Tina Smith

Tina Smith
48th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2015
Governor	Mark Dayton
Preceded by	Yvonne Prettner Solon
Personal details
Born	March 4, 1958 Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Political party	Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Archie Smith
Children	Sam Mason
Alma mater	Stanford University Dartmouth College

Tina Flint Smith^[1] (born March 4, 1958 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a Minnesota politician, a former Chief of Staff to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, and the 48th and current Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, since 2015.

Biography

Prior to going to college, Smith worked on the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science, and later earned a master's degree in business administration from Dartmouth College.^[2]

Smith worked in marketing for General Mills, ran her own marketing firm, and served as a Vice President of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.^[3] She served as Chief of Staff for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and as senior advisor and Transition co-chair for Dayton's 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Dayton appointed Smith as chief of staff when he took office in 2011.

When Dayton's running mate from 2010, Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon, announced she would not seek re-election, Dayton passed over better-known political officeholders, citing Smith's work on shepherding the new Minnesota Vikings Stadium through the legislature, as well as her work on supporting the Destination Medical Center Project with the Mayo Clinic and the City of Rochester, MN.

Campaign

DFL Candidate for Lt. Governor Tina Smith speaks at a 2014 campaign rally in Eagan, Minnesota.

Smith stepped down as chief of staff to campaign for Lt. Governor. She was nominated by acclamation at the DFL state convention, and she and Dayton faced only token opposition in the gubernatorial primary.

Dayton led in the polls throughout the campaign, and won re-election relatively comfortably, defeating Republican Jeff Johnson by six percentage points.

References

1. Belden, Doug (February 4, 2014). "Dayton picks chief of staff Tina Smith as running mate". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
2. "Tina Smith: Minnesota's Next Lieutenant Governor". MarkDayton.org. Mark Dayton for a Better Minnesota. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
3. Bierschbach, Briana (February 4, 2014). "Veteran behind-the-scenes player Tina Smith steps forward as Dayton's running mate". MinnPost. Retrieved November 5, 2014.