{{Short description|American politician (b. 1954, d. 2022)}} {{Infobox person | name = Paula Overby | image = Paula Overby, September 11, 2022.jpg | image_size = 195px | caption = Paula Overby at Minnesota State Capitol National Guard rally, September 10, 2022 | birth_name = Paul Overby | birth_date = {{birth date|1954|02|28}} | birth_place = Redwood Falls, Minnesota | death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|10|05|1954|02|28}} | death_place = Eagan, Minnesota | alma_mater = University of Minnesota (BA) | political_party = Legal Marijuana Now | other_party = Green (2018)<br/>Independence (2014–2016)<br/>Democratic (2012–2014, 2020) | other_names = Paula Mirare Overby | occupation = Information technology director | children = Jamie Weber<br/>Courtney Overby<br/>Tyler Overby | known_for = Cannabis rights, LGBTQ rights | notable_works = ''The Transgender Myth: Through the Gender Looking Glass'' (2017) | website = }}
'''Paula Mirare Overby''' (born '''Paul Overby''' February 28, 1954, died October 5, 2022) was an American author, computer technician, gay parent, mental health counselor, minor party, LGBTQ, and cannabis rights leader who died four weeks before Election Day while campaigning as a marijuana party nominee for United States Congress from Minnesota.<ref name="PioneerPressMemorial">{{cite web | url=https://www.twincities.com/2022/10/05/minnesota-3rd-party-us-house-candidate-paula-overby-dies/ | title=Minnesota 3rd party US House candidate Paula Overby dies | work=St. Paul Pioneer Press | date=October 6, 2022 | author=Associated Press}}</ref><ref name="StarTribuneMemorial">{{cite web | url=https://www.startribune.com/second-congressional-district-candidate-paula-overby-dies/600213213 | title=Candidate in Second District dies: Overby is the district's second Legal Marijuana Now pick to die shortly before an election | work=Star Tribune | date=October 6, 2022 | author1=Woodall, Hunter | author2=Van Herkel, Jessie | quote=... campaign website stresses that she has a track record of opposing "endless wars" that threaten the environment and of challenging corporate profiteering that she said has undermined the health care system. }}</ref>
==Political career== ===Democratic Party=== Overby, who in 2013 was elected Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party state central committee director, sought the 2014 D–F–L endorsement for United States Representative from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district.<ref name="AP2013">{{cite web | url=https://www.wctrib.com/news/transgender-candidate-to-enter-minnesota-2nd-congressional-district-race | title=Transgender candidate to enter Minnesota 2nd Congressional District race | work=West Central Tribune | date=August 12, 2013 | quote=... she will be the first openly transgendered person from Minnesota to run for Congress. }}</ref><ref name="MinnPost2013">{{cite web | url=https://www.minnpost.com/dc-dispatches/2013/08/potential-2nd-district-candidate-could-be-first-transgendered-minnesotan-run-c/ | title=Potential 2nd District candidate could be first transgendered Minnesotan to run for Congress | work=MinnPost | date=August 12, 2013 | author=Henry, Devin }}</ref> Overby withdrew from the Democratic nomination when Mike Obermueller was picked for a second attempt by him to unseat incumbent Representative John Kline, during the District 2 Democratic convention on April 26.<ref name="PioneerPress2014">{{cite web | url=https://www.twincities.com/2014/06/08/independence-party-endorses-paula-overby-for-congress/ | title=Independence Party endorses Paula Overby for Congress | work=St. Paul Pioneer Press | date=June 8, 2014 | author=Magan, Christopher }}</ref>
===Independence Party=== Overby left the Democratic Party in 2014 and was nominated for 2nd District Representative by the Independence Party. Overby's campaign focused on public third party political funding reform, making elections more engaging and more responsive to people's needs.<ref name="PioneerPress2014"/>
Independence became a ballot qualified third party when Dean Barkley got more than five percent in the 1994 United States Senate election. Independence remained ballot qualified in Minnesota for two decades, until 2016, when Overby was again Independence Party nominee in District 2, and got 28,869 votes, 7.8 percent.<ref name="PioneerPress2016">{{cite web | url=https://www.twincities.com/2016/10/28/2nd-district-paula-overby-wants-to-reform-the-political-process/ | title=2nd District: Paula Overby wants to reform the political process | work=St. Paul Pioneer Press | date=October 28, 2016 | author=Montgomery, David }}</ref><ref name="SoS2016">{{cite web | url=https://electionresults.sos.mn.gov/Results/Index?ersElectionId=100&scenario=USRepresentative&districtId=557 | title=2016 Results for U.S. Representative District 2 | work=Minnesota Secretary of State | date=November 8, 2016 }}</ref>
