| Jeff Brand | |
| State House: | Minnesota |
| District: | 18A |
| Constituency: | 19A (2019-2020) |
| Term Start: | January 8, 2019 |
| Term End: | January 5, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Clark Johnson |
| Successor: | Susan Akland |
| Term Start1: | January 3, 2023 |
| Term End1: | Present |
| Predecessor1: | Susan Akland |
| Constituency1: | 18A (2023-present) |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Spouse: | Genevieve |
| Children: | 2 |
| Residence: | St. Peter, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Education: | Vermilion Community College Minnesota State University, Mankato (BS) |
Jeff Brand is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023, who also served from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Brand represents District 18A in south-central Minnesota, which includes the cities of St. Peter and North Mankato, Nicollet County, and parts of Blue Earth and Le Sueur Counties.[1] [2]
Brand was raised on a dairy farm in Howard Lake, Minnesota. He graduated from the Parks Law Enforcement Academy with a certificate, from Vermilion Community College, and from Minnesota State University, Mankato, with a Bachelor of Science in anthropology.
Brand served as a member of the St. Peter City Council from 2011 to 2018, and was president of the Mankato Area Environmentalists. He is an insurance agent and co-owns a rain garden installation and native plant landscaping company, Seed to Site, with his wife, Genevieve.[3] [4] [5]
Brand was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. He first ran after three-term DFL incumbent Clark Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. In 2020, Brand lost reelection to Republican Susan Akland. He ran against Akland again in 2022 and won. During the 2020 election, Brand was endorsed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), who later pulled the endorsement after a protest outside Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll's home, which Brand did not attend.[6]
Brand is the vice chair of the Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee and sits on the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy, Taxes, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. From 2019 to 2020, Brand served as vice chair of the Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy Committee.
Brand has advocated for increased investments in local government and county program aid.[7] [8] He introduced legislation to give homeowners incentives to upgrade water softeners and reduce chloride in water.[9] He supported legislation to boost funding for research on alternative crops such as kernza, and wrote a bill increasing funding for grain bin safety and farmer education.[10] [11]
Brand is the lead author of legislation that would eliminate non-essential PFAS chemicals from products for children, cookware, ski wax, carpet, cosmetics and more.[12] [13] [14] The legislation has been supported by environmental groups and opposed by chemical corporation lobbyists.[15] He also authored legislation that would allow Minnesotans exposed to harmful chemicals to sue companies for the cost of monitoring their health.[16]
Brand and his wife, Genevieve, have two children. He resides in St. Peter, Minnesota.