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 |
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| Born | March 19, 1985 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (DFL) |
| Residence | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Esther Agbaje, born on March 19, 1985, is an American politician. She has been serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2021. Agbaje is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). She represents District 59B, which covers parts of north and downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota.
About Esther Agbaje
Her Early Life and Education
Esther Agbaje was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her parents moved to Minnesota from Nigeria. She grew up in different towns in Minnesota, including Brainerd and Faribault. She went to Shattuck-St. Mary's Boarding School.
Agbaje studied at several universities. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from George Washington University. She then received a master's degree in public administration from the University of Pennsylvania. Later, she earned a law degree from Harvard University. While studying law, she helped people with legal issues at Harvard's Legal Aid Bureau. She also volunteered to help renters in housing court.
Her Career Before Politics
Before becoming a lawyer, Agbaje worked for the United States Department of State. She was a Foreign Service Officer, focusing on the Middle East. After law school, she became an attorney at a law firm. There, she worked on general civil cases and medical malpractice cases. She also did pro bono work, which means she helped people for free. She often helped renters who were struggling with housing insecurity and evictions.
Serving in the Minnesota House
How She Became a Representative
Esther Agbaje was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2020. She was reelected in 2022 and 2024. In 2020, she ran against a four-term DFL representative, Raymond Dehn. Agbaje won the DFL party's support and then defeated Dehn in the primary election.
Her Roles in the House
Agbaje holds important roles in the Minnesota House. She is the vice chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee. She also serves on the Elections Finance and Policy, Taxes, and Ways and Means Committees. Since 2023, she has been an assistant majority leader. Agbaje also co-chairs the House People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus. She is also vice chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus.
What She Cares About
Helping with Housing and Renters' Rights
Agbaje believes that everyone should have a safe place to live. She has asked for more money to be invested in housing. She even wrote a bill to provide $45 million to Minneapolis to fix affordable housing units.
As vice chair of the Housing Committee, Agbaje helped create many rules to protect renters. She said that removing eviction records was very important. This is because eviction records can make it hard for people to find new homes. She also supported a law that gave more rights to people who use self-storage units, especially if they had recently been evicted.
The CROWN Act
Agbaje wrote a law called the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act. This law helps protect Minnesotans from being treated unfairly because of their natural hairstyles. It adds a definition of race that includes natural hair. Agbaje shared her own experience of feeling like she had to straighten her hair to be seen as professional. The bill passed in 2023 and was signed into law by Governor Tim Walz.
Improving Public Safety and Justice
Agbaje has supported changes to public safety and the justice system. She signed a letter with U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar. The letter asked the Department of Justice to look into the Minneapolis Police Department more closely. This was after a tragic event involving George Floyd. Agbaje lives in the building where Amir Locke was killed by Minneapolis police. She has long supported police reform, including banning "no-knock" warrants. These warrants allow police to enter a home without knocking first.
In 2023, she wrote a law to stop charging state inmates for phone calls. She believes this helps inmates stay in touch with their families. This connection can help them when they return to society. She also wrote a law that made it easier to get pardons or commutations. These are ways to reduce or end a prison sentence.
During the 2021 Minneapolis mayoral election, Agbaje did not support the current mayor. She signed a letter asking for a "new mayor" who would work to end racial differences and make public safety better. She also supported a plan to change the Minneapolis Police Department into a Department of Public Safety. This plan would have also changed who was in charge of the new agency.
Other Important Issues
Agbaje supports a woman's right to make decisions about her health. In 2023, she wrote a bill to protect patients who travel to Minnesota for certain health services. It also protects the doctors who provide those services. She also supported a bill that would allow immigrants without documents to get MinnesotaCare. This is the state's health insurance for families with lower incomes.
In 2023, Agbaje argued against completely removing the state tax on Social Security income. She believed it should only be reduced for seniors with low or middle incomes. She also joined environmental groups to push for the closing of a metal shredder in North Minneapolis. This was after a large pile of materials at the facility caught fire.
Personal Life
Esther Agbaje lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