===Green Party and return to DFL=== Green Party, which had been a Minnesota major party after Ralph Nader got 5.2% in the 2000 presidential election, became an officially recognized minor party after 2004. Overby was Minnesota Green Party's United States Senate candidate in 2018 by petitioning the state for ballot access, receiving 23,101 votes in the four-way race on November 6.<ref name="MPR2018">{{cite web | url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/10/19/minnesota-senate-races-poll-klobuchar-smith-dfl-lead | title=New poll: Klobuchar, Smith lead in Minnesota Senate races | work=Minnesota Public Radio | date=October 21, 2018 | author1=Zdechlik, Mark| author2=Bierschbach, Briana}}</ref><ref name="SoS2018">{{cite web | url=https://www.sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/election-results/2018/2018-general-election-results/ | title=2018 General Election Results | work=Minnesota Secretary of State | date=November 6, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="BayAreaReport">{{cite web | url=https://www.ebar.com/story/41676 | title=LGBTs make history in House, state races | work=Bay Area Reporter | date=November 7, 2018 | author=Keen, Lisa }}</ref>
Returning to the Democratic Party in 2020 and seeking the D–F–L nomination for US Senator, Overby challenged Democratic Senator Tina Smith, who was previously Lieutenant Governor and had been appointed to US Senate by Governor Mark Dayton when Senator Al Franken resigned. Although she was eliminated in the August primary, Overby led the field of four Democratic challengers to Smith, getting 30,497 votes in the state primary, in 2020.<ref name="SoS2020primary">{{cite web | url=https://www.sos.mn.gov/elections-voting/election-results/2020/2020-primary-election-results/ | title=2020 Primary Election Results | work=Minnesota Secretary of State | date=August 11, 2020 }}</ref>
===2020 Legal Marijuana Now! Party nomination=== In September 2020 when Legal Marijuana Now candidate Adam Weeks, who was on the ballot in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, died four weeks before November 3, Overby was nominated by Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now! Party to replace Weeks. LMNP chair Tim Davis said in a court filing that the ruling to go ahead without holding a 2021 special election including Overby's name on the ballot would disenfranchise Legal Marijuana Now! voters.<ref name="AssociatedPress2020">{{cite web | url=https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2020/10/06/legal-marijuana-now-party-names-new-2nd-district-candidate-following-death-of-adam-weeks/ | title=Legal Marijuana Now Party Names New 2nd District Candidate Following Death Of Adam Weeks | work=CBS Minnesota | date=October 6, 2020 | author=Associated Press | quote=News of Overby’s nomination came in a court filing Tuesday in which Legal Marijuana Now Party co-chairman Tim Davis opposed a November election ... He said that without the special election, members of his party won’t be entitled to elect Overby on the existing ballot.}}</ref>
Legal Marijuana Now! became a Minnesota major party in 2018, when their State Auditor nominee Michael Ford, who is African-American, received 5.3 percent. Kevin O’Connor, the Legal Marijuana Now! US Senator nominee, secured ballot access for the party until 2024 by receiving 190,154 votes in 2020, the largest number of votes received by any such third-party candidate nationwide, and more votes than the winner, DFL Senator Smith, led her Republican challenger, radio personality Jason Lewis, in the US Senate race. A ''St. Cloud Times'' analysis of 2020 votes suggested that O'Connor could have helped boost Smith's election margin, by drawing votes from Republican-leaning voters that might have otherwise gone to Lewis.