Esther Agbaje facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Esther Agbaje
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Agbaje in 2021
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| Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 59B district |
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| Assumed office January 5, 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Raymond Dehn |
| Constituency | 59B (2021-present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 19, 1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (DFL) |
| Residences | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Education | George Washington University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (MPA) Harvard University (JD) |
| Occupation | |
Esther Agbaje, born on March 19, 1985, is an American politician. She has been serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). Agbaje represents District 59B, which includes parts of north and downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
Contents
About Esther Agbaje
Early Life and Education
Esther Agbaje studied at several universities. She earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in political science from George Washington University. She also received a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, which is a law degree, from Harvard University.
Career Before Politics
Before becoming a politician, Agbaje worked for the United States Department of State. There, she was a Foreign Service Officer. This means she helped represent the U.S. in other countries. She also worked as a lawyer at a firm called Ciresi Conlin LLP. Her work there involved general civil cases and medical malpractice cases.
Serving in the Minnesota House
Getting Elected
Esther Agbaje was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2020. She was reelected in 2022. To get elected, she ran against a four-term DFL member, Raymond Dehn. She won the DFL party's support and then beat him in the primary election.
Her Roles and Committees
In the Minnesota House, Agbaje has important roles. She is the vice chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee. She also serves on other committees, including Elections Finance and Policy, Taxes, and Ways and Means. Since 2023, she has been an assistant majority leader. Agbaje also helps lead special groups. She co-chairs the House People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus. She is also the vice chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus.
What She Cares About
Housing and Tenants' Rights
Agbaje believes that everyone should have a safe place to live. She has said that housing is a human right. She wrote a bill to give $45 million to Minneapolis to fix affordable homes. As vice chair of the Housing Committee, she helped create many rules to protect people who rent homes. She felt it was very important to help people who had been evicted. This is because an eviction record can make it hard to find new housing. She also supported a law that gave more rights to people using self-storage units. This was especially helpful for those who had recently been evicted.
The CROWN Act
Esther Agbaje wrote a law called the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act. This law helps protect people from being treated unfairly because of their natural hairstyles. It adds natural hairstyles to the definition of race. Agbaje shared her own experiences. She talked about how she used to straighten her hair. She worried that if she didn't, she might lose a job or not be seen as professional. The law passed the House in 2022. It became a law in 2023 when Governor Tim Walz signed it.
Other Important Issues
Agbaje has worked on other important issues too. She supported a bill that would allow immigrants who do not have legal documents to get MinnesotaCare. This is the state's health insurance for families with lower incomes. In 2023, she also spoke about taxes on Social Security income. She believed these taxes should be lowered mainly for seniors with low and middle incomes. She also joined groups that wanted to close a metal shredder in North Minneapolis. This was after a large pile of metal caught fire.
Personal Life
Esther Agbaje lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
