Mary Franson (born March 1, 1977) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represents District 8B, which includes portions of Douglas and Otter Tail counties in the west central part of the state. She is also a licensed child care provider and a former employee of AT&T.
Video Mary Franson
Early life and education
Franson graduated from AlBrook High School in Saginaw and the University of Minnesota Duluth in Duluth, earning her B.A. in psychology and humanities. She and her family live in Alexandria.
Maps Mary Franson
Political career
Franson was first elected to the House in 2010, succeeding Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba, who did not seek re-election.
On election night, November 6, 2012, Franson ended the night with a one-vote margin of victory, triggering an automatic recount under Minnesota law. Due primarily to a voting irregularity, the recount left Franson with a 12-vote lead and challenger Bob Cunniff conceded on November 29.
Franson won her third term in the 2014 election and her fourth term in the 2016 election. On January 23, 2018, Franson announced that she would seek her fifth term.
Political positions
Franson has been a vocal opponent of an executive order issued by Governor Mark Dayton allowing for the unionization of child care providers.
Environment
On April 20, 2012, Franson objected to the opening prayer on the House floor, where the House Chaplain Rev. Francis Grady mentioned Earth Day and tied it to the Gulf oil spill. Franson tweeted that the Prayer "may as well been dedicated to "Mother Earth", coincidence? I think not. 2nd offensive prayer in a month."
Food stamps
In March 2012, Franson was featured in a YouTube video in which she shared a statement made by someone she referred to as "a friend":
"Isn't it ironic that the food stamp program, part of the Department of Agriculture, is pleased to be distributing the greatest amount of food stamps ever. Meanwhile, the Park Service, also part of the Department of Agriculture, asks us to please not feed the animals, because the animals may grow dependent and not learn to take care of themselves."
Opponents saw Franson's comments as comparing people who receive food stamps to wild animals. After Star Tribune journalist Jon Tevlin tried to clarify her position, she issued a press release calling him a "voice for the dependency lobby." Franson was widely criticized for her comments and she eventually apologized to those who were offended and removed the video from YouTube, though mirrors of the video remain available. Franson repeated the analogy in July 2012 at a Tea Party event.
Gun control
After the March for Our Lives demonstration on March 24, 2018, Franson authored and shared several posts on Facebook that compared the survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting to the Hitler Youth. On March 27, Franson said that she didn't intend to link the protesters to Hitler Youth. On March 28, she apologized and said, "Because of the timing of my posts, I now understand why it appears that I was making a comparison."
LGBT issues
Franson was one of the authors of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (HF 1613), introduced on April 28, 2011. On April 8, 2014, Franson characterized an anti-bullying bill as "fascism" and an "attack on the Bible and conservative Christians."
On November 9, 2017, Franson tweeted that "A guy who thinks he's a girl is still a guy with a mental health condition", apparently in reference to the election of transgender politicians Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham to the Minneapolis City Council earlier that week. The tweet drew criticism from fellow state lawmakers, many of whom pointed out that being transgender is not considered a mental illness by the American Psychological Association. Franson posted a defiant apology on Facebook, stating that she does "not apologize for not conforming to the PC world where I'm supposed to go along with fantasy and participate in it. This isn't the first time I've offended the social justice warriors and it won't be the last."
Electoral history
References
External links
- Mary Franson at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
- Rep. Franson Web Page
- Project Votesmart - Rep. Mary Franson profile
- Mary Franson Campaign website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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