<ref name="UofM">{{cite web | url=http://mnadwatch.sjmc.umn.edu/2019/01/15/midterms-boost-influence-of-pro-cannabis-political-parties/ | title=Midterms boost influence of pro-cannabis political parties | work=University of Minnesota | date=January 15, 2019 | author1=Octavio, Miguel | author2=Tarala, Kassidy | access-date=June 18, 2021 | archive-date=October 24, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024010609/http://mnadwatch.sjmc.umn.edu/2019/01/15/midterms-boost-influence-of-pro-cannabis-political-parties/ | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="StCloudTimes">{{cite web | url=https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2020/11/14/gop-voters-dflers-chose-weed-parties-tight-legislative-races-minnesota/6279832002/ | title=Republican voters choose legal marijuana party candidates in tight legislative races | work=St. Cloud Times | date=November 14, 2020 | author=Hertel, Nora G.}}</ref><ref name="OConnorBallotpedia">{{cite web | url=https://news.ballotpedia.org/2021/01/29/77-third-party-candidates-received-more-votes-than-the-winners-margin-of-victory-in-2020/ | title=77 third-party candidates received more votes than the winner's margin of victory in 2020 | work=Ballotpedia | date=January 29, 2021 | author=Beaudoin, Dave G.}}</ref>
===2022 LMN congressional campaign=== Overby was nominated a second time by Legal Marijuana Now! Party, in 2022, for U.S. Representative from District 2. Overby’s platform included marijuana legalization and universal Medicare.<ref name="AM950Radio">{{cite web | url=https://www.am950radio.com/paula-overby-dfl-candidate-for-us-senate/ | title=Paula Overby: DFL candidate for US Senate | work=KTNF | date=July 31, 2020 | author=Johnson, Brett }}</ref><ref name="SunThisWeek">{{cite web | url=https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/community/apple_valley/two-additional-candidates-complicate-2nd-district-race/article_926f1e0a-feb6-11ec-ae55-73ce28b7f988.html | title=Two additional candidates complicate 2nd District race | work=Adams MultiMedia | date=July 8, 2022 | author=Johnson, Tad | quote=Overby would have taken the place of Legal Marijuana Now Party 2nd District candidate Adam Weeks in 2020 had a special election been allowed. }}</ref><ref name="Politico">{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/12/midterms-elections-battlegrounds-dakota-county-minnesota-00043599 | title=This Minnesota county will decide one of the most competitive House races | work=Politico | date=July 12, 2022 | quote=Overby’s platform of marijuana and “Medicare for All” may rouse more liberal voters. }}</ref> According to 2nd district representative Angie Craig, District 2 is an independent stronghold. Craig said in 2022, "About one-third of the voters lean Democrat, one-third lean Republican, and the other third of voters don't really like Democrats or Republicans. They like their personal rights and freedoms and don't want politicians telling them what to do."<ref name="PioneerPressDistrict1">{{cite web | url=https://www.twincities.com/2022/11/06/mn-2nd-district-race-angie-craig-tyler-kistner/ | title=MN 2nd District race between Angie Craig, Tyler Kistner is a very expensive tossup | work=St. Paul Pioneer Press | date=November 6, 2022 | author=Salisbury, Bill }}</ref>
Prior to November, liberal tabloids including ''Minnesota Reformer'' published sensational 2022 election headlines attacking Overby. On September 9, Overby said the accusation that minor party candidates like her are running just to take votes away from Democratic candidates is a false narrative "created to frighten people away from third parties." Overby continued, "This is the Democrats attacking the third-party at every opportunity they can find." On her social media September 11, 2022, Overby posted a photograph of herself with a 4:20 timestamp, at a National Guard rally on the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol building."<ref name="ReformerSept2022">{{cite web | url=https://minnesotareformer.com/2022/09/09/minn-pot-party-candidate-for-u-s-house-seat-has-gop-ties-dems-allege-shes-a-spoiler/ | title=A vote for Paula Overby is a vote for extremist Tyler Kistner: Pot party candidate for U.S. House has GOP ties; Dems allege she's a spoiler | work=Minnesota Reformer | date=September 9, 2022 | author=Griffith, Michelle | quote="... it is clear that Paula Overby is another Republican spoiler candidate who is running for office to get Republican Tyler Kistner elected,” [DFL chair Ken] Martin said ... }}</ref>
