Lori Swanson

Lori Swanson
Attorney General of Minnesota
Incumbent
In office
January 2, 2007 - Present
Term ends
2014
Years in position	6
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	Mike Hatch (D)
Compensation
Base salary	$114,288
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	November 2006
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Minnesota Solicitor General
2003 – 2006
Deputy Attorney General of Minnesota
1999 – 2002
Education
Bachelor's	University of Wisconsin-Madison
J.D.	William Mitchell College of Law
Websites
Office website

Lori Swanson (born December 16, 1966) is the current Democratic Attorney General of Minnesota. Having taken the oath of office on January 2, 2007, she became the first woman in the state to serve as Attorney General.

Biography

From 2003 to 2006, Swanson served as Solicitor General for the State of Minnesota. From 1999 to 2002, she served as Deputy Attorney General. Prior to that, Swanson was an attorney in private practice.

She has received the Pro Patria Award (2009) from Minnesota Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), and the Robert Drinan Champion of Justice Award (2009) from The National Consumer Law Center.

Education

• Bachelor's degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Juris Doctorate degree, William Mitchell College of Law (magna cum laude)

Political career

Minnesota Attorney General (2007-Present)

Swanson was elected Attorney General of the State of Minnesota in 2006, and reelected in 2010. She is Minnesota’s 29th Attorney General and its first female Attorney General.

Swanson served under her predecessor Mike Hatch as Deputy Attorney General during his first term in office, from 1999 to 2002, and then as Solicitor General, from 2003 to 2006, during his second term. Prior to being elected as Minnesota's twenty-ninth attorney general, she was appointed Chair of the Consumer Advocacy Council to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors based in Washington, D.C.

Issues

Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act

On March 11, 2013, Swanson, together with twleve other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress in support of the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act, a bill which would ban for-profit colleges from using federal funds for marketing and recruiting techniques. Sponsored by Senators Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), who chairs the chamber's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, the law aims to “ensure that scarce federal education dollars will be used to serve and educate students rather than to finance advertising campaigns, recruitment operations, and aggressive marketing.” Consumer protection is one of the key duties assigned to the attorney general in each state.

According to the law's text, student enrollment at for-profit degree-issuing institutions such as the University of Phoenix more than doubled between 1998-2008, during which time the federal government--through student financial assistance programs--provided 86% of revenues to 15 reviewed publicly traded companies operating these for-profit colleges. A separate analysis of 15 such companies concluded that, on average, 28% of all expenditures were on advertising, marketing, and recruiting. Critics, including the attorneys general responsible for the letter advocating the bill's passage, contend that these expenditures are used to deceive consumers about program costs, graduation rates, or their employment potential beyond graduation. The bill seeks to restrict spending of this nature by higher education institutions or other postsecondary educational institution by prohibiting use of federal loans or grants in specific areas, and requiring that all such institutions whose revenues can be traced to federal educational assistance funds "report annually to the Secretary and to Congress the institution's expenditures on advertising, marketing, and recruiting."

In the letter, the attorneys general urged, “Federal taxpayers should not be asked to foot the bill for aggressive recruiting and deceptive sales tactics of colleges that have placed profits ahead of ensuring student success.” There are an estimated 3,000 for-profit schools nationwide, though neither the letter nor the bill cited the name of a specific institution.

ACORN

See also: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now

Swanson was one of six state attorneys general, all of whom belonged to the Democratic Party, who received the highest rating, a letter grade of A+, from the June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by liberal political organization, ACORN. The report was published in an effort to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure," according to the group.

The Minnesota Attorney General's office graciously accepted the organization's recognition, saying, “I am honored to have ACORN as an ally in this fight to protect our communities from the scourge of foreclosures, and deeply grateful for this recognition. I humbly share it with the scores of dedicated professionals in my office that go to work every day pursuing justice for the people of Minnesota.”

Assistant firing

See also: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

In April 2007, Swanson's office was embroiled in controversy after the Minnesota Attorney General fired Kari Jo Ferguson, a ten-year veteran who just weeks earlier had received a commendation and a raise from the attorney general herself, after being caught distributing union cards within the state governmental office. Swanson gave several reasons for the firing, but Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5, sharply criticized the attorney general for creating a "climate of political patronage, fear, intimidation and humiliating working conditions,” believing the discharge to be a direct result of Ferguson unionizing her co-workers.

