Cathleen Cotter retires after decades of service to Minnesota families and MAPE

Cathleen Cotter has done it all: Delegate Assembly representative, local president, Political Council chair, member of the PAC, itinerate door knocker for labor candidates and uber Bruce Springsteen fan with more than a dozen concerts under her belt. 

And that doesn’t even begin to cover the thousands of Minnesota families she has helped in her job in the child support division at the Department of Human Services and Department of Children, Youth and Families over the past 28 years. Cotter was on the team that got the state child support payment center up and running. “I know if I do my job well there is a kid out there who has a bike because I’ve done my job and collected money for them. It’s very fulfilling knowing you’re helping families that need it, and you’re saving the taxpayers money, too,” Cotter said. 

Cotter pointed out so much of what many state employees do is invisible to Minnesotans, “I’ve been through a couple of shutdowns and a strike and people saw what we did: the Department of Natural Resources keeps campsites clean, air and water quality is checked, and nursing homes and childcare centers wouldn’t be checked or audited. A lot of things we do impact your life, but you don’t see it directly.”  

Cotter grew up in a political family and during college at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Cotter was placed with the Carter Mondale presidential campaign. So, it was no surprise she was elected as first chair of MAPE’s Political Council.  

“MAPE owes Cathleen Cotter a tremendous debt of gratitude. Her leadership was essential to the success of getting the Political Council up and running. I am so thankful for her mentorship and helping me gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to be an effective leader,” Political Council Chair John Ferrara said. 

“It is crucial to elect pro-labor candidates to the Minnesota House and Senate and state constitutional offices. Being on both the Political Council and Political Action Committee (PAC), I’ve done my share of door knocking for candidates. I had some really great conversations at the doors – I’ve only had one person slam the door in my face,” Cotter said. “If people ask, ‘What else can I do,’ I tell them ‘Give a couple of bucks to the PAC.’” 

In 2018, Cotter moderated the political forum MAPE hosted with all the gubernatorial candidates. “One of the things I’m most proud of is we were the first labor union to endorse Tim Walz,” Cotter said. “I was in Washington, DC last week and people loved Tim Walz!” 

Cotter was the first recipient of MAPE’s Outstanding Union Achievement Award last year. The award is a tribute to those who have dedicated their lives to the union’s cause, shaping its course with their unwavering resolve.  

MAPE PAC Chair Monica Weber said she will dearly miss Cotter as she retires and will strive to live up to her example. “Cathleen Cotter has been a dynamic powerhouse for MAPE for many years. When I started state service, I joined the PAC, then chaired by Cathleen, and saw how she could run a meeting, schmooze political candidates, knock doors and help members understand the political nature of their jobs, and how to influence change at the Capitol,” Weber said. 

Cotter is also a doting grandmother to Mads, Max and Mia, who live in Otsego with their parents, Cotter’s daughter Meaghan and husband Mike. “They’re close enough so I can help anytime, but I can’t just drop in,” Cotter smiled.  

In addition to spending time with her grandchildren, Cotter said she plans to travel and recently returned from trips to Scotland and Washington, DC. “I don’t have a specific trip planned now but want to see the Grand Canyon and see my daughter Tierney who lives in Boulder, Colorado. I want to volunteer at a hospital and rock sick babies, volunteer as an usher at the Orpheum Theatre so I can see free shows. I would like to read to young children because it’s so important. I want to stay off the streets,” she joked.  

She will be an election judge this November and promised, “One of the first things I will do when I’m retired is on that first Monday I’m not working, I am going to go over and vote early.”