Karla Bigham ( ; born March 9, 1979) is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 54. She is also a former Washington County Commissioner and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL).

Early life, education, and career

Bigham graduated from Park High School in Cottage Grove in 1997. She then went on to

Winona State University Winona State University (Winona) is a public university in Winona, Minnesota. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the first no ...

Winona Winona, Wynona or Wynonna may refer to: Places Canada * Winona, Ontario United States * Winona, Arizona * Winona, Indiana * Winona Lake, Indiana * Winona, Kansas * Winona, Michigan * Winona County, Minnesota ** Winona, Minnesota, the seat of Wi ...

, earning a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in paralegal with a sociology and political science minor. She was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. She has worked as a union organizer and is currently a paralegal in the Child Protection Division of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in

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 ...

. She was a member of the Cottage Grove City Council from 2005 to 2007 and also served as chair of the Cottage Grove Public Safety, Health and Welfare Commission. She has worked as a public affairs coordinator for

Northern Tier Energy Northern Tier Energy LP was an American downstream energy limited partnership. In addition to owning the SuperAmerica gas station and convenience store chain, it also owned an oil refinery in St. Paul Park, Minnesota and an interest in a pipeline. ...

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bigham was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives 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 ...

, where she represented District 57A, which included portions of Dakota and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

counties 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 statu ...

metropolitan area. She was re-elected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Bigham did not seek re-election to a third term in 2010. During her tenure, Bigham served as vice chair of the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee. She also served on the House Environment Policy and Oversight Committee and the Finance subcommittees for the Public Safety Finance Division and the State Government Finance Division.

Minnesota Senate

After Dan Schoen resigned from the Minnesota Senate following allegations of sexual harassment, Bigham announced her intention to run in the special election for the seat. She faced former Republican State Representative Denny McNamara and Libertarian candidate Emily Mellingen. Bigham won the special election. Senator Bigham won re-election in the 2020 general election, receiving 52.85% of the vote. For the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, Senator Bigham serves on the following committees: * Ranking Minority Member on the Civil Law and Data Practices Policy * Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy * Local Government Policy

Personal life

Karla Bigham is married to John Stechmann and they reside in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.

References

External links

Official Senate website

Official campaign website

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Karla Bigham

Project Votesmart - Rep. Karla Bigham Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigham, Karla 1979 births Living people People from Cottage Grove, Minnesota Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives American Lutherans Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People from Washington County, Minnesota