King Banaian
King Banaian is a former Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing District 15B from 2011 to 2013. He was elected to a first term in the state house on November 2, 2010 by a margin of less than 15 votes.
Banaian is an economist and the chairman of the Economics Department at St. Cloud State University. As an economist, he advised the governments of Mongolia and the Ukraine on economic policy. He has also been a part-time radio talk show host.[1]
An article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in January 2011 noted that Banaian, "in what might have been considered effrontery in bygone Legislatures," went to legislative leadership and suggested that he be the chief sponsor of a budget bill that will force state agencies to rebuild their budgets from zero. "I [told leadership] I want this bill because this is what I was sent to do."[2]
Campaign themes
Banaian's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[3]
- Excerpt: "We have a spending problem in this state. The key issue in our campaign is not how to solve a budget deficit but should be posed as how big should our government be?"
- Excerpt: "We need to reinvigorate the private sector to create jobs."
- Excerpt: "My goals are to expand some of those choices for children from lower-income families, and to improve the accountability of our school system."
- Excerpt: "We need to better coordinate the existing loan programs available to students to help them afford their educations. We also need more flexibility for public universities to explore sources of revenue beyond tuition and state support."
- Excerpt: "Seniors are a vital issue as our baby-boom generation ages and the number of workers supporting our pension system declines relative to the number of seniors. However, we need plans that do not overly burden our younger generations; reducing the amount of state debt future generations must repay for us should be a priority."
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Banaian served on these committees:
- Capital Investment
- Higher Education Policy and Finance
- Rules and Legislative Administration
- State Government Finance
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Banaian served on these committees:
- Capital Investment
- Higher Education Policy and Finance
- Rules and Legislative Administration
- State Government Finance
Elections
2012
Banaian ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Minnesota House of Representatives District 14B. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14 and was defeated by Zach Dorholt (D) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Zach Dorholt |
56.4% | 10,017 | |
| Republican | King Banaian Incumbent | 43.6% | 7,749 | |
| Total Votes | 17,766 | |||
2010
Banaian won election to the District 15B seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition. He defeated Carol Lewis (DFL) in the general election on November 2, 2010.[6]
| Minnesota House of Representatives, District 15B (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Carol Lewis (DFL) | 5,467 | 49.83% | ||
| King Banaian (R)
|
5,477 | 49.92% | ||
| Write-In | 27 | 0.25% | ||
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
Taxpayers League of Minnesota
The Taxpayers League of Minnesota, a Minnesota-based taxpayer advocacy organization, releases a legislative scorecard for the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Senate once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how they voted in the prior legislative term on tax issues and “their efforts to balance the state budget without a tax increase.” The organization also compiles a legislator’s individual "Lifetime Score."[7]
2012
Banaian received a score of 71% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 39th out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members.[8]
2011
Banaian received a score of 69% in the 2011 scorecard, ranking 71st out of all 134 Minnesota House of Representatives members. [9]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term King + Banaian + Minnesota + Legislature
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Banaian and his wife Barbara have one child.
External links
- House website
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2010
- Facebook profile
- blog
- Twitter account
Footnotes
- ↑ Power Line, "Don't Forget the Legislatures," February 2, 2011
- ↑ Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Freshman class already making its mark in St. Paul," January 31, 2011
- ↑ "kingforhouse," Official Campaign Website
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2012 State General Election Candidate Filings," accessed June 18, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Minnesota State Canvassing Report - State Primary - Tuesday, August 14, 2012," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2010 Election Results," accessed March 9, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecards," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Taypayers League of Minnesota, "Legislative Scorecard, 2011," accessed May 15, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Larry Haws (DFL) |
Minnesota House of Representatives District 15B 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Jim Newberger (R) |
