{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Michael Paymar | image = | state_house = Minnesota | district = 64B | term_start = January 7, 1997 | term_end = January 5, 2015 | preceded = Howard Orenstein | succeeded = Dave Pinto | party = Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|12|27}} | birth_place = Duluth, Minnesota | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = The College of St. Scholastica {{small|(B.A.)}}<br>Hamline University {{small|(M.A.)}} | occupation = Resource specialist, legislator | partner = Laura Goodman | children = 2 }}
'''Michael Paymar''' (born December 27, 1953) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 64B, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, which is part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is also a resource specialist for the Battered Women's Justice Project.<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=10513 |title=Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Paymar, Michael |publisher=Leg.state.mn.us |date= |accessdate=2010-07-20}}</ref>
==Early life, education, and career== Paymar graduated from East High School in Duluth, then went on to the College of St. Scholastica, also in Duluth, graduating with a B.A. in education and history. He later attended Hamline University in Saint Paul, earning his M.P.A. He served on the Duluth City Council from 1980 to 1988, and was council president in 1984. During this time, he was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fleischman |first1=Harry |title=On The Left |journal=Democratic Left |date=January 1983 |volume=XI |issue=1 |page=14 |url=https://archive.org/details/democratic-left-volume-011-number-01/page/n13/mode/1up |access-date=3 August 2025}}</ref> Later, after moving to Saint Paul, he served on the Saint Paul Charter Commission before being elected to the legislature.<ref name="state1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=13753 |title=Project Vote Smart - Representative Michael 'Mike' Paymar - Biography |publisher=Votesmart.org |date=1953-12-27 |accessdate=2010-07-20}}</ref>
==Minnesota House of Representatives== Paymar was first elected in 1996 and was reelected every two years thereafter until announcing on November 20, 2013, that he would not seek reelection in 2014.<ref name="retirement">{{cite web | url=http://www.minnpost.com/political-agenda/2013/11/rep-michael-paymar-top-gun-control-advocate-won-t-run-again-will-continue-f | title=Rep. Michael Paymar, top gun-control advocate, won't run again but will continue the fight | work=MinnPost | date=November 20, 2013 | accessdate=November 20, 2013 | author=Grow, Doug}}</ref> He was a member of the Committee on Law and Justice for the National Conference of State Legislatures and of the Public Safety and Justice Task Force for the Council of State Governments.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{MN-legdb|10513}} * [http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/members.asp?id=10513 Michael Paymar] ''official Minnesota House of Representatives website'' * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090907070511/http://paymarcampaign.com/ Michael Paymar] ''official campaign website'' * [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/votetracker/legislator_view.php?id=206 Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Mike Paymar] * [http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=13753 Project Votesmart - Rep. Mike Paymar Profile]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paymar, Michael}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Category:Democratic Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:20th-century American Jews Category:College of St. Scholastica alumni Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature Category:Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Minnesota