David Scott Dibble (born August 27, 1965) is an American politician serving as a 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 represents District 61, which includes portions 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 origin ...

in Hennepin County.

Education

Dibble attended both the

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. ...

and the University of St. Thomas in

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

Early activism

Dibble first became involved in politics in the mid-1980s working on issues concerning the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities, including advocacy for those with HIV/AIDS. He was an activist and organizer for "It's Time, Minnesota," a statewide LGBT rights organization that helped pass the 1993 Minnesota Human Rights Act. This led to organizing on issues of social and economic justice—especially in the areas of neighborhood livability, transportation, housing, energy and the environment. Dibble later worked as an aide to Minneapolis City Council Member Doré Mead for about six years. In 2000, he ran for a seat 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 ...

, becoming the third openly gay person to serve in the Minnesota legislature.

Minnesota legislature

Dibble served one term in the Minnesota House, representing District 60B. He was elected to the Senate in 2002, and reelected in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2020. Dibble played a pivotal role in overriding Governor

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty (; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 39th governor of Minnesota from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House o ...

's veto of a transportation improvement bill that allowed the Twin Cities to build a modern transit system.

Issues

Same-sex marriage

After his leadership in the campaign against the constitutional amendment to ban

same-sex marriage in Minnesota Same-sex marriage in Minnesota has been fully recognized since August 1, 2013. Same-sex marriages have been recognized if performed in other jurisdictions since July 1, 2013, and the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Au ...

, Dibble, Representative Karen Clark, and several other legislators proposed an amendment during the 2013 legislative session to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill passed and same-sex marriage became legal on August 1, 2013.

The environment

Dibble has served as chief author or as a lead negotiator on energy efficiency standards, implementing a renewable energy standard, establishing a carbon dioxide reduction mandate, instituting the nation's most stringent mercury emission reduction requirements for coal-fired energy, the first legislation in the country on hybrid plug in electric cars, and programs to aid the construction of green buildings and assist local governments in building more energy-efficient facilities. He helped author and served on the Green Jobs Task Force charged with developing a comprehensive economic development policy to shape Minnesota's participation in the green economy for generations to come.

Medical cannabis

In 2014, Dibble was the chief author of a bill that allowed limited use of

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restriction ...

for patients who have debilitating or terminal illnesses. He has also worked to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

Transportation

Dibble continues to be the DFL leader in the Minnesota Senate on legislation relating to transportation and transit, energy efficiency, the environment, housing and economic development.

Personal life

Dibble is openly gay. His husband is Richard Leyva. They married in California before the passage of

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...

. In November 2019, Dibble announced that a man whom Dibble had had an extramarital relationship with had allegedly attempted to blackmail him through revenge porn. D Scott Dibble Get-in-gear 10k 2016

Dibble is a runner and has completed several marathons.

References

External links

Senator Scott Dibble
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Minnesota Public Radio Vote Tracker: Sen. D. Scott Dibble ProfileSenator Scott Dibble
''official campaign website''
Instagram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dibble, Scott Living people 1965 births Gay politicians LGBT state legislators in Minnesota People from Hennepin County, Minnesota Politicians from Minneapolis Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Democratic Party Minnesota state senators University of Minnesota alumni 21st-century American politicians