Gil Gutknecht
Encyclopedia
Gilbert William "Gil" Gutknecht, Jr. is an American politician. Gutknecht was a Republican
member of the United States House of Representatives
first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota
's 1st congressional district
, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota
. Gutknecht lost his 2006 reelection bid to DFL candidate Tim Walz
, and his term ended in January 2007.
. He graduated from high school in 1969 and was the first member of his extended family to attend college, graduating with a degree in business from the University of Northern Iowa
in 1973.
After college, Gutknecht was a school supplies salesman for 10 years. He went to auction college in 1978 and conducted his first real estate auction in 1979.
Gutknecht is married to Mary Catherine Keefe. The couple has three grown children and has lived in Rochester
, Minnesota for more than 30 years, where they are members of Pax Christi Catholic Church.
, where he served until 1994. He was the Republican floor leader for three years.
(DFL) retired. He served six terms, in the 104th
, 105th
, 106th
, 107th
, 108th
, and 109th congresses
, but in the November 2006 election lost his attempt to continue for a seventh.
During his tenure in Congress, Gutknecht served as chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Operations Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, vice chair of the Science Committee, and as a member of the Government Reform Committee.
In April 1995, The journal Science quoted Gutknecht's legislative aide Brian Harte as saying the federal effort to study AIDS based on the HIV/AIDS link "will be seen as the greatest scandal in American history and will make Watergate look like a no-fault divorce."
In August 2002, Gutknecht voiced his support for expansion plans by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
, despite opposition from many constituents in Mankato
and Rochester who were concerned about noise and traffic problems.
He was the only Minnesota Republican to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He cited the sugar beet growers in his district as one reason to oppose the trade bill, which ultimately passed by a vote of 217–215.
He also sponsored legislation that would have legalized drug imports from other countries, despite opposition from the Food and Drug Administration. It passed the House but the provision fell from the final version, largely based on White House opposition and an administration report critical of imports.
In January 2006, Gutknecht also opposed his party's leadership when he called for new elections for all leadership posts except the speaker. He said Republicans needed to win back the trust of the American people in the wake of the Jack Abramoff
scandal.
In mid-2006, after returning from Iraq, Gutknecht said that the U.S should partially withdraw troops from that country, again deviating from the Republican administration's stance.
Gutknecht was considered to be the third most conservative member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress
, scoring 92% conservative by a conservative group and 7% progressive
by a liberal group. Minnesota Congressional Districts
shows the scores for the entire delegation.
. During the 1994 campaign, he had signed the Contract with America
, which called for a Constitutional Amendment
to limit congressional terms to 12 years. The "contract" called for a vote on this amendment. "If we ever break this contract, throw us out." In 1995, the Supreme Court
ruled in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
that congressional term limit laws are unconstitutional, so a constitutional amendment is the only way to implement term limits. Gutknecht voted for such a proposed amendment in 1995, which failed to muster the two-thirds vote for it to move on to the Senate
. After Gutknecht was elected in November 1994, he pledged to serve no more than 12 years. In March 1995 he drafted a bill that would bar House members from accruing additional pension benefits after they have served for six terms. "The purpose is to provide one more incentive for people to stay no longer than 12 years," he said.
In November 1999, Gutknecht said he was not sure he would abide by his past recommendation that legislators serve no more than 12 years. He said he still liked term limits in principle, but he noted that the topic was no longer a front-burner issue in the public mind. According to the Associated Press, he "backtracked" from his 1995 term-limit pledge in May 2004, stating that the voters should be the ones making the decision. In March 2005 he announced he was running for a seventh term.
In March 2006, Gutknecht told a group of Minnesota State University, Mankato
College Republicans
and other students that the role they would take on in the elections in 2006 would be just as pivotal as the part played by Minnesota’s 1st Regiment to hold the line at the Battle of Gettysburg
during the American Civil War
. “We’re asked to stand in that gap and there are big stakes in this election,” Gutknecht said. “And remember, had we lost the Battle of Gettysburg, we might have lost the war.”
Gutknecht had always chosen to submit filing petitions when running for Congress instead of paying the $300 election filing fee, calling this a more fiscally conservative approach. Gutknecht was the only major party candidate in Minnesota to submit filing petitions in 2006. In August 2006, Louis Reiter of Elgin, Minnesota
filed papers with the Minnesota Supreme Court
seeking to disqualify Gutknecht from having his name appear on the September 12, 2006 primary ballot. The filing was prepared by DFL election attorney Alan Weinblatt, and argued that all candidates are subject to a time limit for petitions, and that most of the petition signatures were gathered before the July 4–18, 2006 period which the lawsuit claimed was applicable. Gutknecht filed the petitions on July 5, 2006, the first day possible for such filings. He had never previously been challenged on this point. The state Supreme Court heard the case on August 22, 2006 and denied the attempt to disqualify Gutknecht the same day.
