Michael Howard (born 1983/1984) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 2019. 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 Represen ...

(DFL), Howard represents District 51A in the south-central

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 Richfield and parts of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneapol ...

Minnesota 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 ...

Early life, education, and career

Howard was raised in

Becker, Minnesota Becker is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, between the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 4,877 at the 2020 census. Becker is located 46 miles northwest of Minneapolis and 19 miles southeast of St. Cloud. U.S. Highway 10 s ...

. He attended

Augsburg College Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. During college, he was an intern for U.S. Senator

Paul Wellstone Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A me ...

's campaign in 2002. After graduating, Howard worked as a personal care assistant for children with autism. He worked on Mike Freeman's election campaign for

attorney in 2006. Soon after, he began working for the DFL caucus in the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2007 and became its communications director in 2008, a position he held until 2017. Howard was elected a member of the Richfield city council in 2014 and served until 2018.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Howard was first elected to the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, after the retirement of DFL incumbent

Linda Slocum Linda J. Slocum (born July 11, 1950) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 50A, which included portions of ...

, and has been reelected every two years since. Howard served as an assistant majority leader during the 2021-2022 biennium. He is the chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee, and sits on the Rules and Legislative Administration, Taxes, and Ways and Means Committees.

Election history

Personal life

Howard and his wife, Sarah, have one child. He has lived in

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling. An inner ring suburb of Minneapolis, it is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minn ...

since 2010.

References

External links

Official House of Representatives website

Official campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Michael 1980s births Living people People from Richfield, Minnesota Augsburg University alumni Minnesota city council members Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians