Samantha Sencer-Mura

Samantha Sencer-Mura (born February 2, 1989) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), Sencer-Mura represents District 63A in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which includes parts of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.

Early life, education and career A fourth-generation Japanese-American, Sencer-Mura was raised in Minneapolis and attended South High School. Her father is David Mura, a poet and playwright. Her grandparents were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II.

Sencer-Mura began her career as a teacher at Citizen Schools in New York City. She later worked as a coordinator at Safe Passages and community schools director of United for Success Academy in Oakland, California. In 2017, Sencer-Mura returned to Minneapolis to join 826 MSP, a nonprofit after-school program, as executive director.

Minnesota House of Representatives Sencer-Mura was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2022. She first ran for an open seat created by legislative redistricting and the retirement of 11-term DFL incumbent Jim Davnie.

Sencer-Mura serves on the Agriculture Finance and Policy, Education Finance, Workforce Development Finance and Policy, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees.

Political positions During the 2023 session, Sencer-Mura sponsored anti-hate crime legislation that would provide money to better track bias crimes and fund law enforcement trainings, citing anti-Asian backlash related to COVID-19's origins and saying "our communities are living in this state of red alert". She sponsored a transit safety bill after an 87-year-old woman in her district was injured while using public transit.

Electoral history

Personal life Sencer-Mura lives in Minneapolis with her spouse, Lance, and has one child.