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About Steve
Steve grew up in Minnetonka along with six brothers and sisters. When Steve was a boy you could probably find him feeding the family’s two horses or climbing his favorite apple tree in the backyard. Steve’s father sold real estate and his mother raised seven children.
In high school Steve played football and was a member of the wrestling, and track teams and enjoyed literature, writing, and social studies. He went on to Williams College in Massachusetts where he met his future wife, Sophie Bell. He didn’t know he wanted to be in public service until his junior year, “When I got the picture that lawyers knew where the levers were to change the system.” After graduating from Williams, Steve went on to Columbia Law School.
In 1983, Steve and Sophie settled in Hopkins, where Steve’s grandfather had been postmaster from 1922 to 1948. Steve and Sophie have two adult children, Paul and Eleanor.
Steve served as a Minnesota DFL state senator for District 44 (St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Golden Valley) from 1997 to 2006 and as a state representative for District 44A from 1993 to 1996. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and political economy from Williams College in Massachusetts and a JD from Columbia University School of Law in New York. He was known as a legislator who got things done for his constituents and the people of Minnesota.
Steve Kelley is currently a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute and the director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy. He currently teaches 'Public Budgeting,' which focuses on budget principles and processes at the state and federal levels including departmental budgeting and the duties of the chief executive and the legislature.