Rebecca Otto
| Rebecca Otto | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 18th Auditor of Minnesota | |
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Assumed office January 2, 2007 |
|
| Governor |
Tim Pawlenty Mark Dayton |
| Preceded by | Patricia Anderson |
| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 52B district |
|
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In office January 2003 – January 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Mark Holsten |
| Succeeded by | Matt Dean |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 9, 1963 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Shawn Otto |
| Education |
Macalester College (BS) University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MEd) |
Rebecca Otto (born July 9, 1963) is the State Auditor of the U.S. state of Minnesota and a candidate in the 2018 election for Governor of Minnesota. She is affiliated with the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). She also served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005 and on the Forest Lake School Board. Before entering politics, she was a science teacher and previous to that a business owner. She lives on a farm near Marine on St. Croix with her husband, Shawn Lawrence Otto, a screen play writer, novelist and science advocate. She is the third woman to serve as State Auditor, the first woman Democrat to be elected to the post, the first Democrat ever to be re-elected, and the first woman to be elected to a third term. In 2013 she became president of the National State Auditors Association and in 2014 was named one of 15 Most Influential Professionals in Government Auditing.
Otto initially led a successful school levy campaign in Forest Lake, and then was elected to the Forest Lake School Board. In her first race for the Minnesota State House in 2002, she was defeated by incumbent Mark Holsten. However, the seat opened after Holsten was appointed to the office of Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources by Governor Tim Pawlenty. A Special Election was scheduled to fill the vacancy. Otto ran for the House seat again and defeated opponent Matt Dean in that Special Election.
Later in 2003, Otto and her husband, Shawn Lawrence Otto were indicted by a grand jury for allegedly distributing false campaign material, a misdemeanor. She replied that the charges, filed by House Speaker Steve Sviggum, a Republican, were politically motivated and baseless. She was supported by a number of individuals, including former Governor Arne Carlson, a Republican, who signed a letter criticizing the indictment as politically motivated. In December 2003, the indictment was criticized by the judge as improper. The judge dismissed the charges and struck down the campaign finance law being used in the prosecution as unconstitutional. Otto lost her re-election bid in 2004 to opponent, Matt Dean.
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