Meet the Candidate: Ron Latz

Editor's Note: This week, Patch will be running bios on the candidates for District 46 seats. These races will be decided during the General Election on Nov. 6. Today, we look at Sen. Ron Latz, the DFL incumbent in Senate District 46. On Thursday and Friday, we'll profile his Republican challengers, Roger Champagne and Paul Scofield.

Sen. Ron Latz

Party: DFL

District: Senate District 46

Elected: to the House in 2002 and re-elected in 2004; to the Senate in 2006 and re-elected in 2010

Committees: Higher education, Judiciary and Public Safety (ranking member)

Occupation: Attorney

What other job titles have you had? 

• Minnesota Assistant Attorney General (Public Safety  and Human Services divisions, legal counsel to state DARE program);
• Partner, Latz & Latz law firm; 
• President/owner,  Latz Law Office: Ronald S. Latz P.A.; 
• Sales associate, women’s shoes, Dayton’s.

Education: BA in Political Science with additional heavy coursework in Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison (1985); JD, Harvard Law School (1988)

Home: St. Louis Park

Age: 48

Family: Julia Shmidov Latz and three children

URLs:

• Website: www.ronlatz.org                
• Twitter:  @SenRonLatz

Proudest accomplishments in office:

• Passage of Freedom to Breathe Act: Proud to have authored and supported the Freedom to Breathe Act (smoking ban) that protects the health of our workers and cuts health care costs in our state. Was chief author of the legislation as a House member and was a Senate co-author of the legislation that expanded Minnesota’s Clean Indoor Air Act and bans smoking in all bars, restaurants and bingo halls.
• 35W Bridge Collapse Survivor Compensation: Worked with bridge survivors, legislative colleagues, state agencies and legal authorities in the days and months immediately following the collapse to create a $38 million compensation fund that allowed victims to receive up to $400,000 each.  It also created a supplemental account for anyone with extraordinary uncompensated medical expenses, long-term health costs and lost wages.
• The False Claims Act: This legislation will help recover millions of taxpayer dollars stolen by those who knowingly submit false bills to the government. The law is a state counterpart to the federal law which has been in effect since President Lincoln proposed it during the Civil War. The federal government and other states have recaptured hundreds of millions of dollars this way
• Consumer Protection Legislation 
  • Hannah Montana Bill: Legislation that banned use of software that allows ticket brokers to buy large amounts of concert tickets and then re-sell them for inflated prices. Bill passed and signed into law.
  • Debt Protection Bill: Legislation to provide safeguards to Minnesotans against companies that buy consumer debt and use harsh tactics to collect on money owed.