The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

January 30, 2008

Finstad looking forward to time with family

State representative will not seek fourth term this fall

By Mark Fischenich

COMFREY — State Rep. Brad Finstad, the Brown County lawmaker who rose quickly through the House Republican ranks and received statewide attention in 2006 when he successfully carried legislation funding a new stadium for the Minnesota Twins, announced Wednesday he would not seek a fourth term in the Nov. 4 general election.

Finstad, who has three young children, said he decided it was time to spend a lot more time with his family and a lot less with lawmakers.

“When you’re 21⁄2 hours away from home, and committee hearings and sessions go late into the night, you can go days without seeing your family,” he said.

During his six years in the Legislature, Finstad figures he spent more than half of his time at the Capitol. And he notes that all of his kids are under the age of five.

“So if you look at it that way, half of my kids’ lives I’d been in St. Paul,” he said. “It’s just not the way I want to raise a family.”

There were numerous cases of the children — Greta, Thomas and Jake — making it clear they wanted their father around more, Finstad said. There was one morning when he arrived at his Capitol office at 7 a.m. and found his first e-mail of the day.

His wife, Jaclyn, had written that the kids were up at 6:30 a.m. and were already saying they missed their dad.

“She e-mailed a picture of them all waving at the camera, saying ‘Hi, Dad!’” he said.

Finstad said he made clear from his first run for office in 2002 that he didn’t intend to stay too long.

“I always told people I didn’t want to make a career out of it,” he said, not ruling out another run for office after his children have grown.

But Finstad said he wanted to work hard while he was there, and he rose to the position of assistant minority leader. He also was chief sponsor of legislation that assisted women who needed support after an unwanted pregnancy and strongly supported another bill requiring a 24-hour waiting period before abortions could be performed.

His tenure will likely be best remembered, however, for his work on the Twins stadium bill. In 2006, after a decade of numerous lawmakers from both parties failing to make any progress on advancing a stadium bill, Finstad was able to usher a bill through the House and through negotiations with the Senate to finance a $522 million stadium in downtown Minneapolis.

An amateur pitcher and catcher for years on town teams in Brown County, Finstad, 31, intends to be at the new stadium for opening day in 2010. Considering that the start of the baseball season and the start of the busiest time at the Capitol both tend to come in April, Finstad’s announcement will make it more likely he can be there for the first pitch.

Finstad, who works at Corporate Graphics in North Mankato, said that game will be one of many activities he intends to engage in with family instead of lawmakers or — in the case of election years — with voters.

“I’ll go to a parade and watch it with my kids instead of being in it,” he said.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News