Gerald William Heaney, served for nearly forty years as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and was an organizer for several liberal Democratic politicians, including which former   American politician, poet, and a long-time Congressman from Minnesota?
Gerald Heaney Gerald William Heaney (January 29, 1918 – June 22, 2010) served for nearly forty years as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, from his appointment by President Lyndon B. Johnson in November 1966 until his full retirement in August 2006. Heaney’s career in public service began in 1941, upon graduation from law school. He soon enlisted in the United States Army, volunteered for the U.S. Rangers, and soon became a second lieutenant in the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Heaney’s endurance as a judge was foretold by his endurance as a Ranger; of the hundreds of members of the Second Ranger Battalion who landed at Normandy on the early hours of D-Day, Heaney was one of only three still on the front lines with the Rangers on VE Day. Between the end of World War II and his appointment to the federal bench, he rewrote the Free State of Bavaria’s labor laws, and was a valued political advisor and organizer for several liberal Democratic politicians, including Hubert Humphrey, Adlai Stevenson, Orville Freeman, Eugene McCarthy, and Walter Mondale. As an appellate court judge, Heaney typically favored broad interpretations of the Bill of Rights and civil rights, labor and employment rights statutes.
Bev Scalze Beverly M. "Bev" Scalze (born October 27, 1943) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she represented District 42, which included portions of Ramsey County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.