Scot Kelsh
Scot Kelsh (b. August 14, 1962) is a former Democratic-NPL member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 1996 to 2014. Kelsh announced in February 2014 that he would not seek re-election in November because of his 2013 DUI arrest.[1]
Biography
Kelsh earned his B.S. and B.A. from North Dakota State University. His professional experience includes working as an intern architect at Yhrshrw, Architects Limited and as a firefighter.[2]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
| North Dakota committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Finance and Taxation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kelsh served on the following committees:
| North Dakota committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Finance and Taxation |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kelsh served on the following committee:
| North Dakota committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Energy and Natural Resources |
| • Finance and Taxation |
Elections
2012
Kelsh ran for North Dakota State Auditor in 2012. He was unopposed in the primary election and was defeated by incumbent Republican Robert Peterson in the November general election.[3][4]
| North Dakota State Auditor General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Robert Peterson Incumbent |
62.6% | 188,859 | |
| Democratic | Scot Kelsh | 37.4% | 112,803 | |
| Total Votes | 301,662 | |||
| Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State | ||||
2010
Kelsh won re-election to one of two seats in District 11 of the North Dakota House of Representatives. Ron Guggisberg (D) and Kelsh defeated David Gibb (R) and Zach Heuer (R) in the general election.[5][6]
| North Dakota State House, District 11 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Scot Kelsh (D)
|
2,154 | |||
| Ron Guggisberg (D)
|
2,114 | |||
| David Gibb (R) | 1,516 | |||
| Zach Heuer (R) | 1,283 | |||
| Mike Williams (I) | 1,123 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Ekstrom won election by finishing 2nd out of 4 candidates for District 11 of the North Dakota House of Representatives.[7]
| North Dakota House of Representatives, District 11 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Scot Kelsh (D-NPL)
|
2,250 | |||
| Mary Ekstrom (D-NPL)
|
2,320 | |||
| Kellie Aldrich (R) | 1,419 | |||
| Zach Heuer (R) | 1,311 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of North Dakota scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2014
In 2014, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2013, the 63rd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in session from January 8 to May 4.
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2012, the North Dakota Legislative Assembly did not hold a regular session. |
2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 62nd North Dakota Legislative Assembly was in regular session from January 4 through April 28. A special session was called by Governor Jack Dalrymple from November 7 through 12 to cover legislative redistricting and disaster relief.[8]
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NDPC: North Dakota Legislative Review
The North Dakota Policy Council, a North Dakota-based nonprofit research organization which describes itself as "liberty-based", published the North Dakota Legislative Review, a comprehensive report on how state legislators voted during the 2011 legislative session. The scorecard seeks to show how North Dakota legislators voted on the principles the Council seeks to promote. The Council recorded and scored votes on both spending bills and policy bills, and awarded points accordingly. Policy issues voted upon included income tax cuts, pension reform, and government transparency. On spending legislation, the Council accorded a percentage score based on how much spending the legislator voted against. On policy legislation, scores range from the highest score (100%) to the lowest (0%). A higher score indicates that the legislator voted more in favor of the values supported by the Council.[9] Kelsh received a score of 8.43% on policy legislation and voted against 3.02% of state spending. Kelsh was ranked 82nd on policy and 66th on spending, out of 94 House members evaluated for the study.[10]
Noteworthy events
DUI conviction (2013)
- See also: Politicians convicted of DUI
On November 18, 2013, Kelsh was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.[11] Kelsh pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge on April 14, 2014. The judge sentenced him to a year of unsupervised probation.[12]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kelsh and his wife, Katie, have four children.[2]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Scot + Kelsh + North + Dakota + House'"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- North Dakota House of Representatives
- House Committees
- North Dakota Legislative Assembly
- North Dakota state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Rep. Kelsh's on Facebook
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2002, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ watchdog.org, "Fargo legislator, charged with DUI, says he’ll retire," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Project Vote Smart, "Scot Kelsh's Biography," accessed May 23, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedsos - ↑ Bismark Tribune, "2012 General Election Results," accessed November 6, 2012
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2010 Primary Election results," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2010 General Election results," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Secretary of State, "2006 General Election Results," accessed May 22, 2014
- ↑ The Bismarck Tribune, "N.D. House leader: Special session starts Nov. 7," accessed September 15, 2011
- ↑ North Dakota Policy Council, "The North Dakota Legislative Review - 2011," accessed January 20, 2014
- ↑ North Dakota Policy Council, "2011 North Dakota Legislative Review Rankings," accessed January 26, 2014
- ↑ Grand Forks Herald, "Fargo legislator Kelsh arrested on DUI charges," November 19, 2013
- ↑ Inforum, "Fargo state legislator pleads guilty to DUI," April 14, 2014
