Voss, Gordon Owen
House 1973-82 (District 47B); House 1983-88 (District 52A)
Party when first elected: Nonpartisan Election-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus
Counties Served:
Anoka, Ramsey
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
2/25/1938
Birth Place:
Duluth, Minnesota
Birth County:
St. Louis
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
6/21/2017
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected):
Blaine
Occupation (when first elected):
Engineer
EDUCATION
Proctor High School; Secondary; 1956
University of Minnesota; B.S.M.E.; Mechanical Engineering
University of Minnesota; Ph.D.; Mechanical Engineering
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Municipal Board/Commission:
Blaine, Minnesota (City Planning and Zoning Commission);
19?? to 19??
State Board/Commission/Council:
Metropolitan Waste Control Commission, Minnesota (Chief Administrator);
01/03/1989 to 1994
[Appointed]
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Elaine
Children:
Two children: Gregory and Kirsten
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
He was a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
He was "known as the namesake of the "Voss report," still published by the Minnesota Department of Revenue, which examines property taxes as a share of income." (Star Tribune obituary, July 7, 2017)
The funeral was held at Peace Lutheran Church in Coon Rapids.
Body:
House
District:
52A
Elected:
11/8/1988
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/3/1989 to 1/4/1989
(unfinished term)
Counties Represented:
Anoka, Ramsey
Occupation:
Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
Reason for unfinished term:
Appointed to other office
Session Notes:
He resigned after he was appointed to the position of Chief Administrator of the Minnesota Metropolitan Waste Control Commission.
Body:
House
District:
52A
Elected:
11/4/1986
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/6/1987 to 1/2/1989
Counties Represented:
Anoka, Ramsey
Occupation:
Legislator/Engineer
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance: Financial Institutions
-
Rules and Legislative Administration
-
Taxes (Chair)
-
Taxes: Property Tax Division
-
Taxes: Tax Law Division
-
Ways and Means
Body:
House
District:
52A
Elected:
11/6/1984
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/8/1985 to 1/5/1987
Counties Represented:
Anoka, Ramsey
Occupation:
Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Budget
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Local and Urban Affairs
-
Local and Urban Affairs: Metropolitan Affairs
-
Taxes
Body:
House
District:
52A
Elected:
11/2/1982
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/4/1983 to 1/7/1985
Counties Represented:
Anoka, Ramsey
Occupation:
Legislator
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Appropriations
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Energy (Chair)
-
Energy: Energy and Society
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance: Insurance
Body:
House
District:
47B
Elected:
11/4/1980
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/6/1981 to 1/3/1983
Counties Represented:
Anoka
Occupation:
Legislator/Engineer
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Appropriations
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Local and Urban Affairs (Chair)
-
Local and Urban Affairs: Economic Development
-
Local and Urban Affairs: Local Government Financing
Body:
House
District:
47B
Elected:
11/7/1978
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/3/1979 to 1/5/1981
Counties Represented:
Anoka
Occupation:
Legislator/Engineer
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Appropriations (Chair)
[He was the Chair in 1980 only.]
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance: Banking
-
Judiciary
-
Judiciary: Judicial Administration
-
Rules and Legislative Administration
Leadership Position:
Assistant DFL Caucus Leader-1979
Leadership Notes: The House was evenly split along party lines after the November 1978 election. Thus neither party had majority nor minority status going into the 71st Legislative Session. In May 1979 the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party gained majority status.
Leadership Position:
Assistant Majority Leader
Leadership Notes: He became Assistant Majority Leader in May 1979.
Body:
House
District:
47B
Elected:
11/2/1976
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/4/1977 to 1/2/1979
Counties Represented:
Anoka
Occupation:
Engineer
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Appropriations
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Financial Institutions and Insurance
-
Local and Urban Affairs
-
Rules and Legislative Administration
Body:
House
District:
47B
Elected:
11/5/1974
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/7/1975 to 1/3/1977
Counties Represented:
Anoka
Occupation:
Engineer
Party:
Democratic-Farmer-Labor
Committees:
-
Appropriations
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Deinstitutionalization
-
Local and Urban Affairs
-
Rules and Legislative Administration
-
Transportation
Body:
House
District:
47B
Elected:
11/7/1972
Residence:
Blaine
Term of Office:
1/2/1973 to 1/6/1975
Counties Represented:
Anoka
Occupation:
Engineer
Party:
Nonpartisan Election-Democratic-Farmer-Labor Caucus
Committees:
-
Appropriations
-
Appropriations: State Departments Division
-
Higher Education
-
Metropolitan and Urban Affairs
-
Transportation
Articles & Books About
These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.
The Library maintains newspaper clippings on individual legislators during their terms. Clippings are available from 1973 to the present in a variety of formats: 1973-1999, microfiche available at the Library; 2000-2009, scanned in yearly compilations and digitally available on the legislative network; 2009-present, archived in a searchable database maintained by the Library and available on the legislative network.