On August 17, 2006, WCCO-TV
News in Minneapolis reported that members of Gutknecht's campaign made edits to his Wikipedia article. They replaced part of the page with his official congressional biography, removing references to his term-limit pledges. Gutknecht's office used the account "Gutknecht01" to attempt previous edits on July 24; that account was then notified (via its talk page) of Wikipedia policies against self-editing.
Gutknecht defeated Gregory Mikkelson in the Republican primary on September 12, 2006, 87%–13%. Gutknecht was unsuccessful in his bid for a seventh term, losing to DFLer Tim Walz
.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. The First District is primarily a rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, although this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in...
, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota
Minnesota Congressional Districts
Minnesota currently has eight congressional districts. There were 9th and 10th districts but they were eliminated in 1963 and 1933 respectively...
. Gutknecht lost his 2006 reelection bid to DFL candidate Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, and his term ended in January 2007.
Background
Gutknecht was born in Cedar Falls, IowaCedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
. He graduated from high school in 1969 and was the first member of his extended family to attend college, graduating with a degree in business from the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
in 1973.
After college, Gutknecht was a school supplies salesman for 10 years. He went to auction college in 1978 and conducted his first real estate auction in 1979.
Gutknecht is married to Mary Catherine Keefe. The couple has three grown children and has lived in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, Minnesota for more than 30 years, where they are members of Pax Christi Catholic Church.
Minnesota Legislature
In 1983, Guteknecht was elected to the Minnesota House of RepresentativesMinnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
, where he served until 1994. He was the Republican floor leader for three years.
U.S. House of Representatives
Gutknecht was elected to the U.S. House in 1994, running for a seat left open when six-term Representative Tim PennyTim Penny
Timothy Joe "Tim" Penny , is an American politician from Minnesota. Penny was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor member of the United States House of Representatives, 1983–1995, representing Minnesota's 1st congressional district in the 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st, 102nd and 103rd congresses.-Early life:Penny...
(DFL) retired. He served six terms, in the 104th
104th United States Congress
The One Hundred Fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1995 to January 3, 1997, during the third and...
, 105th
105th United States Congress
The One Hundred Fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 1999, during the fifth and...
, 106th
106th United States Congress
The One Hundred Sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1999 to January 3, 2001, during the last two...
, 107th
107th United States Congress
The One Hundred Seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2003, during the final...
, 108th
108th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eighth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during the third and fourth years of George W. Bush's...
, and 109th congresses
109th United States Congress
The One Hundred Ninth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the fifth and sixth years of George W. Bush's presidency. House members...
, but in the November 2006 election lost his attempt to continue for a seventh.
During his tenure in Congress, Gutknecht served as chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Operations Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, vice chair of the Science Committee, and as a member of the Government Reform Committee.
In April 1995, The journal Science quoted Gutknecht's legislative aide Brian Harte as saying the federal effort to study AIDS based on the HIV/AIDS link "will be seen as the greatest scandal in American history and will make Watergate look like a no-fault divorce."
In August 2002, Gutknecht voiced his support for expansion plans by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad
The Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad is a Class II railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States...
, despite opposition from many constituents in Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
and Rochester who were concerned about noise and traffic problems.
He was the only Minnesota Republican to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. He cited the sugar beet growers in his district as one reason to oppose the trade bill, which ultimately passed by a vote of 217–215.
He also sponsored legislation that would have legalized drug imports from other countries, despite opposition from the Food and Drug Administration. It passed the House but the provision fell from the final version, largely based on White House opposition and an administration report critical of imports.
In January 2006, Gutknecht also opposed his party's leadership when he called for new elections for all leadership posts except the speaker. He said Republicans needed to win back the trust of the American people in the wake of the Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
scandal.
In mid-2006, after returning from Iraq, Gutknecht said that the U.S should partially withdraw troops from that country, again deviating from the Republican administration's stance.
Gutknecht was considered to be the third most conservative member of the Minnesota delegation in the 109th Congress
109th United States Congress
The One Hundred Ninth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the fifth and sixth years of George W. Bush's presidency. House members...
, scoring 92% conservative by a conservative group and 7% progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
by a liberal group. Minnesota Congressional Districts
Minnesota Congressional Districts
Minnesota currently has eight congressional districts. There were 9th and 10th districts but they were eliminated in 1963 and 1933 respectively...
shows the scores for the entire delegation.
