Moe, Donald M. "Don"
House 1971-72 (District 45B); House 1973-80 (District 65B); Senate 1981-90 (District 65)
Party when first elected: Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus
Counties Served:
Ramsey
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
12/24/1942
Birth Place:
Crookston, Minnesota
Birth County:
Polk
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
12/30/2017
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Lutheran
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
Don
City of Residence (when first elected):
Saint Paul
Occupation (when first elected):
None Listed
EDUCATION
Central High School, Crookston; Secondary; 1960
University of Minnesota; B.S.; Business Administration, 1968
University of Minnesota; Attended Graduate School; 1969-70
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Military:
United States Army (Germany);
1964 to 1966
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Lois Peterson (when first elected, no longer listed in 1975); Single; Colleen Halpine (listed in obituary)
Children:
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
Roger D. Moe
- Brother
GENERAL NOTES
He was a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
He "was best known at the Capitol for his vigorous and controversial work on reforming public pension systems, promoting greater employee mobility and increasing retirement benefits. As chairman of the Governmental Operations committees in both the House and Senate, he also was an aggressive watchdog over state agencies and public officials" (Pioneer Press Obituary, December 31, 2017).
"As a reform-minded legislator, Moe left his mark on laws in the areas of criminal justice, governmental organization, environmental regulation, public pensions and state investment policy" (Pioneer Press Obituary, December 31, 2017).
"He became a nationally recognized expert on public pension policy and co-authored a guide on the subject for the National Conference of State Legislatures" (Pioneer Press Obituary, December 31, 2017).
According to his obituary, he "was the first lawmaker (in 1982) to propose light-trail train service between downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul" (Pioneer Press Obituary, December 31, 2017).
He ran for Minnesota State Auditor in 1994. He won the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary election over the endorsed candidate Todd Otis. He lost the election to Judi Dutcher.
Religion provided by the Catholic Bulletin, 3/21/1975.
Body: Senate
District: 65
Elected: 11/4/1986
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/6/1987 to 1/7/1991
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Finance
-
Finance: State Departments Division
-
Governmental Operations (Chair)
-
Judiciary
-
Judiciary: Criminal Law Division
-
Rules and Administration
-
Rules and Administration: Capitol Renovation (Chair)
-
Rules and Administration: Senate Budget
Ran in next election? Yes. Defeated in general election
Body: Senate
District: 65
Elected: 11/4/1986
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/6/1987 to 1/7/1991
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Finance
-
Finance: State Departments Division
-
Governmental Operations (Chair)
-
Judiciary
-
Judiciary: Criminal Law Division
-
Rules and Administration
-
Rules and Administration: Capitol Renovation (Chair)
-
Rules and Administration: Senate Budget
Body: Senate
District: 65
Elected: 11/2/1982
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/4/1983 to 1/5/1987
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Governmental Operations (Chair)
-
Health and Human Services
-
Health and Human Services: Social Services
-
Rules and Administration
-
Rules and Administration: Permanent and Joint Rules
-
Rules and Administration: Personnel
-
Taxes and Tax Laws
-
Taxes and Tax Laws: Income Tax
Body: Senate
District: 65
Elected: 11/2/1982
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/4/1983 to 1/5/1987
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Governmental Operations (Chair)
-
Governmental Operations: Administration
-
Health and Human Services
-
Health and Human Services: Social Services
-
Rules and Administration
-
Rules and Administration: Permanent and Joint Rules
-
Rules and Administration: Personnel
-
Taxes and Tax Laws
-
Taxes and Tax Laws: Income Tax
Body: Senate
District: 65
Elected: 11/4/1980
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/6/1981 to 1/3/1983
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Employment
-
Employment: Labor
-
Energy and Housing
-
Energy and Housing: Housing
-
Governmental Operations
-
Governmental Operations: Structure
-
Public Employees and Pensions
Body: House
District: 65B
Elected: 11/7/1978
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/3/1979 to 1/5/1981
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Criminal Justice
-
Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement and Corrections
-
Governmental Operations (Chair)
[He was the Chair in 1980 only.]
-
Governmental Operations: Administration and Structures
-
Labor-Management Relations
-
Labor-Management Relations: Negotiation, General Labor and Legislation
Body: House
District: 65B
Elected: 11/2/1976
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/4/1977 to 1/2/1979
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Criminal Justice (Chair)
-
Governmental Operations
-
Labor-Management Relations
Body: House
District: 65B
Elected: 11/5/1974
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/7/1975 to 1/3/1977
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: None Listed
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Crime Prevention and Corrections (Chair)
-
Governmental Operations
-
Labor-Management Relations
Body: House
District: 65B
Elected: 11/7/1972
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/2/1973 to 1/6/1975
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: None Listed
Party:
Nonpartisan Election-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus
Committees:
-
Crime Prevention and Corrections
-
Governmental Operations
-
Health and Welfare
-
Judiciary
-
Labor-Management Relations
Session Notes:
His election was contested and there were efforts to unseat him due to allegations of unfair campaign practices.
Body: House
District: 45B
Elected: 11/3/1970
Residence: Saint Paul
Term of Office: 1/5/1971 to 1/1/1973
Counties Represented:
Ramsey
Occupation: None Listed
Party:
Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus
Committees:
-
City Government
-
General Legislation and Veterans Affairs
-
Governmental Operations
-
Health, Welfare and Corrections
-
Natural Resources
Senate Photos
The photos in this collection were scanned from the files of the Minnesota Senate Photographer
with the generous help of the Minnesota
Digital Library.
Articles & Books About
Snowbeck, Christopher. "Don Moe, Legislator: Principles Trumped Politics Over His Long Legislative Tenure." Star Tribune, January 12, 2018, p. B4.
"Moe, Donald Melvin." Star Tribune, January 4, 2018, p. B5.
Salisbury, Bill. "Former State Sen. Donald Moe Dies; 'Straight Talker' Wasn't Typical St. Paul Democrat." Pioneer Press, December 31, 2017.
William Ojala and Donald Moe (1973)
- Cover sheet and various pages from the Minnesota Journal of the House, 1973 related to unfair campaign practices in the 1972 election.
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.
The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library has collected newspaper articles on legislators since 1973. They are available in the Library.