Paul Gazelka

Paul Gazelka
Minnesota State Senate District 9
Incumbent
In office
2011 - present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$31,140.90/year
Per diem	$96/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Minnesota House of Representatives
2005 - 2007
Education
Bachelor's	Oral Roberts University
Personal
Profession	Owner, Insurance Agency
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Paul Gazelka is a Republican member of the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 9 since 2013. He previously represented District 12 from 2011 to 2013. Gazelka previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2005-2007, where he was vice-chair of the Commerce Committee.

Gazelka is an insurance agent for State Farm in Madison and Brainerd, Minnesota. He has been a Chamber of Commerce president, a Kiwanis president, a school board chairman and the elder of his church, as well as the state director of a marriage mentoring program and a Defensive Driving program for senior citizens. He has coached BYAA and LRCC basketball and been a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and the Lakes Area Pregnancy Support organization.

Gazelka's undergraduate degree is in Business Management from Oral Roberts University.

Issues

Campaign themes

Gazelka's website highlights the following campaign themes:

Fiscal Policy

• Excerpt:"We must not enact more government programs than we can pay for. I support individuals and families spending their own money in a capital and free-market enterprise system."

Taxes

• Excerpt:"I will not support a tax increase. We expect our federal government to protect our borders and to protect our individual freedoms as Americans."

Government

• Excerpt:"Private industry is far more efficient and effective in use of money than the government. Money is best spent by the citizens who earned it. I believe that if government has less money, it becomes more efficient and cost-effective."

Jobs

• Excerpt:"First of all, we need to lower taxes on Minnesota businesses so they have a greater opportunity to be successful, which in turn will spur on job growth. "

Health Care

• Excerpt:"We must drive down the cost of health insurance and resist the temptation to let the government decide what options we must take."

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Gazelka served on the following committees:

Minnesota Committee Assignments, 2013
• Commerce
• Rules and Administration

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Gazelka served on these committees:

Minnesota Committee Assignments, 2011
• Commerce and Consumer Protection, Vice-chair
• Environment and Natural Resources
• State Government Innovation and Veterans
• Transportation

Issues

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Paul Gazelka endorsed Rick Santorum in the 2012 presidential election.

Elections

2012

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2012

Gazelka won election for the District 9 seat in 2012 after redistricting. He was unopposed in the August 14 primary and defeated Al Doty (D) in the November 6 general election.

Minnesota State Senate, District 9, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul Gazelka Incumbent	53.7%	20,527
	Democratic	Al Doty	46.3%	17,687
Total Votes				38,214

2010

See also: Minnesota State Senate elections, 2010

Gazelka defeated Democrat Taylor Stevenson and Constitution Party candidate Steve Park in the general election on November 2.

Minnesota State Senate, District 12 (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Paul Gazelka (R)		16530	51.51%
Taylor Stevenson (D)		11609	36.18%
Steve Park (D)		827	2.58%
Write-in (C)		3125	9.74%

2010 Primary

Gazelka defeated incumbent Paul Koering in the August 10, 2010 Republican primary by a margin of 3,752-2,857. Koering was seeking his third term.

Across the country in 2010, state senate elections were held in 43 states. 1,167 state senate seats were at stake. In all 1,167 state senate districts with an election in 2010, only 19 challengers (12 Democrats and 7 Republicans) defeated an incumbent state senator. Gazelka is one of the 7 Republican challengers who defeated an incumbent Republican state senator.

Campaign Themes

On his campaign website, Gazelka describes his policies in 12 areas; excerpts from his positions are:

• Fiscal policy: "We must not enact more government programs than we can pay for. I support individuals and families spending their own money in a capital and free-market enterprise system."
• Taxes: "I will not support a tax increase."
• Government: "Private industry is far more efficient and effective in use of money than the government."
• Jobs: "First of all, we need to lower taxes on Minnesota businesses so they have a greater opportunity to be successful, which in turn will spur on job growth."
• Health care: "We must drive down the cost of health insurance and resist the temptation to let the government decide what options we must take."
• Energy and Environment: "I support an energy and environmental policy that recognizes the importance of energy independence for our national security."
• Education: "We need a K-12 education policy that respects parent’s choice, is funded fairly and insists on local control."
• Immigration: "If you commit an illegal act, there should be consequences whether it is to the employer hiring illegal aliens or the illegal alien being sent back to their country of origin."
• Transportation: "A primary role of government is to provide infrastructure for transportation."
• Pro-life: "I believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death. Adoption should always be the choice over abortion. When a young woman chooses to keep the child, we need to participate in helping the new family succeed."
• Strong Families: "We know that children are best raised with mom and dad, living together in a happy, healthy, life-long marriage."
• Stem-Cell Research: "I support adult stem-cell research which is the best ethical and scientific solution to help cure diseases."

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Gazelka raised $49,458 in contributions.

His two largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
Public Fund	$9,827
Gazelka Volunteer Cmte	$4,910

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Paul + Gazelka + Minnesota + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Paul Gazelka News Feed

• Minnesota Senate Democrat Majority Passes Bill to Unionize Childcare Providers - Osakis Review
• Photos: Senate passes same-sex marriage bill - Minnesota Public Radio
• Early this week the State Senate voted on the controversial tax bill - Osakis Review
• $11 billion HHS budget bill on its way to governor's desk - St. Cloud Times
• Area lawmakers give mixed review to session - Brainerd Daily Dispatch
• Minnesota Legislature: As spending bills clear, time to talk taxes - Pioneer Press
• Crosslake 2013 Memorial Day Ceremony - Northland Press
• Minnesota senators pass immigrant education bill - Worthington Daily Globe
• Senators pass tax bill following uncertainty - Worthington Daily Globe
• Bill that freezes high ed tuition on way to Dayton; he says he'll sign - St. Cloud Times

Personal

Gazelka and his wife Maralee have five children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Paul Gazelka for State Senate, campaign website
• House website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2010
• Paul Gazelka on Facebook

References

Political offices
Preceded by Keith Langseth (DFL)	Minnesota State Senate District 9 2013–present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by Paul Koering (R)	Minnesota State Senate District 12 2011–2013	Succeeded by Torrey Westrom (R)

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