Torrey Westrom
Encyclopedia
Torrey Westrom is a Minnesota
politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
representing District 11A, which includes all or portions of Big Stone
, Douglas
, Grant
, Pope
, Stevens
, Swift
and Traverse
counties. A Republican
, he was first elected in 1996 and has been re-elected every two years since then. Prior to the 2002 legislative redistricting
, he represented the old District 13A. He is the first known blind
person elected to Minnesota Legislature
.
Westrom currently serves on the House Civil Justice, Rules and Legislative Administration, and Ways and Means committees, and on the Finance Subcommittee for the Energy Finance and Policy Division.
From 2003-2006, he chaired the House Regulated Industries Committee.
Westrom has also served on several legislative commissions, including the Rural Health Care Advisory Task Force, the Secretary of State's voting equipment task force and the Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission. In 2002, President George W. Bush
appointed him to serve a four-year term on a federal advisory panel called the Ticket to Work. The panel advised Congress
and the White House
on return-to-work programs for people with disabilities.
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...
politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota 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...
representing District 11A, which includes all or portions of Big Stone
Big Stone County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,820 people, 2,377 households, and 1,611 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 3,171 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
, Douglas
Douglas County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 32,821 people, 13,276 households, and 9,027 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile . There were 16,694 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile...
, Grant
Grant County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,289 people, 2,534 households, and 1,740 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 3,098 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
, Pope
Pope County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,236 people, 4,513 households, and 3,064 families residing in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile . There were 5,827 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
, Stevens
Stevens County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,053 people, 3,751 households, and 2,366 families residing in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile . There were 4,074 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
, Swift
Swift County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,956 people, 4,353 households, and 2,881 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 4,821 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
and Traverse
Traverse County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,134 people, 1,717 households, and 1,129 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 2,199 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
counties. A Republican
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
, he was first elected in 1996 and has been re-elected every two years since then. Prior to the 2002 legislative redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
, he represented the old District 13A. He is the first known blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
person elected to Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
.
Westrom currently serves on the House Civil Justice, Rules and Legislative Administration, and Ways and Means committees, and on the Finance Subcommittee for the Energy Finance and Policy Division.
From 2003-2006, he chaired the House Regulated Industries Committee.
Westrom has also served on several legislative commissions, including the Rural Health Care Advisory Task Force, the Secretary of State's voting equipment task force and the Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission. In 2002, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
appointed him to serve a four-year term on a federal advisory panel called the Ticket to Work. The panel advised Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on return-to-work programs for people with disabilities.