Meet Anita
Hi, my name is Anita Smithson, and I am running to be our State Senator in District 50 representing Edina and Bloomington. A lifelong Minnesotan, I’ve lived in the Twin Cities since 2002, primarily renting in Edina & Eden Prairie before buying a home in Bloomington in 2009 with my husband Joe. We currently live in Bloomington with our three children and two rescue dogs. In my free time, I like to work in my native plant gardens, spend time with my children - often on the sidelines at their activities and sports, work on DIY house projects, and cheer for womens sports - especially the Minnesota Lynx!
I am running in the open seat for State Senate because I understand how government can improve people’s lives, and I want to contribute to making sure our community and all of Minnesota have what they need to thrive. Edina and Bloomington deserve a progressive champion fighting for their families: I am that leader!
Growing up I split my time between the Metro area and Hutchinson. I value the perspectives I gained living in both the city and in a small town. Life wasn’t always easy. My family benefitted from Minnesota’s free and reduced lunch program, and my public school was a lifeline where I found community and support. After graduation, I moved to Minneapolis and worked my way through school at the Aveda Institute. It was incredibly hard to make ends meet, and I eventually left the cosmetology industry. I now work in Third Party Risk Management at a large financial institution, focusing on project management, training, and communications.
I first got involved in organizing work in 2002, inspired by the late Senator Wellstone against the authorization of and ongoing Iraq war. For all of my adult life I’ve worked to improve our communities. I was part of the board of Indivisible MN03, a group instrumental in creating the conditions to flip MN03 in 2018, and I led several demonstrations at our former Representative Paulsen’s office, co-created the Indivisible MN03 Light Brigade, and worked with a coalition of advocates and organizations as we sought better representation. I’ve organized our Bloomington and Edina communities, working on local, school board, and legislative elections. As an alumna of Vote Run Lead and Women Winning Political Leaders of Tomorrow, I understand the importance of advocating for our values at all levels of government. I’m currently serving as the Chair of the Bloomington Human Rights Commission; in this role I am most proud of my work to advocate for and ensure the passage of an ordinance to protect LGBTQIA+ youth and vulnerable adults from Converstion Therapy. I serve on the board of local non-profit Bloomington Pride MN, hosting five annual festivals celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community in Bloomington and beyond. I am a proud Pro-Choice Clinic Escort, because all people should have the freedom to access the care they need; and a Storyteller for Planned Parenthood, sharing my story utilizing Title X funds to access low cost or free reproductive healthcare services prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. I have spent my life advocating for our community, and finding ways to bring people together across areas of divide to accomplish our common goals, and I would be honored to continue this work as our next State Senator representing Edina and Bloomington.