After Overby died following unexpected surgery for a heart valve condition only a month before the 2022 elections, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon stated that due to a federal court ruling following Weeks' death in 2020, the congressional election would go ahead as scheduled on November 8, and Overby's name would remain on the ballot.<ref name="CBS2022">{{Cite web |title=Paula Overby, Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate in 2nd District, dies |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/live-updates/paula-overby-marijuana-party-candidate-in-2nd-district-dies/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Minnesota Secretary Of State - Office Statement on Congressional District 2 Election |url=https://www.sos.state.mn.us/about-the-office/news-room/office-statement-on-congressional-district-2-election/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=www.sos.state.mn.us}}</ref>
Without remedy for replacing her, under state law, Davis encouraged Legal Marijuana Now! Party supporters to cast their votes for Overby. The party was joined in support of voting in memoriam by Right Now USA, a conservative political action committee, while the DFL paid for advertisements warning against voting for Overby in District 2, asserting that a vote for her amounted to a vote for the GOP's candidate, Tyler Kistner.<ref name="PoliticalAdsKARE11">{{cite web | url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/ad-from-right-wing-pac-urges-vote-for-deceased-candidate/89-a4ca3b83-c9db-4dd0-a21b-e174d2430c93 | title=Ad from right-wing PAC urges vote for deceased 3rd party candidate | work=KARE (TV) | date=November 3, 2022 | author=Erdahl, Kent }}</ref><
Four weeks after her death, Overby got 10,728 votes for U.S. Representative on Election Day, November 8, 2022.<ref name="PatchDeadCandidate">{{cite web | url=https://patch.com/minnesota/eagan/dead-candidate-won-nearly-11k-votes-mn-unofficial-results-show | title=Dead Candidate Won Nearly 11K Votes In MN, Unofficial Results Show | work=Patch Media | date=November 9, 2022 | author=Bornhoft, William }}</ref>
Despite Green Party, Legal Marijuana Now! Party, Libertarian Party, and former Reform Party governor Jesse Ventura opposing the proposal, in 2023 the DFL-controlled Minnesota Legislature and Governor Tim Walz, alleging Overby's and Davis' 2022 LMNP congressional and State Auditor campaigns had been fraudulent, enacted a law increasing the major party qualification in Minnesota from five percent to eight percent of the vote in a statewide election, making it more difficult for parties other than the Democratic or Republican Party to gain ballot access in state elections.<ref name="MinnesotaPublicRadio23">{{cite web|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/03/14/partystatus-bill-stirs-ventura-backers-say-itll-curb-ballot-mischief |title=Party-status bill stirs Ventura; backers say it'll curb ballot 'mischief' |date=March 14, 2023 |work=Minnesota Public Radio |author=Bakst, Brian }}</ref><ref name="MinnPost23">{{cite web|url=https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2023/03/jesse-ventura-libertarians-one-marijuana-party-oppose-move-to-restrict-major-party-status-in-minnesota-elections/ |title=Jesse Ventura, Libertarians, one marijuana party oppose move to restrict 'major party status' in Minnesota elections |date=March 23, 2023 |work=MinnPost |author=Callaghan, Peter | quote="... Certain organizations granted major party status lacked the structure to adequately vet or endorse candidates under their banner," wrote DFL chair Ken Martin ... }}</ref>
===Minnesota Republicans and Libertarians=== In an October 2022 ''Star Tribune'' interview, her son Tyler said Overby was able to strike up a conversation with anybody, and had friends everywhere. In September 2022, ''Minnesota Reformer'' had reported that a Republican, 2012 District 52B State Representative GOP nominee Paul Tuschy, who was known in political circles by his moniker Liberty Longbeard, was friends with Overby. Tuschy and Overby both knew 2020 Legal Marijuana Now! candidate Weeks, prior to his death, and Tuschy, who had worked briefly for Kistner's 2020 election campaign, volunteered for Overby, essentially serving as her District 2 campaign manager, in 2022. Tuschy spoke at Overby's memorial service in Saint Paul on November 3, 2022, joining family and friends belonging to one half dozen Minnesota parties.<ref name="ReformerSept2022"/>
