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Karla Bigham

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American politician
Karla Bigham
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 54th district
In office
February 20, 2018 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byDan Schoen
Succeeded byJudy Seeberger
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 57A district
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byKatie Sieben
Succeeded byJohn Kriesel
Personal details
Born (1979-03-09) March 9, 1979 (age 45)
Newport, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
SpouseJohn Stechmann
ResidenceCottage Grove, Minnesota
Alma materWinona State University
University of Minnesota
Occupationparalegal, union organizer

Karla Bigham (/ˈbɪɡəm/ BIG-əm; born March 9, 1979) is an American politician and current Washington County Commissioner, representing District 4. She is a former member of the Cottage Grove City Council, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and the Minnesota Senate.

Early life, education, and career

Bigham graduated from Park High School in Cottage Grove in 1997. She then went on to Winona State University in Winona, earning a B.S. 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 was a paralegal in the Child Protection Division of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in Minneapolis. 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.

Minnesota House of Representatives

Bigham was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2006, where she represented District 57A, which included portions of Dakota and Washington counties in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. She was re-elected in 2008. Bigham did not seek re-election to a third term in 2010. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL).

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 served 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

  1. "Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Bigham, Karla". Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  2. "Project Vote Smart - Representative Karla Bigham - Biography". Votesmart.org. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  3. "Bigham, Karla - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  4. "Session Weekly - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  5. "Karla Bigham (DFL) 57A - Minnesota House of Representatives". House.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  6. "Democrat announces bid for Sen. Dan Schoen's seat, GOPer considers run". Twin Cities. 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
  7. "Index - Election Results".
  8. "MN State Senate".
  9. "Bigham Announces Bid for State Senate" (PDF) (Press release). Karla Bigham for State Senate. November 22, 2017.

External links

Members of the Minnesota Senate
93rd Minnesota Legislature (2023–2025)
President
Bobby Joe Champion (DFL)
President pro tempore
Ann Rest (DFL)
Majority Leader
Erin Murphy (DFL)
Minority Leader
Mark Johnson (R)
  1. ▌Mark Johnson (R)
  2. ▌Steven Green (R)
  3. ▌Grant Hauschild (DFL)
  4. ▌Rob Kupec (DFL)
  5. ▌Paul Utke (R)
  6. ▌Justin Eichorn (R)
  7. ▌Robert Farnsworth (R)
  8. ▌Jen McEwen (DFL)
  9. ▌Jordan Rasmusson (R)
  10. ▌Nathan Wesenberg (R)
  11. ▌Jason Rarick (R)
  12. ▌Torrey Westrom (R)
  13. ▌Jeff Howe (R)
  14. ▌Aric Putnam (DFL)
  15. ▌Gary Dahms (R)
  16. ▌Andrew Lang (R)
  17. ▌Glenn Gruenhagen (R)
  18. ▌Nick Frentz (DFL)
  19. ▌John Jasinski (R)
  20. ▌Steve Drazkowski (R)
  21. ▌Bill Weber (R)
  22. ▌Rich Draheim (R)
  23. ▌Gene Dornink (R)
  24. ▌Carla Nelson (R)
  25. ▌Liz Boldon (DFL)
  26. ▌Jeremy Miller (R)
  27. ▌Andrew Mathews (R)
  28. ▌Mark Koran (R)
  29. ▌Bruce Anderson (R)
  30. ▌Eric Lucero (R)
  31. ▌Cal Bahr (R)
  32. ▌Michael Kreun (R)
  33. ▌Karin Housley (R)
  34. ▌John Hoffman (DFL)
  35. ▌Jim Abeler (R)
  36. ▌Heather Gustafson (DFL)
  37. ▌Warren Limmer (R)
  38. ▌Susan Pha (DFL)
  39. ▌Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL)
  40. ▌John Marty (DFL)
  41. ▌Judy Seeberger (DFL)
  42. ▌Bonnie Westlin (DFL)
  43. ▌Ann Rest (DFL)
  44. ▌Tou Xiong (DFL)
  45. ▌Ann Johnson Stewart (DFL)
  46. ▌Ron Latz (DFL)
  47. ▌Nicole Mitchell (DFL)
  48. ▌Julia Coleman (R)
  49. ▌Steve Cwodzinski (DFL)
  50. ▌Alice Mann (DFL)
  51. ▌Melissa Wiklund (DFL)
  52. ▌Jim Carlson (DFL)
  53. ▌Matt Klein (DFL)
  54. ▌Eric Pratt (R)
  55. ▌Lindsey Port (DFL)
  56. ▌Erin Maye Quade (DFL)
  57. ▌Zach Duckworth (R)
  58. ▌Bill Lieske (R)
  59. ▌Bobby Joe Champion (DFL)
  60. ▌Kari Dziedzic (DFL)
  61. ▌Scott Dibble (DFL)
  62. ▌Omar Fateh (DFL)
  63. ▌Zaynab Mohamed (DFL)
  64. ▌Erin Murphy (DFL)
  65. ▌Sandy Pappas (DFL)
  66. ▌Clare Oumou Verbeten (DFL)
  67. ▌Foung Hawj (DFL)
Majority caucus
▌Democratic–Farmer–Labor (34)
Minority caucus
▌Republican (33)
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