Rebecca Otto
18th Minnesota State Auditor
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Patricia Anderson
Born	July 9, 1963 (1963-07-09) (age 46)
Political party	Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Shawn Otto
Residence	Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota
Profession	teacher, real estate

Rebecca Otto (born July 9, 1963) is the State Auditor of the U.S. state of Minnesota. She is affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). She also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 – 2005 and on the Forest Lake Board of Education. Before entering politics, she was a science teacher and previous to that a business owner. She lives on a farm near Marine on St. Croix with her husband, Shawn Lawrence Otto, a filmmaker. She is the third woman to serve as State Auditor, and the first woman democrat to be elected to the post.

[edit] Political career

She initially led a school levy campaign in Forest Lake, and then was elected to the Forest Lake school board with broad support. In her first race for the Minnesota state house in 2002, she was defeated by incumbent Mark Holsten. However, the seat opened after Holsten was appointed to the office of Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Despite a heavily Republican tilt to the district, Otto defeated Matt Dean in the special election.^[1]

Later in 2003, Otto and her husband were indicted by a grand jury for allegedly distributing false campaign material, a misdemeanor. Otto replied that the charges, filed by then House Speaker Steve Sviggum, a Republican, were politically motivated and baseless.^[2] Otto was supported by a number of individuals, including former Republican Governor Arne Carlson, who signed a letter criticizing the indictment. In December 2003, the charges were dismissed by a local judge and part of the law was stricken as unconstitutional. The charges, however, impacted Otto's campaign and she lost her re-election bid in 2004.

Otto declared her candidacy for auditor in March 2005 and ran against the incumbent auditor, Patricia Anderson. She won the DFL endorsement and the general election in 2006 by the largest margin of victory over an incumbent since 1894, with the support of Carlson, who crossed party lines to support her during her legal ordeals and switched his support from Anderson to Otto in the 2006 election, and well as the support of two other former State Auditors of both parties.

[edit] Awards and honors

2009 Honoree of the National Women's History Month, alongside Hillary Clinton, Sally Ride, Jane Goodall, and other "Women taking the lead to save our planet," the 2009 theme, for her environmental leadership.^[3]

2009 Recipient of the The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers^[4] "Excellence in Accountability Award" for her special project "Best Practices Review: Reducing Energy Costs in Local Government"^[5]

[edit] Electoral history

• 2006 MN State Auditor
  • Rebecca Otto (DFL), 52%
  • Patricia Anderson (R) (inc.), 41%
  • Lucy Gerold (IP), 5%
  • Dave Berger (G), 2%

• 2004 MN State House Seat 52B
  • Matt Dean (GOP), 51.59%
  • Rebecca Otto (DFL) (inc.), 48.32%

• 2003 MN State House Seat 52B (Special Election)
  • Rebecca Otto (DFL), 54.30%
  • Matt Dean (GOP), 43.47%

• 2002 MN State House Seat 52B
  • Mark Holsten (GOP) (inc.), 58.75%
  • Rebecca Otto (DFL), 41.17%

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Minnesota State Auditor's Web Site
• Rebecca Otto at Minnesota Legislators Past & Present
• Rebecca Otto Campaign Web Site
• Rebecca Otto Candidate Details
• Rebecca Otto: Best Practices Review: Reducing Energy Costs in Local Government

v • d • e State Auditors of Minnesota Dunbar • McIlrath • Whitcomb • Braden • Biermann • Dunn • Iverson • Preus • Chase • King • O'Brien • Hatfield • Mattson • Carlson • Dayton • Dutcher • Anderson • Otto

v • d • e Current statewide elected officials and legislative leaders of Minnesota U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar · Al Franken State government Tim Pawlenty, Governor · Carol Molnau, Lieutenant Governor · Mark Ritchie, Secretary of State · Lori Swanson, Attorney General · Rebecca Otto, State Auditor Senate Larry Pogemiller, Majority Leader · James Metzen, President · David Senjem, Minority Leader House Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Speaker · Tony Sertich, Majority Leader · Kurt Zellers, Minority Leader Supreme Court Eric J. Magnuson, Chief Justice · Alan Page · Paul H. Anderson · Helen M. Meyer · G. Barry Anderson · Lorie Skjerven Gildea · Christopher Dietzen

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