Joe Werner

    

The Honorable Joe Werner
Werner in 2024
Leader of the Farmer Labor Party
Incumbent
Assumed office April 7, 2023
Deputy	Natalie Hoover
Preceded by	Atal Bohtar
Member of the House of Delegates for Westcrest (Lansing's 3rd district)
Incumbent
Assumed office October 6, 2015
Preceded by	Joe Phillips
Personal details
Born	Joseph Alexander Werner (1969-01-24) January 24, 1969 New Hamburg, Lansing, Superior
Political party	Farmer Labor
Spouse(s)	Gloria López (m. 2000)
Children	2
Relatives	Paulina Werner (grandmother)
Education	University of Minneapolis (MBA)

Joseph Alexander Werner (born January 24, 1969) is a Superian businessman and politician serving as a Member of the House of Delegates for Westcrest since 2015 and as leader of the Farmer Labor Party since 2023. The district is located in the central area of New Hamburg located in the downtown area. He is a member of the Farmer Labor Party and is considered to be aligned with its moderate center-left faction. Before entering politics, Werner was a businessman and both worked and owned several companies and businesses prior to running for public office. Among these businesses is Werner Brewery, a family owned alcohol company that is one of the most well known and famous beer companies in the entire state of Lansing. He served as CEO of the company between 2003 until 2015 where he resigned to run for Parliament during the federal election that year.

Werner would be elected in 2015, successfully defeating Liberal Democrat incumbent Joe Phillips during the race and became the first non-Liberal Democrat to represent the district since 1957. He would publically support the creation of the Progressive Bloc after the election and would be a staunch supporter of Jennifer Granholm throughout her presidency and of Atal Bohtar during his tenure as Leader of the Farmer Labor Party. Werner is considered to be part of the moderate faction of the Farmer Labor Party, supporting common social democratic policies such as universal healthcare and organized labor while also being willing to engage in bipartisanship with the opposition on certain legislation and policy issues during the Granholm period, however he has become more partisan since the election of Isaac Dillon as president in 2022.

On 27 February 2023, Werner announced his candidacy for the position as Farmer Labor leader for the party leadership election, becoming the first candidate to enter the race to succeede Bohtar as party leader. Werner ran on supporting universal basic income, protecting and expanding the Public Health Program while cracking down on private insurance companies, supporting abortion and LGBT rights, and making the protection of trans rights a top priority. His main opponent during the race was deputy party leader and MP from Arrowhead Natalie Hoover. Werner won the race and negotiated a settlement with Hoover that allowed him to take office on April 7.

Early life, education, and career

Joe Werner was born on 24 January 1969 in New Hamburg, Lansing to Debra Werner and Thomas Werner. Debra was a nurse and Thomas was born in the Kingdom of Sierra and possessed duel citizenship between Sierra and Superior. At the time of Joe's birth, Thomas was an officer in the Sierran Royal Army and served as a military advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Thomas was killed in a Viet Cong ambush in 1972 when Joe was three years old. Debra later married Edward Werner, the son of radio narrator and newspaper columnist Paulina Werner, in 1976.

In 1979, the Werner family moved to Saint Anthony where Joe would attend the University of Minneapolis after graduating high school. He would study business and would major in business, graduating with a Master of Business Administration in 1990. He would work in a handful of businesses, mainly the local branches and divisions of the Werner Brewery. Werner's work in the company throughout the 1990s saw him rise through the ranks and obtained the status of an executive by 2000. In 2003, he was appointed CEO of Werner Brewery by its board of directors. He served in the position until 2015, when he was elected to parliament.

Member of Parliament

Elections

During the 2015 federal election, Werner ran to represent Westcreat, Lansing's 3rd district as a member of the Farmer Labor Party. Werner ran as a progressive, supporting an increase in federal social programs and the maintaining of the Public Health Program. He went on to defeat Liberal Democrat Joe Philips with 53% of the vote. With his election, Werner became the first non-Liberal Democrat to represent the district since 1957.

Werner was re-elected in 2019, 2020, and 2022 with 56% of the vote, 61% of the vote, and 55% of the vote respectively. Since 2022, Werner is currently the only member of the Farmer Labor Party to represent a portion of New Hamburg.

Caucus memberships

• Eastern Parliamentary Conference
• Farmer Labor Co-Operative Group
• National Healthcare Group
• National Unity Group
• Parliamentary LGBT Equality Caucus

Leader of the Farmer Labor Party

Election and campaign

See also: 2023 Farmer Labor Party leadership election