Arne Carlson's Personal Story

Arne Carlson’s personal story begins with his birth on September 24th, 1934 in New York City. He was born to Swedish immigrants who struggled economically, largely due to the Great Depression. In 1947 his family moved back to Sweden in hope of finding better work. However, their economic situation didn’t improve so they return to the United States a year later. During his teenage years, Carlson attend Choate High School in Connecticut, in which he earned a full scholarship. He was successful in highschool and went on to attend Williams college in Massachusetts, also on a full scholarship. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in History. Once he graduated he immediately moved to Minnesota, where he attended graduate school at the University

However, he was still elected with his defeat of John Marty with a vote of 63% to 34%. Carlson is both pro-choice and supports gay marriage. As governor his wife kept her job so they became the first two-income First Family. His focus during his first year in office was financial management. During his time in office there was a the rare product of budget surpluses and balanced budgets without borrowing money or creating new taxes. Carlson raised elementary and secondary education by 29% while in office. Carlson states that “We are leaders in healthcare, medical devices, agriculture, and these are critical resources in a global economy.” Carlson believes that the government should decide what investments are most likely to attract new and younger workers and get rid of state spending that is no longer useful. In 1992 Carlson was honored with the Children’s Champion Award from the Minnesota Defense Fund. He also became the only American official to be recognized by the Audubon Society for his leadership in water quality issues. In 1999 Carlson completed his eighth and final year as governor, yet he remains politically active to this day. He helped to end the amendment proposed which would require photo ID when voting. In 2008 he openly endorsed President Obama. He is pro-environment and pro-gun control. "I think it has a tremendous obligation to help people help themselves and help them succeed.” He also believed that the building of the new Vikings football stadium should be an election