==Political views== ===Civil rights=== Overby was the first openly transgender person in Minnesota to run for US Congress, according to ''St. Paul Pioneer Press.'' Author of the 2017 autobiography, ''The Transgender Myth: Through the Gender Looking Glass,'' Overby championed LGBTQ rights and cannabis consumer rights, and stood up for disenfranchised minority groups as a third party nominee. Overby got involved with Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now! Party by January, 2017. Saying that she planned for her gender to play no more than a small role in her campaign, Overby speculated that some people would see a transgender woman running for office as courageous, while others would refuse to vote for her because of it.<ref name="MinnPost2013"/>
===Economy=== Overby described herself as conservative regarding economic issues, believing that her responsibility to American taxpayers, as a future public servant, included keeping the federal budget balanced.<ref name="PioneerPressMemorial"/>
===Education=== In 2014, Overby said that her 24 year old daughter Courtney's experience with accumulating student loan debt while attending college in Minneapolis had prompted Overby to focus her election campaign on resolving the problem of rising higher education costs.<ref name="Sun2014"/>
===Environment=== Critical of world oil dependence, and what she called bloated federal spending for environmentally disastrous global wars in place of developing US energy independence, Overby said in a February 2020 campaign advertisement on YouTube, "Climate is the modern day challenge. ... We need a major shift in priorities in Washington. The pride of American innovation ought to make us the global leader in climate action, the future of the planet awaits us."<ref name="2020OverbyAd">{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KTOX7SrrQ2k | title=Save the Environment from Endless Wars | work=YouTube | date=February 19, 2020 | author=Overby, Paula | quote=War is destructive / Climate action is constructive / We need a major shift in priorities }}</ref>
===Healthcare=== Overby's work as a mental health counselor in the 1980s led to her commitment as a candidate to supporting public programs that help people with mental illness, expressing interest in reviewing the programs so they can operate more efficiently. Saying that corporate profiteering undermined the US healthcare system, Overby was a proponent of universal Medicare.<ref name="Sun2014"/>
===National defense=== To pay for the federal education and mental health programs she advocated, Overby proposed cutting what she described as wasteful military spending for wars benefitting US corporate oversea oil profits. Supporting a strong National Guard, Overby participated in a September 2022 Defend the Guard demonstration, held at the State Capitol in Saint Paul.<ref name="LeSueurCountyNews">{{cite web | url=https://www.southernminn.com/le_sueur_county_news/news/local-congressional-candidates-prepare-for-november/article_43d1cef8-2eab-11ed-988b-0b4fc988b753.html | title=Local congressional candidates prepare for November: CD2 candidates | work=Le Sueur County News | date=September 7, 2022 | author=Deziel, Andrew}}</ref>
===Social justice=== Blaming America's two dominant political parties for dividing the country, in 2014 Overby told ''Star Tribune'' she thought that in national politics "The whole idea of a binary process, it's really not a realistic model. It does create this polarization we see." Overby was an outspoken supporter of socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vermont) during Sanders' 2016 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Interviewed by ''Out'' in 2014 Overby said, "People are fed up. ... We need to bring back freedom, individual liberties, and individual responsibilities. We need representation that represents the people." Overby proposed political campaign finance reform to help level the playing field for minor party candidates and independents, to make elections appealing to more people.<ref name="Politico"/><ref name="OutMagazine">{{cite web | url=https://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/10/02/watch-woman-wants-be-minnesotas-first-trans-member-congress | title=This Woman Wants to Be Minnesota's First Trans Member of Congress: Paula Overby, born and raised farming in Minnesota's 2nd District, says it's time for her state's representation to get back to its roots. | work=Out | date=October 2, 2014 | author=Kellaway, Mitch | quote=Overby explains her approach, saying, "People are fed up." }}</ref><ref name="StarTribune2014">{{cite web | url=https://www.startribune.com/ip-congressional-candidate-sees-uphill-battle-outside-of-norm/278911851 | title=IP congressional candidate sees uphill battle outside of norm | work=Star Tribune | date=October 11, 2014 | author=Lopez, Ricardo | quote=Overby has learned that her experience and journey as a transgender woman has influenced her political views, fueling a particular distrust of a two-party system. }}</ref>
