Geoff Michel

Who is Geoff Michel?

Geoff Michel is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate who represents District 41, which includes portions of the southwestern Twin Cities suburbs of Edina and Bloomington in Hennepin County. A Republican, he was first elected to the Senate in 2002, succeeding retiring Senator Roy Terwilliger, who represented the area as District 42 before the 2002 legislative redistricting. Michel was reelected in 2006 and 2010.

Michel was named deputy majority leader in January 2011. In December 2011 he briefly served as interim majority leader after the resignation of former leader Amy Koch, leaving the position when the Republican caucus replaced its leadership team. Michel is chair of the Senate Jobs and Economic Growth Committee and of the Senate Rules and Administration Subcommittee for Redistricting. He also serves on the Senate's Rules and Administration and Taxes committees, and on the Rules and Administration subcommittees for Committees and for Conference Committees. Michel was an assistant minority leader from 2005 to 2011. His special legislative concerns include education, transportation, and taxes.

In March 2012, Michel announced he would not seek reelection to the Minnesota Senate. On March 19, 2012, an ethics complaint was filed against Michel by Senator Sandy Pappas. Pappas claimed that Michel had “betrayed the public’s trust” by providing an inaccurate statement to the media and that he had brought “dishonor and disrepute” to the Minnesota Senate. The Minnesota Senate Rules and Administration Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct conducted two hearings into the complaint, but deadlocked on a resolution. The ethics complaint against Michel remains unresolved.