{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Richard Stanek (24292149523b).jpg | office = Sheriff of Hennepin County | term_start = January 1, 2007 | term_end = January 7, 2019 | predecessor = Patrick D. McGowan | successor = Dave Hutchinson | office1 = Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety | governor1 = Tim Pawlenty | term_start1 = January 30, 2003 | term_end1 = April 16, 2004 | predecessor1 = Charlie Weaver | successor1 = Michael Campion | office2 = Member of the<br>Minnesota House of Representatives | constituency2 = District 33B (1995-2003)<br>District 32B (2003) | term_start2 = March 13, 1995 | term_end2 = January 30, 2003 | predecessor2 = Warren Limmer | successor2 = Kurt Zellers | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|2|2}} | birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Republican | spouse = Sally Stanek | children = 2 | education = University of Minnesota (BA)<br>Hamline University (MPA) | name = Rich Stanek }}
'''Richard W. "Rich" Stanek''' (born February 2, 1962) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who served as the sheriff of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office from 2007 to 2019.
Prior to serving as sheriff, Stanek served from 1986 to 2006 as a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Stanek served from 1995 to 2003 in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He also served from 2003 to 2004 as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety under then-Governor of Minnesota Tim Pawlenty. In 2018, he lost his close bid for re-election as Hennepin County sheriff to newcomer David Hutchinson by just over 2,000 votes.
Stanek was a candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for governor of Minnesota in the 2022 election.
==Early life and education== Stanek was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<ref name="LegProfile">[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?ID=10749 Stanek, Richard 'Rich'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828190026/http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?id=10749 |date=2011-08-28 }}. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.</ref> He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Public Administration from Hamline University.<ref name="LegProfile"/>
== Career ==
=== Police service === Stanek began his career in the Minneapolis Police Department in 1986 as a patrol officer.<ref name="OfficialBio">{{Cite web |url=http://www.hennepinsheriff.org/meet-sheriff |title=Meet the Sheriff | Hennepin County Sheriff's Office |access-date=2016-07-14 |archive-date=2016-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714072802/http://www.hennepinsheriff.org/meet-sheriff |url-status=bot: unknown }}. Hennepin County Sheriff's Office (retrieved July 14, 2016).</ref><ref name="Rehabilitation">{{cite news|date=November 1, 2006|last=Anderson|first=G.R. Jr.|url=http://www.citypages.com/2006-11-01/news/the-rehabilitation-of-rich-stanek/|title=The Rehabilitation of Rich Stanek|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929133824/http://www.citypages.com/2006-11-01/news/the-rehabilitation-of-rich-stanek/ |archive-date=2010-09-29|url-status=dead|work=City Pages}}</ref> He rose in the ranks, serving as Second Precinct commander,<ref name="Rehabilitation"/> and eventually commander of criminal investigations.<ref name="OfficialBio"/>
=== Minnesota House of Representatives === While serving as a police officer, Stanek served five terms in the Minnesota State Legislature.<ref name="OfficialBio"/> He was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in a 1995 special election to replace Warren Limmer, who had left the House for the Minnesota Senate. Stanek was elected, and represented Maple Grove, Minnesota until 2003. He served as chair of the Crime Prevention committee from 1999 to 2001, and the chair of the Judiciary Finance committee from 2001 to 2003.<ref name="LegProfile"/>
While in the legislature, Stanek wrote the Minnesota's felony DWI statute.<ref name="OfficialBio"/> Stanek also introduced many bills related to law enforcement, including legislation "requiring a driver's license revocation for anyone convicted of fleeing a police officer; allowing for a verdict of "guilty but mentally ill" in state courts; creating a mandatory life sentence for a second violent felony conviction; ... [and] specifying that an officer's 'use of less lethal munitions does not constitute deadly force.'"<ref name="Rehabilitation"/> Stanek also sought funding for CODEFOR, a computerized crime-tracking system.<ref name="Rehabilitation"/>
=== Department of Public Safety === In 2003, Stanek was appointed by Tim Pawlenty to serve as commissioner of public safety and director of homeland security. He resigned his seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives to assume the position and served until April 2004, when his involvement in a 1989 incident involving an alleged assault and racial slurs by Stanek created controversy.<ref name="Stanek resigns over racial slur">{{cite web |last1=Scheck |first1=Tom |title=MPR: Stanek resigns as public safety commissioner over racial slur controversy |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/04/16_scheckt_stanek/ |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=1 February 2022 |date=16 April 2004 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201191307/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/04/16_scheckt_stanek/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== Hennepin County sheriff === Stanek was elected Sheriff in 2006, replacing former Sheriff Pat McGowan. Sworn in on January 1, 2007, Stanek was re-elected in 2010 and again in 2014.