Wikipedia

Pat Garofalo

Patrick "Pat" Garofalo (born September 23, 1971) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 58B, which includes portions of Dakota and Goodhue counties in the southeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Pat Garofalo
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
from the 58B district
36B (2005–2013)
In office
January 4, 2005 – July 14, 2024
Preceded bySteve Strachan
Succeeded byVacant
Personal details
Born (1971-09-23) September 23, 1971 (age 53)[1]
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
SpouseJulie Garofalo
Children2
ResidenceFarmington, Minnesota
Alma materMinnesota State University, Mankato (B.S.)
OccupationNetwork engineer, Legislator

Education

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Born in 1971 in Saint Paul, Minnesota,[1] Garofalo graduated from Rosemount High School in Rosemount in 1989, then went on to Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, earning his B.S. in law enforcement in 1994.

Minnesota House of Representatives

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Garofalo was first elected in 2004 and was reelected every two years thereafter. In February 2008, he was named assistant minority whip for the Republican caucus. Garofalo served one term as chair of the Education Finance Committee in 2011–12, and chaired the Job Growth & Energy Affordability Committee from 2015 to 2018. He served as the minority lead of the Ways and Means Committee.[2]

In March 2015, Garofalo posted on Twitter that if a majority of National Basketball Association teams were to fold, "nobody would notice a difference [with the] possible exception of increase in streetcrime [sic]."[3][4] He said he was making an observation about crime among professional athletes, not a racist comment.[3] He later apologized.[5]

In 2015, after U.S. Representative John Kline announced he was not running for reelection, attention turned to Garofalo as a possible contender for the seat. After a recruiting visit to Washington, D.C., with House leadership, Garofalo told local media, "I would rather stick a fork in my eye than run for Congress".[6]

In 2021, Garofalo called the U.S. Capitol attack by Donald Trump supporters "ridiculous" and "banana republic shit".[7]

In January 2024, Garofalo announced that he would not seek reelection after his term finished. In a letter to Governor Tim Walz dated July 9, 2024, he gave notice of his intent to resign. Garofalo stepped down effective July 14 at 11:59 PM.[8][9]

Personal life

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Pat Garofalo is married to Julie (Rohloff) Garofalo, has two children, and lives in Farmington, Minnesota.[10] He is a network engineer who works on computer infrastructure and IP telephony systems, and was the technology coordinator for Tim Pawlenty's 2002 gubernatorial campaign.[2]

Electoral history

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Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 11,549 58.84
DFL Marla Vagts 8,060 41.06
Write-in 20 0.10
Total votes 19,629 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 13,926 64.78
DFL Marla Vagts 7,542 35.08
Write-in 29 0.13
Total votes 21,497 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 8,878 63.85
DFL Marla Vagts 5,008 36.02
Write-in 18 0.13
Total votes 13,904 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 58B election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 12,520 59.47
DFL Jim Arlt 8,512 40.04
Write-in 19 0.09
Total votes 21,051 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 12,317 65.81
DFL Sigrid Iversen 6,381 34.10
Write-in 17 0.09
Total votes 18,715 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 14,235 56.01
DFL Bev Topp 11,144 43.85
Write-in 36 0.14
Total votes 25,415 100
Republican hold
Minnesota House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 10,304 55.85
DFL Paul Hardt 8,123 44.03
Write-in 23 0.12
Total votes 18,450 100
Republican hold
Minnesota's House of Representatives, House District 36B election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Patrick Garofalo 14,511 62.39
DFL Benjamin Coler 8,718 37.48
Write-in 31 0.13
Total votes 23,260 100
Republican hold

References

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  1. ^ a b "Garofalo, Patrick "Pat" - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present".
  2. ^ a b "Garofalo, Patrick "Pat"". Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Lee, Jolie (March 10, 2014). "Minn. lawmaker responds to tweet about NBA, street crime". USA Today. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Stassen-Berger, Rachel E. (March 10, 2014). "Farmington legislator's tweet on NBA called racist". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Brooks, Jennifer (March 11, 2014). "Rep. Garofalo apologizes for tweet on NBA that many called racist". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  6. ^ Johnson, Tad (3 September 2015). "Not a 2016 candidate, Kline focused on work ahead". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  7. ^ Siders, David (January 13, 2021). "Capitol riot fueled by deep network of GOP statehouse support". Politico. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  8. ^ HPIS Staff (July 9, 2024). "Garofalo to resign from House". house.mn.gov.
  9. ^ "Rep. Pat Garofalo". house.mn.gov.
  10. ^ "About | patgarofalo".
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