Mark Buesgens

Mark Buesgens
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 35B district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 1999
Preceded by	Becky Kelso
Personal details
Born	May 14, 1961 Shakopee, Minnesota
Political party	Republican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s)	Sara
Children	5
Residence	Jordan, Minnesota
Alma mater	Mankato State University
Profession	educator, legislator
Religion	Catholic

Mark William Buesgens (born May 14, 1961) is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 35B, which includes portions of Scott County in the southern Twin Cities metropolitan area. A Republican, he is an educator by profession, and is currently the business manager for the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists in Saint Paul.^[1][2]

Service in the Minnesota House

Buesgens was first elected in 1998, and has been re-elected every two years since then. He is currently a member of the House Finance Committee, on which he is the ranking minority party member, and the State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee. He also serves on the Finance subcommittees for the Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division and the K-12 Education Finance Division, and on the State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Subcommittee for the Local Government Division. His legislative priorities include tax cuts, education reform, and local control of government decision-making.^[3] On May 21, 2011, he joined the House Republican Majority in voting for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and woman.^[4]

Personal challenges

On Saturday September 18, 2010, Buesgens was arrested by a Wright County sheriff's deputy on charges of driving while intoxicated.^[5] It was also subsequently revealed that his home was in foreclosure proceedings.^[6] He issued a formal statement apologizing for and expressing regret over the DWI incident,^[7] but was stopped again by a Scott County sheriff's deputy, on March 16, 2011. He admitted having had a drink, a violation of his probation.^[8]

Education, professional background, community service

Buesgens attended Jordan High School in Jordan, then went on to Mankato State University in Mankato, graduating with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1983. He later attended Mankato State University again, earning his M.S. in Education Administration in 1991, and a specialist degree in Education Administration in 1993. He was a math teacher at the Inter-American Academy in Guayaquil, Ecuador from 1983–1987, a math teacher in the Chaska school district from 1987–1991, and an administrator at Black Hawk Middle School in Eagan from 1991-2005. He was also a fireman with the Jordan Fire Department and a member of the Jordan City Council from 1997-1998.^[9]

References

1. ^ http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10081
2. ^ http://www.spcpa.org/Index.asp?cid=18&catid=1
3. ^ http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10081
4. ^ "Roll call vote: Same-sex marriage ban amendment". Minnesota Public Radio. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2011/05/roll_call_vote_same-sex_ban_am.shtml. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
5. ^ http://politicsinminnesota.com/blog/2010/09/state-rep-mark-buegens-arrested-for-dwi/
6. ^ http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/103544814.html
7. ^ http://www.minnpost.com/marylahammer/2010/09/21/21639/rep_mark_buesgens_releases_statement_on_recent_dwi_arrest
8. ^ http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/118192734.html
9. ^ https://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=20339

External links

• Mark Buesgens at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Rep. Buesgens Web Page
• Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Mark Buesgens
• Project Votesmart - Rep. Mark Buesgens Profile

Persondata
Name	Buesgens, Mark
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	May 14, 1961
Place of birth	Shakopee, Minnesota
Date of death
Place of death