<ref name="OfficialBio"/> In all three elections, Stanek was supported by some members of the African American community, who cited Stanek's willingness to admit to past mistakes, and his work with African American officers in the Minneapolis police department.<ref name="Rehabilitation"/> In 2018, he lost his reelection bid to Dave Hutchinson by around 2,400 votes.<ref name="defeated">{{cite news |last1=Chanen |first1=David |title=Defeated Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek hints at possible run at his old job |url=http://www.startribune.com/outgoing-hennepin-county-sheriff-rich-stanek-hints-at-possible-future-run-at-the-office/504245562/ |accessdate=May 6, 2019 |work=Star Tribune |date=January 11, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203021944/http://www.startribune.com/outgoing-hennepin-county-sheriff-rich-stanek-hints-at-possible-future-run-at-the-office/504245562/ |archivedate=February 3, 2019}}</ref> His term ended January 7, 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jessica |title=No, really, there's a new sheriff in town. This is what he did on his first day. |url=https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2019/01/no-really-theres-a-new-sheriff-in-town-this-is-what-he-did-on-his-first-day/ |accessdate=May 6, 2019 |work=MinnPost |date=January 9, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427120942/https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2019/01/no-really-theres-a-new-sheriff-in-town-this-is-what-he-did-on-his-first-day/ |archivedate=April 27, 2019}}</ref>
Stanek was on the executive committee of the National Sheriffs' Association, serving as vice president.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sheriffs.org/about-nsa/executive-committee |title=Executive Committee |access-date=March 28, 2022 |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025140652/http://sheriffs.org/about-nsa/executive-committee |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Brucato|first1=Cyndy|title=Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek sure sounds like he's going to run for governor|url=https://www.minnpost.com/party-politics/2016/06/hennepin-county-sheriff-rich-stanek-sure-sounds-hes-going-run-governor|work=MinnPost|date=June 8, 2016|access-date=October 27, 2016|archive-date=October 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027123411/https://www.minnpost.com/party-politics/2016/06/hennepin-county-sheriff-rich-stanek-sure-sounds-hes-going-run-governor|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Controversies== ===<span id='False Communications'>35W bridge collapse video controversy</span>=== In 2007 Mayor R.T. Rybak and Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan criticized Stanek for providing false information in the 26-minute video on the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge and for taking credit for actions that weren't his responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kaszuba|first=Mike|title=Some smell politics in Stanek's $30,000 training video|url=http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/12523221.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813231830/http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/12523221.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2013|newspaper=Star Tribune|date=December 15, 2007}}</ref> The $30,000 film was funded with forfeited money earmarked for training. "His theft of the credit is not going to sit well with my staff and our hard working partners," Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said in an e-mail. The St. Cloud company that produced the video was the same company that handled advertising and marketing for Stanek's campaign in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Bob|title=Stanek's training video|url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2007/12/staneks_training_video.shtml|newspaper=MPR News|date=December 20, 2007|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-date=October 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019032312/http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/archive/2007/12/staneks_training_video.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Retaliation=== thumb|left|Rich Stanek in 2014 Melissa Hill, who ran a campaign against Stanek under the slogan "Kitten for Sheriff"<ref>{{cite news|last=Van Denburg|first=Hart|title=Rich Stanek faces kitten competition for Hennepin County Sheriff|url=http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/02/rich_stanek_fac.php|newspaper=City Pages|date=February 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119235339/http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/02/rich_stanek_fac.php|archivedate=January 19, 2011}}</ref> was awarded $15,000 in a federal civil rights settlement against Hennepin County.<ref name="Occupy">{{cite news|last=Furst|first=Randy|title=Occupy Minnesota protester gets $15K in trespass lawsuit|url=http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/138531974.html?refer=y|newspaper=Star Tribune|date=February 1, 2012|access-date=January 28, 2013|archive-date=March 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328035329/https://www.startribune.com/occupy-minnesota-protester-gets-15k-in-trespass-lawsuit/138531974/?refer=y|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hill v. Stanek et al|url=http://dockets.justia.com/docket/minnesota/mndce/0:2011cv03542/123646/|publisher=Justia|date=December 7, 2011|access-date=January 30, 2013|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305131306/https://dockets.justia.com/docket/minnesota/mndce/0:2011cv03542/123646/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hennepin County paid $15,000 to Melissa Hill for allegedly trespassing at Occupy Minneapolis. Hill's attorney Jordan Kushner said that "She was arrested and put in jail for no reason but for retaliation by the sheriff for being a political activist" and that Hill saw Stanek watching her from his SUV before she was arrested. He argued that both her original trespass order and arrest were unconstitutional. Hill was a legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild at that time of the arrest. "I feel I was vindicated," said Hill. "I was arrested on a public sidewalk. This sends a strong message that they can't be misusing their trespass policy to suppress free speech."<ref name="Occupy"/>
===Budget=== In 2010 after his re-election Stanek was involved in a conflict with the County Board of Commissioners over his budget. The conflict, arising as the budget season kicked in, highlighted the divisions among powerful elected officials who have different views of the county's priorities at a time when budgets are being frozen and services cut. Stanek "advocates for a larger role for the Hennepin County sheriff, and he wants to be held harmless from any budget cuts," Board Chair Mike Opat said. "But public safety is done by a lot of people, not only the sheriff. The sheriff is not the generalissimo of Hennepin County."<ref>{{cite news|last=Duchschere|first=Kevin|title=Rich Stanek has bigger plans for Sheriff's Office|url=http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/104742094.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130813231728/http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/104742094.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2013|newspaper=Star Tribune|date=October 11, 2010}}</ref>
===Standing Rock, North Dakota=== In October 2016, Stanek sent Hennepin County deputies and equipment to North Dakota to assist law enforcement efforts there to suppress the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McCardle|first1=Ellery|title=Hennepin Co. sends deputies to ND pipeline protest|url=https://www.kare11.com/article/news/nation-now/standing-rock/hennepin-co-sends-deputies-to-nd-pipeline-protest/89-341689909|work=KARE|date=2016-12-01|url-status=live|access-date=2022-03-28|archive-date=2022-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328040636/https://www.kare11.com/article/news/nation-now/standing-rock/hennepin-co-sends-deputies-to-nd-pipeline-protest/89-341689909}}</ref> The personnel sharing, under the auspices of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, sparked protests and was met with criticism from Minneapolis City Council member Alondra Cano, state Senator Patricia Torres Ray, state Representative Peggy Flanagan, and Clyde Bellecourt.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Furst|first1=Randy|last2=Brunswick|first2=Mark|title=Protesters oppose Hennepin County deputies being sent to North Dakota protests|url=http://www.startribune.com/metro-county-deputies-deployed-to-north-dakota-pipeline-protests/398373371/|work=Star Tribune|date=October 26, 2016|access-date=October 27, 2016|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025165316/http://www.startribune.com/metro-county-deputies-deployed-to-north-dakota-pipeline-protests/398373371/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==2022 gubernatorial campaign== Stanek was a candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for governor of Minnesota in the 2022 election.<ref name=Bierschbach>{{Cite web|author=Briana Bierschbach|url=https://www.startribune.com/rich-stanek-looks-to-law-enforcement-record-for-breakaway-in-minnesota-gop-governor-field/600171351/|newspaper=Star Tribune|title=Rich Stanek looks to law enforcement record for breakaway in Minnesota GOP governor field|date=May 7, 2022}}</ref> He was one of six Republican candidates who sought the party's nomination to challenge incumbent Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party Governor Tim Walz.<ref name=Bierschbach/> He joined the race late, and suffered a serious car accident several weeks before the Minnesota Republican Party's endorsing convention in May 2022.<ref name=Bierschbach/> Sidelined by his injuries, Stanek did not seek the party's endorsement at the convention, which went to former state Senator Scott Jensen instead.<ref name=Dramatic>Peter Callaghan & Walker Orenstein, [https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2022/05/scott-jensen-wins-republican-endorsement-for-governor-at-dramatic-state-gop-convention/ Scott Jensen wins Republican endorsement for governor at dramatic state convention], ''MinnPost'' (May 14, 2022).</ref>
==Personal life== Stanek is married and has one son and one daughter.<ref name="LegProfile"/> He is Roman Catholic.<ref name="LegProfile"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-mn-hs}} {{s-bef|before=Warren Limmer}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives<br>from the 33B district|years=1995–2003}} {{s-aft|after=Barb Sykora}} |- {{s-bef|before=Michelle Rifenberg}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives<br>from the 32B district|years=2003}} {{s-aft|after=Kurt Zellers}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanek, Richard W.}} Category:1962 births Category:21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature Category:American people of Czech descent Category:Hamline University alumni Category:Living people Category:Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:Minneapolis Police Department officers Category:Sheriffs in Minnesota Category:People from Maple Grove, Minnesota Category:Politicians from Minneapolis Category:State cabinet secretaries of Minnesota Category:University of Minnesota alumni