Eric Pratt

Eric R. Pratt (born January 23, 1964) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 55 in the southwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Eric Pratt
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 55th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2013
Preceded byredrawn district
Personal details
Born (1964-01-23) January 23, 1964
Charles City, Iowa
Political partyRepublican Party of Minnesota
Spouse(s)Tina
Children2
ResidencePrior Lake, Minnesota
Alma materUniversity of Colorado Boulder (B.A.)
University of St. Thomas (M.B.A.)
Occupationrisk manager, legislator

Early life, education, and career

Pratt's family moved to Prior Lake, Minnesota in 1978, where he graduated from Prior Lake High School.[1] His father was a commercial banker for Bank of America and a commercial real estate broker. His mother taught elementary school for 40 years, finishing her career in Shakopee, Minnesota.

He attended the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating in 1987 with a B.A. in economics and later the University of St. Thomas, graduating in 1993 with a M.B.A.[2] Pratt play outside linebacker for the University of Colorado Buffaloes under Hall of Fame head coach Bill McCartney. He was also a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

He was a member of the Prior Lake-Savage School Board from 2000 to 2012 and served as its chair.[1][2]

Minnesota Senate

Pratt was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2012,[3] winning with 55.11% of the vote over Kathy Busch in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4] He won reelection on November 6, 2016 over Ali C. Ali with 68.7% of the vote.

Following the 2016 Minnesota Senate election, Senator Pratt chaired the Education Policy committee where, in 2017, he led significant reforms to how teachers are licensed based on a report from the Legislative Auditor. He has been an advocate for public education while keeping his primary focus on ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed in the classroom. He has been recognized for his bipartisan efforts to make public education less political and willingness to take on tough issues, such as special education.

Senator Pratt has been effective at getting bills signed into law in a divided government. He led the effort to provide disaster relief to communities ravaged by floods in 2014. In 2017 he passed Real ID authorization, which allows Minnesota driver's licenses to be used to board airplanes and enter federal buildings. In 2018 he worked with bankers, realtors, Legal Aid and the renewable energy industry to pass nation-leading consumer protections for PACE home improvement financing. Pratt also led a bipartisan effort to restructure the Metropolitan Council in an effort to bring the body into compliance with the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act for federally-funded transportation projects.

Personal life

Pratt is married to his wife, Tina. They have two children and reside in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Pratt is a risk manager.[3]

References
  1. "Meet Eric Pratt". Pratt for Minnesota. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  2. Baumann, Lisa (July 30, 2012). "Eric Pratt Republican Candidate Senate District 55". Shakopee Patch. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  3. "Pratt, Eric R." Legislators Past & Present. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  4. "Results for State Senator District 55". [Minnesota Secretary of State]. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
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