Roger Chamberlain

Roger C. Chamberlain (born January 14, 1963) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents District 38, which includes portions of Anoka, Ramsey, and Washington counties in the northeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area. He is a financial advisor for Thrivent Financial.

Chamberlain attended Normandale Community College in Bloomington, receiving his A.A.S. in law enforcement. He later earned his B.S. in accounting from Metropolitan State University in Saint Paul. He also served in the United States Navy and in the United States Army National Guard.

Chamberlain was first elected in 2010 and was re-elected in 2012. Assistant majority leader 2012; Assistant minority leader 2013, 2014; Served tax committee, Commerce committee, K-12, Pensions, vice chair Local Government committee, ranking member on State Department & Veterans Budget division.

Chamberlain while claiming he is a strong advocate for public education, civil rights and civil liberties and veteran issues has opposed abortion rights for women, gay marriage, anti-bullying legislation to protect LGBT students and restoring voting rights for felons.

He believes our shared values celebrate individuals and families. Chamberlain has worked to empower people so they can thrive and not simply survive. He worked to decrease funding disparities in our schools as well as improving outcomes for every child. Chamberlain believes we need to reduce mandates on public schools and increase tax credits for parents and teachers to better serve children with dyslexia and special needs.

Chamberlain supported “Sunday Liquor Sales,” extended protection of license plate information and collection private electronic data. In 2016 he advocated, and voted for, drug sentencing reform in Minnesota. As a Navy and Army National Guard veteran he has also advocated for a variety of issues that would better support our military veterans.

Chamberlain is an ardent opponent of abortion. In 2016, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life gave Chamberlain a 100% voting record.

In January 2016 Chamberlain spoke at the annual rally against abortion rights on the state capital steps. "Sen. Roger Chamberlain, R-Lino Lakes, said rallies like Friday’s have played a role, in addition to nonprofits, in helping women when they experience unintended pregnancies.

" “Rallies and events like this bring attention to the issue,” Chamberlain said. “It’s really good news when the number of abortions go down.” "

In the 2014-2015 legislative session Chamberlain was a leading and outspoken opponent of legislation of anti-Bullying legislation to protect LGBT students.

In 2014 Governor Mark Dayton issued a "Plain Language Initiative" which stated, "Plain Language initiative directs all state agencies to use commonly understood language, write in clear and complete sentences, and reduce the use of jargon and acronyms that make state government nearly impossible to understand."

Senator Chamberlain opposed Governor Dayton's Plain English Plan and mocked it in a YouTube video, which has since been deleted. Chamberlain said,"Words fail. First, I'm thinking, is this the critical issue of the day? … Are we going to have a whole regulatory structure for 'Plain Language'?"

In 2016 Senator Chamberlain opposed restoring voting rights for felons who have completed their terms. In May 2016, he said, "“There were some concerns, I heard from some constituents who were upset about it,” he said. “For the sake of avoiding more arguments and discontent, it was easier to pull off for now and learn a little bit more about it.”