Brion Curran

American politician

Brion Curran
Curran in 2023

Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 36B district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Ami Wazlawik

Personal details
Born	(1985-05-27) May 27, 1985 (age 39)
Political party	Democratic (DFL)
Residence	Vadnais Heights, Minnesota
Education	Century College (AAS) Concordia University, St. Paul (BS)
Occupation	Social services Legislator
Website	Government website Campaign website

Brion Curran (born May 27, 1985) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Curran represents District 36B in the north Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes the cities of White Bear Lake and Vadnais Heights and parts of Ramsey and Washington Counties.^[1]^[2]

Early life, education and career

Curran graduated from Centennial High School in Circle Pines, Minnesota. They earned an associate of applied sciences degree in law enforcement from Century College and a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Concordia University, St. Paul.^[1]

Curran has worked in disability services for 20 years.^[1] They joined the White Bear Lake Police Department, serving as a volunteer police sergeant and as a 911 dispatcher from 2015 to 2018. Curran served as a deputy in the Chisago County Sheriff's Office in 2018 before retiring after developing PTSD after responding to a traumatic incident.^[1]^[3]

Minnesota House of Representatives

Curran was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. They first ran after two-term DFL incumbent Ami Wazlawik announced she would not seek reelection.^[1]

Curran serves as vice chair of the Sustainable Infrastructure Policy Committee, and sits on the Human Services Policy, Judiciary Finance and Civil Law, and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committees.^[1] Curran is the vice chair of the Queer Caucus, a group of LGBTQ+ legislators that formed during the 2023 legislative session.^[4]^[5]

Political positions

Curran supported legislation to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors and vulnerable adults in Minnesota, which passed the House in 2023. They have called the practice "abusive brainwashing", and spoke on the House floor about their experience with it, arguing that it does more harm than good.^[6]^[7]

A former deputy sheriff, Curran left the force in 2018 due to PTSD and has advocated for more mental health support funding for officers.^[3]^[8] They authored a bill that would prohibit courts from issuing or approving no-knock search warrants, saying it puts citizens and law enforcement at risk and violates the Fourth Amendment protection from unlawful searches and seizures.^[9] During the bill's hearing, the father of Amir Locke, who was killed during a no-knock warrant search in which Amir was not named, testified in support of the proposal.^[9]

Curran authored legislation creating a working group led by the Metropolitan Council that would work with municipalities in the Twin Cities East Metro struggling with managing drinking water services around White Bear Lake.^[10]

Electoral history

2022 Minnesota State House - District 36B^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic (DFL)	Brion Curran	11,337	53.48
	Republican	Heidi Gunderson	9,833	46.38
	Write-in		29	0.14
Total votes			21,199	100.0
	Democratic (DFL) hold

Personal life

Curran lives in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota.^[1] They identify as queer.^[4]^[12] According to public court records, Curran and their wife, Brandi, divorced in 2023.^[13]

Legal issues

On October 9, 2023, Curran was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI) in Chisago County, Minnesota.^[14] They pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree DWI in exchange for having other charges dismissed and served a two-day jail sentence in early 2024.^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Curran, Brion - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
^ "Rep. Brion Curran (36B) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.mn.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
^ ^a ^b Winter, Deena (2023-03-09). "Bill aimed at stemming tide of PTSD police retirements prompts heated debate about police". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ ^a ^b Faircloth, Ryan (January 29, 2023). "Minnesota's LGBTQ lawmakers form Queer Caucus". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ Stroozas, Sam (2023-01-17). "'Shaking things up': Minnesota's LGBTQ lawmakers see new strength at Capitol". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ Ferguson, Dana (2023-02-20). "Minnesota House votes to ban LGBTQ youth conversion therapy". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ Deng, Grace (February 21, 2023). "Minnesota House passes bill to ban 'conversion therapy' for minors". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ Orenstein, Walker (2022-11-03). "Police association endorsements among most coveted, controversial in Minnesota". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ ^a ^b Ibrahim, Mohamed (2023-03-16). "Amir Locke's dad gives emotional testimony in statewide no-knock ban hearing". MinnPost. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ Stanley, Greg (March 30, 2023). "Deal between homeowners, municipalities aims to keep White Bear Lake from drying up". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ "2022 Results for State Representative District 36B". Minnesota Secretary of State. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ Spears, Baylor (2022-08-01). "A record number of out LGBT candidates are running for Minnesota's Legislature". Minnesota Reformer. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
^ In Re the Marriage of: Brandi Curran and Brion Curran, 62-FA-23-1146 (Ramsey County District Court 24 July 2023).
^ Olson, Rochelle (9 October 2023). "Freshman DFL legislator arrested on suspicion of DWI". Star Tribune. Star Tribune. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^ Fischer, Samantha (January 25, 2024). "MN State Rep. Brion Curran sentenced after drunk driving guilty plea". KARE-TV. Retrieved January 25, 2024.