Betty Louise McCollum

House Incumbent

Dem-Minn.

Born July 12, 1954

Biography

Betty McCollum was born in Minneapolis and attended high school in the suburban city of North St. Paul. She stuck close to home for college as well. She received a degree at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, majoring in Education and Political Science after first attending a community college for two years.

She was elected to the Legislature in 1992 where she served on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. At that time, she also worked as a clerk at Dayton's department store. Before that, she spent 12 years at Sears Roebuck and managed a Casual Corner. She and her husband, Douglas, have two grown children.

Profile

When her daughter got hurt on a slide in a city park and the North St. Paul City Council would not fix the problem that led to the accident, Betty McCollum got involved in politics. She was elected to the city council on her second try.

In 1992 she ran for the state House of Representatives. District lines were being redrawn at the time so she ran against two incumbents. She beat them both.

In office, she was a strong environmentalist who opposed Northern States Power when the utility sought permission to store spent nuclear waste in dry casks outside the plant. She advocated election reform, including allowing absentee voters to be able to vote without stating a reason they couldn't get to the polls. She had a 92 percent rating from the AFL/CIO and a 100 percent rating from the Sierra Club. She is in favor of abortion rights.

Campaigns

In her 1992 race for the state House, Betty McCollum beat incumbent Rep. Rick O'Conner in the DFL primary with 53.5 percent of the vote and then went on to beat Republican Rep. Dennis Newinski with nearly the same vote margin. Her reelections since have been by wider margins.

In the primary for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Bruce Vento, she survived a heated challenge by three experienced politicians. Two opponents, state Sen. Steve Novak, and St. Paul City Council Member Chris Coleman, said she distored their record in campaign literature. They complained even louder of aggressive mailings sent on McCollum's behalf by the state DFL Party. McCollum was the endorsed candidate.

Ultimately, McCollum defeated Republican Linda Runbeck and Independence Party candidate Tom Foley with 48 percent of the vote.

In Congress, she serves on the Education and Workforce Committee, as well as the Resources Committee. The Education and Workforce Committee has jurisdiction over K-12 and post secondary education and workers' rights, among other things. The Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives is responsible for most legislation impacting the environment, including parks, wildlife and fisheries, forests and water resources.

Contact

To reach Betty Louise McCollum or staff in Washington, call 202-225-6631, or in Minnesota, call 651-224-9191. Email: betty.mccollum@mail.house.gov. World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/mccollum.