==Personal life== ===Early life and education=== Overby was born in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their family moved to Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1968 when Overby was fourteen years old. After graduating from high school in 1972, Overby returned to Minnesota, earning degrees in psychology and computer science at University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis.<ref name="Sun2014">{{cite web | url=https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/news/government/candidate-for-2nd-district-endorsement-paula-overby-spent-a-lifetime-searching-for-her-identity/article_824ef391-42ad-533e-9349-a082db464b8e.html | title=Candidate for 2nd District endorsement Paula Overby spent a lifetime searching for her identity | work=Adams MultiMedia | date=January 24, 2014 | author=Harper, Jessica }}</ref>
===Marriage=== Overby married in 1984, and adopted three year old Jamie, their wife Marie's daughter from a prior relationship. The couple had two children of their own, Courtney and Tyler. In 2009, Overby began a two year long custody battle over Tyler, who was 15, and the marriage to Marie ended in divorce.<ref name="PioneerPress2014"/>
===Gender transition=== While identifying as a gay man in college, marrying a woman, raising a family, Overby was a closeted crossdresser, open about preferring men sexually to wife, immediate family, close friends, and gradually beginning to wear women's clothing publicly during the 1990s, not daring to tell colleagues, even parents, before then. Following a period of alcohol abuse and depression culminating during the divorce, Overby came to terms with her sexual identity and began hormone treatment in 2011. Paul legally became Paula Mirare Overby March 2012.<ref name="Sun2014"/>
===Reception=== Her father and brother, long deceased, never knew Overby's female identity, yet she believed her father would have been supportive, had he been alive. Overby's mother, in her 80s, took the transition hardest, continuing to use Overby's birth name. Her two sisters struggled through the change, nonetheless embracing Overby's decision. Even though Overby proposed to her while wearing a dress, and wife Marie accepted Paul's crossdressing and sexuality from the start, the couple gradually became estranged as Overby became more comfortable crossdressing publicly during the 1990s, eventually leading to their divorce. Overby was asked by her employer to work from home for one week, allowing time for other staff to adjust for the transition, which Overby said then went surprisingly well. Of her children, Overby's adopted daughter Jamie struggled hardest adjusting, however in 2014 Overby named her three children as being her most enthusiastic advocates. Her son Tyler told a reporter he was more astonished when she announced she would be running for Congress, saying of Overby's campaign, “I think it’s awesome, I think she has a great message and can get young people involved.”<ref name="PioneerPress2014"/><ref name="Sun2014"/>
===Career=== After graduating from college, Overby lived and worked in Germany, then back in Minnesota in 1979 began South St. Paul community mental health counseling, and gained business management experience before starting computer technician career, and moving to Eagan in 1987. The upheaval of separation and divorce court hearings left Overby homeless and unemployed in 2009, landing work at a bank by 2011. When she died in 2022, Overby was information technology director for the Friends School of Minnesota.<ref name="PioneerPress2016"/>
===Volunteer service=== A Head Council member and constitutional committee chair for Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now! Party at the time of her death, Overby's volunteer work included the Minnesota D–F–L central committee, Minnesota Greens, Independence Party of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, Our Revolution, Minnesota Minor Party Coalition, East Metro Civic Alliance, Land Stewardship Project, and Twin Cities Men's Center board of directors.<ref name="StarTribuneMemorial"/><ref name="PioneerPress2016"/><ref name="MSC2024TrialTranscript">{{cite web | url=https://macsnc.courts.state.mn.us/ctrack/docket/docketEntry.do?action=edit&deID=1308987&csNameID=103691&csInstanceID=119997&csIID=119997 | title=Transcript of 3/11/2024 Referee Trial | work=Minnesota Supreme Court | date=March 11, 2024 }}</ref>