Issues

Healthcare reform

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

The day after the United States House of Representatives narrowly passed the Senate reconciliation bill on health care reform, Republican Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty sent a letter to Attorney General Lori Swanson requesting her to "review the legal issues being raised by this unprecedented federal mandate and join other attorneys general to protect the constitutional rights of our citizens."

That same day, Swanson, through her spokesman, seemed to rebuke the governor's inquiry noting that neither the House bill had been signed nor had the reconciliation proposal been passed by the United States Senate. Furthermore, she argued, her office was not willing "to make any legal comments until we have had the opportunity to review the 2,400-page bill.’’

Even after President Barack Obama had signed the controversial House Resolution 3590 - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, Swanson had not yet made a decision as to whether or not she would pursue litigation against the federal government over the matter. The Minnesota Attorney General, as a direct result of what some perceive to be delay tactics, has faced increasing pressure from Republican members of State Legislature, including State Senator Julianne Ortman, who have argued that "her political agenda has gotten in the way of her responsibilities to serve the residents of the state."

Elections

2010

See also: Minnesota Attorney General election, 2010

2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Lori Swanson	85.6%
	Democratic Party	Leo F. Meyer	14.4%
Total Votes			397,317

2010 Race for Attorney General - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Lori Swanson	52.9%
	Republican Party	Chris Barden	41.3%
	Independent	Bill Dahn	5.1%
	Resource Party	David J. Hoch	0.7%
	Write-In		0.1%
Total Votes			2,033,087

2006

2006 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Lori Swanson	41.8%
	Democratic Party	Steve Kelley	37.3%
	Democratic Party	Bill Luther	20.9%
Total Votes			300,387

2006 Race for Attorney General - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Lori Swanson	53.2%
	Republican Party	Jeff Johnson	40.7%
	Independent	John James	4.1%
	Green Party	Papa John Kolstad	1.9%
Total Votes			2,125,209

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Lori Swanson's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Lori Swanson's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Attorney General of Minnesota		2006 Attorney General of Minnesota
Total Raised	$506,696		$435,920
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$108,938		$492,715
Top 5 contributors	Public Fund	$180,410	Public Fund	$107,549
	Minnesota DFL State Central Committee	$4,000	Lori Swanson	$10,000
	Minnesota Electrical Workers State Council	$1,200	Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Labor Party	$5,500
	United Transportation Union	$1,200	Friends of John Aiken	$2,418
	Goff & Howard, James Deal, Pamela Deal and Richard Ginsberg	$1,200 each	5 organizations and 10 individual donors	$1,000 each
Individuals	$155,879		$194,356
Institutions	$35,250		$23,815
In-state donations	$201,979		$418,020
Out-of-state donations	$299,567		$17,900

Recent news

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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Lori + Swanson + Minnesota + Attorney"

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Lori Swanson News Feed

• Your Legal Rights: Avoid survey scams - Alexandria Echo Press
• Our view: Attorney general finally stepping up - Duluth News Tribune
• Judges hear arguments in voting rights case - Brainerd Daily Dispatch
• Plaintiff previews voting rights case - Brainerd Daily Dispatch
• Rural hospitals in Minnesota protest Blue Cross reimbursement cut - Minneapolis Star Tribune
• Dayton, Swanson hang 'Not Welcome' sign - Stillwater Gazette
• Between Sanford Health and T. Denny Sanford, deep ties - Minneapolis Star Tribune
• U considers new Fairview agreement - Minneapolis Star Tribune
• U of M to Vote on Agreement to Strengthen Tie with Fairview - Twin Cities Business Magazine
• Your Turn: Church opposes 1 bill, not all anti-bullying policies - St. Cloud Times

Personal

Swanson currently resides in Eagan, Minnesota with her husband, Gary.

Contact Information

Capitol Address:
Minnesota Attorney General's Office
1400 Bremer Tower
Saint Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 296-3353
Toll Free Phone: (800) 657-3787
E-mail: attorney.general@state.mn.us

See also

• Attorney General of Minnesota
• Attorney General
• Governor of Minnesota

External links

Suggest a link

• Official Minnesota Attorney General website
• Lori Swanson for Minnesota Attorney General Campaign website
• Project Vote Smart - Lori Swanson biography

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mike Hatch (D)	Minnesota Attorney General 2006–present	Succeeded by NA