MAPE welcomes Tanner Fritsinger as new Political Affairs Coordinator

Tanner Fritsinger, MAPE’s new Political Affairs Coordinator, is no stranger to the Minnesota State Capitol. He is a former legislative aide for the House Caucus for Representatives Samanatha Vang and Kristin Bahner and also was a field organizer for the DFL House Caucus. 

He recently served as a legislative assistant for an Alaska State Representative. He also spent 13 months as a business agent for AFSCME while in Juneau.  

Fritsinger grew up in a union family in Cloquet, Minnesota. His mother was a special education teacher and his grandfather was a shop steward and letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. “My grandfather would always say, ‘Make sure you always give ‘em hell!’ He was a fiery guy and that may have been that union mentality,” Fritsinger joked.     

Nearly five years ago, when he was organizing for the Minnesota House caucus, he met MAPE Legislative and Political Affairs Director Devin Bruce and several members when they went down to southern Minnesota door knock for campaigns Fritsinger was working on. “That’s what piqued my interest in MAPE,” he admitted.  

“I am very excited to work with our members. Something became evident to me as a business agent in Anchorage was that so much of what impacts public employees needs to be acted on legislatively. I look forward to improving working conditions for all workers,” he added.  

Frisinger is living in Coon Rapids with his four-year-old rescue dog, Otis. He graduated from the Minnesota State University, Mankato with a degree in Political Science and Communications.