==Autobiography== Overby's autobiographical novel ''The Transgender Myth: Through the Gender Looking Glass'' ({{ISBN|978-1532359958}}) was published in 2017. The chronicle's subtitle refers to Lewis Carroll's children's book ''Through the Looking-Glass,'' about entering a magical world. Overby recounts growing up, productive yet failed relationships, child custody fights, and transitioning from man to woman.<ref name="StarTribuneMemorial"/><ref name="ReadersFavoriteReview">{{cite web | url=https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-transgender-myth | title=Book review of The Transgender Myth | work=ReadersFavorite.com | date=July 20, 2019 | author=Finn, K.C. | quote=... the close-up, emotional experience that Paula has, whilst also casting a wider lens over society ... }}</ref>
==Illness and death== According to friends and family members, Overby was hospitalized for a failing valve in September and underwent successful heart surgery expecting to recover, even accepting postoperative visitors, but never left the hospital and died on October 5, 2022.<ref name="CBS2022"/><ref name="MPR2022">{{cite web | url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/10/05/minnesota-cd2-candidate-paula-overby-dies | title=Minnesota congressional candidate Paula Overby dies | work=Minnesota Public Radio | date=October 5, 2022 | author1=Bakst, Brian | author2=Zdechlik, Mark | quote=... son Tyler told MPR News she had a heart valve problem and had been hospitalized for the past two weeks, but that he had expected her to recover. }}</ref>
==Legacy and recognition== Following Overby's untimely death one month before Election Day, Republican congressional opponent Kistner said Overby cared deeply about Minnesota, "It was an honor to have gotten to know Paula throughout this campaign." Though in 2023, less than six months after Overby died, state GOP chair David Hann wrote in support of legislation raising the threshold for third party ballot access, saying the change would still allow "smaller political parties access to the ballot with our state’s petition signature requirements," and arguing that the proposed obstacle to candidates such as Overby running with a minor party like LMN might "help prevent groups from playing games or abusing our elections process, as has happened in recent years," according to Hann.<ref name="MinnPost23"/><ref name="GOPstatement">{{cite web | url=https://www.house.mn.gov/comm/docs/yr1EjYVqBkqjmn_SBOd3LQ.pdf | title=Dear Representatives Freiberg and Torkelson | work=Minnesota Republican Party | date=March 16, 2023 | author=Hann, David }}</ref>
On October 5, 2022, Legal Marijuana Now! Party Chair Davis said, “This has come up so suddenly," and "She’ll be greatly missed,” remarking that Overby effectively brought people together through her involvement in third party politics.<ref name="StarTribuneMemorial"/><ref name="MPR2022"/>
In September D–F–L chair Ken Martin had stated "it is clear that Paula Overby is another Republican spoiler candidate," a sentiment which was echoed in media coverage beyond 2024 when Martin filed lawsuit in state Supreme Court to rescind Legal Marijuana Now! Party's ballot access for candidates, and Democratic Senator Smith said "I’m celebrating the demise of Minnesota Republicans’ shell party, Legal Marijuana Now. Thanks for nothing," contradicting D–F–L statements made the day Overby died, when Representative Craig remarked that "Minnesota is better for her involvement in our community and she will be missed," and Martin said, "I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Paula’s friends, family, and loved ones. ... I hope memories of Paula’s passion and tenacity bring them some solace in their grief."<ref name="PioneerPressMemorial"/><ref name="MjMoment">{{cite web | url=https://www.marijuanamoment.net/politicians-tout-marijuana-policy-progress-on-4-20-amid-heightened-expectations-about-federal-reform/ | title=Politicians Tout Marijuana Policy Progress On 4/20 Amid Heightened Expectations About Federal Reform | work=Marijuana Moment | date=April 20, 2024 | author=Jaeger, Kyle | quote=Tina Smith: This 4/20, I’m celebrating the demise of Minnesota Republicans’ shell party, Legal Marijuana Now. Thanks for nothing }}</ref>
