The

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

is 16 under Minnesota law and Gauthier did not face any criminal wrongdoing. However, in light of the media controversy and proximity to

Minnesota Amendment 1 Minnesota Amendment 1 (also called Minnesota Marriage Amendment or Minnesota Gay Marriage Amendment) was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples in the state of Minnesota, that appeared ...

, legislative leaders called for him to step aside. Gauthier subsequently withdrew from the 2012 election stating, "I am a better person than this incident portrayed me." His final public statement discussed struggling to come to terms with his sexuality. The

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court wa ...

granted the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party permission to replace his name on the general election ballot. He was succeeded by Duluth firefighter and

labor activist 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 ...

Erik Simonson.

References

External links

Rep. Gauthier Web Page

Project Votesmart - Rep. Kerry Gauthier Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthier, Kerry 1955 births Living people Politicians from Duluth, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians