Arlan Stangeland
Encyclopedia
Arlan Ingehart Stangeland (b. February 8, 1930 in Fargo
, Cass County
, North Dakota
) is an American politician
from the U.S. state
of Minnesota
. As a Republican
, Stangeland served on the Barnesville, Minnesota
school board (1976–1977) and as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
(1966–1975) before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district
in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Bergland
. Stangeland served in the 95th
, 96th
, 97th
, 98th
, 99th
, 100th
, and 101st congresses
, (February 22, 1977 – January 3, 1991). He lost his campaign for reelection in the 1990 House election
, due largely to a scandal
, and subsequently retired from politics.
in Moorhead, Minnesota
in 1948. He then worked as a farmer
. Stangeland was a delegate
to the Minnesota State Republican conventions from 1964 to 1968.
to the 95th congress
in a special election on February 22, 1977, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Bergland, who left the House to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
. In the primary on February 8, Stangeland defeated Richard Franson, "a frequent candidate
who lived in Minneapolis
, far from the district," with 97 percent of the vote.
Stangeland ran against the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
nominee Michael J. Sullivan, a former Walter Mondale
aide, in the general election. During the campaign one controversy erupted when Roman Catholic
bishop
Victor Hermann Balke
encouraged voters in the Diocese of Crookston
to vote for Sullivan, whom he described as "very pro-church," and against Stangeland, whom he described as having a "very negative" voting record in the state house. Stangeland campaigned "on the theme that the heavily rural northwestern Minnesota needed another farmer, like Mr. Bergland, in Congress" and won the election, receiving 71,251 votes to Sullivan's 43,467. (Stangeland also defeated minor candidates Jim Born of the American Party
and independent candidate Jack Bibeau).
Stangeland's victory was a political upset. The New York Times
headline the day after the election read "Minnesota victory elates Republicans" and attributed Stangeland's success to "his lifelong residence in the district, his roots as a farmer in a mostly rural area, and his identification as a Lutheran
in an area that is predominantly Protestant
". and said Sullivan had been "handicapped by his Roman Catholic faith and his reliance on the support of name Democrats rather than grass-roots organizations."
to and from the residences of a female lobbyist from Virginia
. Stangeland admitted that he had made the calls, acknowledged that some of them may have been personal, but denied having a romantic relationship to the woman. His popularity sharply dropped and Stangeland lost the 1990 election to Democrat
Collin Peterson
.
Stangeland is married with seven children. He is a resident of Barnesville.
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...
, Cass County
Cass County, North Dakota
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 123,138 people, 51,315 households, and 29,814 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 53,790 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
) is an American politician
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. As a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Stangeland served on the Barnesville, Minnesota
Barnesville, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,173 people, 865 households, and 569 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,032.8 people per square mile . There were 923 housing units at an average density of 438.7 per square mile...
school board (1976–1977) and as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
(1966–1975) before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district
Minnesota's 7th congressional district
Minnesota's 7th congressional district covers almost all of the western side of Minnesota except for the far south, which is located in the 1st district. It is by far the state's largest district, and has a very rural character. Cities in the district include Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria and...
in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Bergland
Robert Bergland
Robert Selmer Bergland is a United States politician. He grew up on a farm near Roseau, and studied agriculture at the University of Minnesota in a two year program...
. Stangeland served in the 95th
95th United States Congress
The Ninety-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1979, during the first two years...
, 96th
96th United States Congress
The Ninety-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1979 to January 3, 1981, during the last two years...
, 97th
97th United States Congress
The Ninety-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1981 to January 3, 1983, during the final weeks of...
, 98th
98th United States Congress
The Ninety-eighth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1983 to January 3, 1985, during the third and...
, 99th
99th United States Congress
The Ninety-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1985 to January 3, 1987, during the fifth and sixth...
, 100th
100th United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President: George H.W. Bush * President pro tempore: John Stennis - Majority leadership :* Majority Leader, Democratic Conference Chairman, and Democratic Policy Committee Chairman: Robert Byrd...
, and 101st congresses
101st United States Congress
The One Hundred First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1989 to January 3, 1991, during the first two...
, (February 22, 1977 – January 3, 1991). He lost his campaign for reelection in the 1990 House election
United States House elections, 1990
The U.S. House election, 1990 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1990 which occurred in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term...
, due largely to a scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
, and subsequently retired from politics.
Background
He graduated from Moorhead High SchoolMoorhead High School
Moorhead High School is a secondary school in Moorhead, Minnesota. Established in 1883, the school serves approximately 1600 students in grades 9-12.-Extracurricular activities:...
in Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead, Minnesota
Moorhead is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, United States, and the largest city in northwest Minnesota. The population was 38,065 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Clay County....
in 1948. He then worked as a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
. Stangeland was a delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
to the Minnesota State Republican conventions from 1964 to 1968.
1977 election
Stangeland sought election as a RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to the 95th congress
95th United States Congress
The Ninety-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1979, during the first two years...
in a special election on February 22, 1977, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Robert Bergland, who left the House to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
. In the primary on February 8, Stangeland defeated Richard Franson, "a frequent candidate
Perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is one who frequently runs for public office with a record of success that is infrequent, if existent at all. Perennial candidates are often either members of minority political parties or have political opinions that are not mainstream. They may run without any serious hope...
who lived in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, far from the district," with 97 percent of the vote.
Stangeland ran against the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
nominee Michael J. Sullivan, a former Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
aide, in the general election. During the campaign one controversy erupted when Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Victor Hermann Balke
Victor Hermann Balke
Victor Hermann Balke was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Crookston from 1976-2007.Born in Meppen, Illinois , his parents were Elizabeth Knese and Bernard Balke, Sr. He attended St. Joseph Grade School in Meppen as well as the Monterey Grade School, and graduated from Hardin Community High School in...
encouraged voters in the Diocese of Crookston
Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston is a Roman Catholic diocese in Minnesota. It was founded on December 31, 1909. It covers the northwest section of Minnesota.The bishops of the diocese are:*Timothy J...
to vote for Sullivan, whom he described as "very pro-church," and against Stangeland, whom he described as having a "very negative" voting record in the state house. Stangeland campaigned "on the theme that the heavily rural northwestern Minnesota needed another farmer, like Mr. Bergland, in Congress" and won the election, receiving 71,251 votes to Sullivan's 43,467. (Stangeland also defeated minor candidates Jim Born of the American Party
American Independent Party
The American Independent Party is a right-wing political party of the United States that was established in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer. In 1968, the American Independent Party nominated George C. Wallace as its presidential candidate and retired Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay as the vice...
and independent candidate Jack Bibeau).
Stangeland's victory was a political upset. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
headline the day after the election read "Minnesota victory elates Republicans" and attributed Stangeland's success to "his lifelong residence in the district, his roots as a farmer in a mostly rural area, and his identification as a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
in an area that is predominantly Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
". and said Sullivan had been "handicapped by his Roman Catholic faith and his reliance on the support of name Democrats rather than grass-roots organizations."
Phone calls controversy
In January 1990 it was reported that Stangeland had made several hundred long-distance phone calls from 1986 to 1987 on his House credit cardCredit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
to and from the residences of a female lobbyist from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Stangeland admitted that he had made the calls, acknowledged that some of them may have been personal, but denied having a romantic relationship to the woman. His popularity sharply dropped and Stangeland lost the 1990 election to Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Collin Peterson
Collin Peterson
Collin Clark Peterson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991, and the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and is the dean of the Minnesota congressional delegation.The district, Minnesota's largest and most rural...
.
Stangeland is married with seven children. He is a resident of Barnesville.