Overby's 28 year old son, Tyler, told Minnesota Public Radio that he would miss his mother's advice, saying "... her ability to help no matter what problem you had without being condescending, she was just really good at being a guide to you figuring out yourself, or what you needed."<ref name="MPR2022"/>
In front of the Minnesota House Elections Finance and Policy Committee on March 17, 2023, Libertarian Burnsville City Council member Cara Schulz held up pictures of Overby speaking in 2020 and campaigning with Legal Marijuana Now! Party in 2021 during Schulz's testimony opposing the bill HF 2802 introduced by Representative Luke Frederick (D-Mankato) raising the requirement for new Minnesota major parties from five to eight percent of the total number of votes cast in a statewide election. Schulz commented, "This is Paula Overby. I want you to know her as a human being. ... Paula was an amazing woman. She was an incredible candidate, and she was a great friend."<ref name="HoRtv23">{{cite web | url=https://www.house.mn.gov/hjvid/93/896626 | title=House Elections Finance and Policy Committee: HF2765 (Coulter), HF2802 (Frederick) | work=Minnesota House of Representatives | date=March 17, 2023 }}</ref>
==Political candidacy== With D–F–L, Green, Independence, and Legal Marijuana Now! parties, Overby ran for offices including:
* United States Representative from Minnesota's 2nd congressional district in 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2022 * United States Senator in 2018, and 2020
==Further reading== * Harper, Jessica (January 24, 2014) [https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/news/government/candidate-for-2nd-district-endorsement-paula-overby-spent-a-lifetime-searching-for-her-identity/article_824ef391-42ad-533e-9349-a082db464b8e.html "Candidate for 2nd District endorsement Paula Overby spent a lifetime searching for her identity,"] ''Adams MultiMedia'' * Sainato, Michael (March 11, 2018) [https://truthout.org/articles/progressives-fight-democratic-establishment-to-join-bernie-sanders-in-senate/ "Progressives Fight Democratic Establishment to Join Bernie Sanders in Senate: Progressives face an uphill battle,"] ''Truthout'' * Bakst, Brian; Zdechlik, Mark (October 5, 2022) [https://www.mprnews.org/story/2022/10/05/minnesota-cd2-candidate-paula-overby-dies "Minnesota congressional candidate Paula Overby dies"] ''Minnesota Public Radio'' * Woodall, Hunter; Van Herkel, Jessie (October 6, 2022) [https://www.startribune.com/second-congressional-district-candidate-paula-overby-dies/600213213 "Candidate in Second District dies: Overby is the district's second Legal Marijuana Now pick to die shortly before an election,"] ''Star Tribune''
==See also== {{Portal|Cannabis|LGBTQ}} *Cannabis in Minnesota *LGBTQ rights in Minnesota
==Notes== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== * [https://www.muellermemorial.com/obituaries/paula-overby Paula Overby obituary] * [https://mn.electionarchives.lib.umn.edu/candidate/paula-m-overby/ ''University of Minnesota Historical Election Archive:'' Paula M. Overby (Candidate)] * [https://krocnews.com/meet-u-s-senate-candidate-paula-overby/ Meet U.S. Senate Candidate Paula Overby] at KROC-FM * [https://www.gp.org/paula_overby_senate ''Green Party:'' Paula Overby for Senate] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl2GCx3n-PQ ''East Side Freedom Library:'' "Both sides of feminism: a conversation with author Paula Overby"] * [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Transgender_Myth.html?id=1qyyswEACAAJ&source=kp_book_description ''The Transgender Myth''] at Google Books * {{ballotpedia|Paula_Overby}} * {{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20220929184753/http://www.paulaoverby.com/}}
{{Cannabis|state=collapsed}} {{LGBTQ people|state=collapsed}} {{Portal bar|Biography|Cannabis|LGBTQ|United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overby, Paula}} Category:1954 births Category:2022 deaths Category:Activists from Minnesota Category:American cannabis activists Category:American civil rights activists Category:American transgender women Category:Cannabis in Minnesota Category:Cannabis political party politicians Category:LGBTQ rights activists from Minnesota Category:LGBTQ rights in Minnesota Category:Minnesota Greens Category:Transgender women politicians Category:Writers from Minnesota