Occupation marketing, legislator Name David Gaither | Political party Republican Party | |
Born March 4, 1957 (age 67) ( 1957-03-04 ) Plymouth, Minnesota | ||
David C. Gaither (born March 4, 1957) is a Minnesota resident, business and non-profit executive with over 20 years of private sector leadership positions ranging from early stage/startups using private equity, to venture capital funded expansions of stage II organizations to publicly traded, fortune 500 firms in telecommunications, direct response marketing, executive search and turnaround efforts and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 43, which included portions of Minnetonka, Plymouth and Medicine Lake. A Republican, he was elected in 2002 and served three years before resigning to become Governor Tim Pawlenty's chief of staff.
Contents
- Personal life
- Minnesota Legislature State Senator Assistant Minority Leader
- Governor Pawlenty Chief of Staff
- Electoral history
- References
Gaither lives in Plymouth, Minnesota where he is the Executive Director of the International Education Center (IEC) in Minneapolis one of the largest CBO providers of Adult Basic Education (ABE) services in the state of Minnesota. Serving newly arrived adult immigrants and refugees, providing English language instruction, math classes, GED classes, computer classes, citizenship classes, jobs skills training.• Member of International Visitor Program, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, providing a focus on the role that NGOs play in U.S. resettlement efforts.
Personal life
Gaither was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He graduated from Wayzata High School as a member of the National Honor Society and was a four time state champion and record holder in the hurdles. While at the University of Minnesota he established a number of records and earned All Big Ten honors in the High Hurdles. He volunteered as Area Director of the Wayzata/Plymouth Youth Football Association, and as Board Member of the Lake Minnetonka Athletic Association and as Vice Chair of the Plymouth Planning Commission before becoming State Senator of SD43.
Minnesota Legislature, State Senator, Assistant Minority Leader
Gaither's endorsements included, Education Minnesota, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Twin West Chamber of Commerce, Taxpayer League of Minnesota and was a member of the Commerce, Capital Investment, E-12 Education Finance, Regulated Utilities, Jobs, Energy and Community Development, and Employee Relations committees. In 2005, Gaither resigned from his position as State Senator to assume the role of Chief of Staff under Governor Tim Pawlenty.
Governor Pawlenty Chief of Staff
Senior executive leading a highly complex and visible statewide enterprise serving 5.2 million citizens with over 30,000 employees and a $30 billion annual budget. Led the Governor’s 24-member Cabinet. Principal and confidential advisor to the Governor on policy, budget, appointments, federal affairs, communications, media relations, operations, and emergency response. Responsible for the Governor’s Office, leading a 45+ member team dedicated to constituent services, legislative affairs, Cabinet/judicial appointments, media, and scheduling. Member of the Governor’s 2006 successful re-election team. As Chief of Staff, Gaither was also responsible for negotiation agreements among the Democratic-led Senate, the Republican-led House, and the Governor. Gaither was instrumental in both the Minnesota Twins Stadiums and University of Minnesota Football Stadiums passing.