Events of 2006 and election defeat
Gutknecht ran for re-election in 2006United States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
. During the 1994 campaign, he had signed the Contract with America
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Larry Hunter, who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text...
, which called for a Constitutional Amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
to limit congressional terms to 12 years. The "contract" called for a vote on this amendment. "If we ever break this contract, throw us out." In 1995, the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
ruled in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 ,was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states cannot impose qualifications for prospective members of the U.S. Congress stricter than those specified in the Constitution. The decision invalidated the Congressional...
that congressional term limit laws are unconstitutional, so a constitutional amendment is the only way to implement term limits. Gutknecht voted for such a proposed amendment in 1995, which failed to muster the two-thirds vote for it to move on to the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. After Gutknecht was elected in November 1994, he pledged to serve no more than 12 years. In March 1995 he drafted a bill that would bar House members from accruing additional pension benefits after they have served for six terms. "The purpose is to provide one more incentive for people to stay no longer than 12 years," he said.
In November 1999, Gutknecht said he was not sure he would abide by his past recommendation that legislators serve no more than 12 years. He said he still liked term limits in principle, but he noted that the topic was no longer a front-burner issue in the public mind. According to the Associated Press, he "backtracked" from his 1995 term-limit pledge in May 2004, stating that the voters should be the ones making the decision. In March 2005 he announced he was running for a seventh term.
In March 2006, Gutknecht told a group of Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Minnesota State University, Mankato is a public four-year university located in Mankato, Minnesota, a community of 53,000 located southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of Fall 2011, the student body is the third-largest in the state of Minnesota with over 15,000 students...
College Republicans
College Republicans
The College Republican National Committee is a national organization for college and university students who support the Republican Party of the United States...
and other students that the role they would take on in the elections in 2006 would be just as pivotal as the part played by Minnesota’s 1st Regiment to hold the line at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. “We’re asked to stand in that gap and there are big stakes in this election,” Gutknecht said. “And remember, had we lost the Battle of Gettysburg, we might have lost the war.”
Gutknecht had always chosen to submit filing petitions when running for Congress instead of paying the $300 election filing fee, calling this a more fiscally conservative approach. Gutknecht was the only major party candidate in Minnesota to submit filing petitions in 2006. In August 2006, Louis Reiter of Elgin, Minnesota
Elgin, Minnesota
Elgin is a city in Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States on Minnesota State Highway 42. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census. Its annual festival is Elgin Cheese Days.-Geography:...
filed papers with the Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
seeking to disqualify Gutknecht from having his name appear on the September 12, 2006 primary ballot. The filing was prepared by DFL election attorney Alan Weinblatt, and argued that all candidates are subject to a time limit for petitions, and that most of the petition signatures were gathered before the July 4–18, 2006 period which the lawsuit claimed was applicable. Gutknecht filed the petitions on July 5, 2006, the first day possible for such filings. He had never previously been challenged on this point. The state Supreme Court heard the case on August 22, 2006 and denied the attempt to disqualify Gutknecht the same day.
On August 17, 2006, WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...
News in Minneapolis reported that members of Gutknecht's campaign made edits to his Wikipedia article. They replaced part of the page with his official congressional biography, removing references to his term-limit pledges. Gutknecht's office used the account "Gutknecht01" to attempt previous edits on July 24; that account was then notified (via its talk page) of Wikipedia policies against self-editing.
Gutknecht defeated Gregory Mikkelson in the Republican primary on September 12, 2006, 87%–13%. Gutknecht was unsuccessful in his bid for a seventh term, losing to DFLer Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
.
Electoral history
- 1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 53%
- Mary Rieder (DFL), 47%
- 1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 55%
- Tracy BeckmanTracy BeckmanTracy L. Beckman is a Minnesota politician and is a former member of the Minnesota Senate from southern Minnesota. First elected in 1986 in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s “firestorm” that swept through the region, giving Democrats unprecedented control of southwestern Minnesota for the next...
(DFL), 45%
- 2000 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 57%
- Mary Rieder (DFL), 42%
- 2002 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 61%
- Steve Andreasen (DFL), 35%
- Gregg Mikkelson (G), 4%
- 2004 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 60%
- Leigh Pomeroy (DFL), 35%
- Greg Mikkelson (I), 5%
- 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives – 1st District
- Tim WalzTim WalzTimothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
(DFL), 53% - Gil Gutknecht (R) (inc.), 47%
- Tim Walz