John Persell

American politician
John Persell
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 5A district
4A (2009–2013)
In office
January 8, 2019 – January 4, 2021
Preceded byMatt Bliss
Succeeded byMatt Bliss
In office
January 6, 2009 – January 2, 2017
Preceded byFrank Moe
Succeeded byMatt Bliss
Personal details
Born1950 (age 73–74)
Political partyDemocratic–Farmer–Labor
Children3
Alma materBemidji State University

John Sterling Persell, Jr. (born 1950) is an American DFL politician who represented District 5A in northern Minnesota, first winning election in 2008.

Early life, education, and career

Persell majored in biology at Bemidji State University, and served in the United States Air Force. He was a member of the Beltrami County Soil and Water Conservation Board, and of the Frohn Township Board of Supervisors. Persell is a member of the American Legion Honor Guard, and has worked as a mentor in the STEM Program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) at Leech Lake Tribal College in Cass Lake.[1][2] He is also a retired water quality specialist and environmental policy analyst for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.[3]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Persell was elected in 2008, running after two-term Representative Frank Moe opted not to seek reelection.[4] He was reelected in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

In 2016 he lost reelection to Republican Matt Bliss. In a rematch in 2018, Persell beat Bliss by just 11 votes.[5] He has been chosen to lead the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee.[6]

In 2020, he was challenged by Bliss again, and defeated by 1,485 votes.[1]

References

  1. ^ "Project Vote Smart - Representative John Persell - Biography". Votesmart.org. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  2. ^ "Vote John Persell I Minnesota House of Representatives District 4A". Johnpersell.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  3. ^ "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Persell, Jr., John Sterling". Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  4. ^ "Blue man in a Red district: Frank Moe won't seek relection [sic] in 2008". Buildourparty.blogspot.com. 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  5. ^ Enger, John (December 3, 2018). "DFLer John Persell wins after a Minn. House seat recount". Minnesota Public Radio.
  6. ^ Bierschbach, Briana (November 21, 2018). "House Democrats signal priorities in new committee structure". Minnesota Public Radio.

External links

  • John Persell at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
  • Official House of Representatives website
  • Official campaign website
  • Project Votesmart - Rep. John Persell Profile
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1A.
John Burkel (R)
B.
Deb Kiel (R)
2A.
Matt Grossell (R)
B.
Matt Bliss (R)
3A.
Roger Skraba (R)
4A.
Heather Keeler (DFL)
B.
Jim Joy (R)
5A.
Krista Knudsen (R)
B.
Mike Wiener (R)
6A.
Ben Davis (R)
B.
Josh Heintzeman (R)
7A.
Spencer Igo (R)
B.
Dave Lislegard (DFL)
8A.
Liz Olson (DFL)
B.
Alicia Kozlowski (DFL)
9A.
Jeff Backer (R)
B.
Tom Murphy (R)
10A.
Ron Kresha (R)
B.
Isaac Schultz (R)
11A.
Jeff Dotseth (R)
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Nathan Nelson (R)
12A.
Paul Anderson (R)
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Mary Franson (R)
13A.
Lisa Demuth (R)
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Tim O'Driscoll (R)
14A.
Bernie Perryman (R)
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Dan Wolgamott (DFL)
15A.
Chris Swedzinski (R)
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Paul Torkelson (R)
16A.
Dean Urdahl (R)
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Dave Baker (R)
17A.
Dawn Gillman (R)
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Bobbie Harder (R)
18A.
Jeff Brand (DFL)
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Luke Frederick (DFL)
19A.
Brian Daniels (R)
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John Petersburg (R)
20A.
Pam Altendorf (R)
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Steven Jacob (R)
21A.
Joe Schomacker (R)
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Marj Fogelman (R)
22A.
Bjorn Olson (R)
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Brian Pfarr (R)
23A.
Peggy Bennett (R)
24A.
Duane Quam (R)
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Tina Liebling (DFL)
25A.
Kim Hicks (DFL)
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Andy Smith (DFL)
26A.
Gene Pelowski (DFL)
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Greg Davids (R)
27A.
Shane Mekeland (R)
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Bryan Lawrence (R)
28A.
Brian Johnson (R)
29A.
Joe McDonald (R)
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Marion O'Neill (R)
30A.
Walter Hudson (R)
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Paul Novotny (R)
31A.
Harry Niska (R)
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Peggy Scott (R)
32A.
Nolan West (R)
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Matt Norris (DFL)
33A.
Patti Anderson (R)
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Josiah Hill (DFL)
34A.
Danny Nadeau (R)
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Melissa Hortman (DFL)
35A.
Zack Stephenson (DFL)
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Jerry Newton (DFL)
36A.
Elliott Engen (R)
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Brion Curran (DFL)
37A.
Kristin Robbins (R)
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Kristin Bahner (DFL)
38A.
Michael Nelson (DFL)
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Samantha Vang (DFL)
39A.
Erin Koegel (DFL)
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Sandra Feist (DFL)
40A.
Kelly Moller (DFL)
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Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL)
41A.
Mark Wiens (R)
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Shane Hudella (R)
42A.
Ned Carroll (DFL)
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Ginny Klevorn (DFL)
43A.
Cedrick Frazier (DFL)
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Mike Freiberg (DFL)
44A.
Peter Fischer (DFL)
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Leon Lillie (DFL)
45A.
Andrew Myers (R)
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Patty Acomb (DFL)
46A.
Larry Kraft (DFL)
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Cheryl Youakim (DFL)
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Ethan Cha (DFL)
48A.
Jim Nash (R)
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Lucy Rehm (DFL)
49A.
Laurie Pryor (DFL)
50A.
Heather Edelson (DFL)
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Steve Elkins (DFL)
51A.
Michael Howard (DFL)
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Nathan Coulter (DFL)
52A.
Liz Reyer (DFL)
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Bianca Virnig (DFL)
53A.
Mary Frances Clardy (DFL)
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Rick Hansen (DFL)
54A.
Brad Tabke (DFL)
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Ben Bakeberg (R)
55A.
Jessica Hanson (DFL)
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Kaela Berg (DFL)
56A.
Robert Bierman (DFL)
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John Huot (DFL)
57A.
Jon Koznick (R)
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Jeff Witte (R)
58A.
Kristi Pursell (DFL)
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Pat Garofalo (R)
59A.
Fue Lee (DFL)
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Esther Agbaje (DFL)
60A.
Sydney Jordan (DFL)
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Mohamud Noor (DFL)
61A.
Frank Hornstein (DFL)
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Jamie Long (DFL)
62A.
Aisha Gomez (DFL)
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Hodan Hassan (DFL)
63A.
Samantha Sencer-Mura (DFL)
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Emma Greenman (DFL)
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Kaohly Her (DFL)
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Dave Pinto (DFL)
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Samakab Hussein (DFL)
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Leigh Finke (DFL)
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Athena Hollins (DFL)
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Liz Lee (DFL)
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Jay Xiong (DFL)