Capitol says farewell to much-loved figure

Mark McAfee, a labor lobbyist and a Capitol fixture for 30 years, died earlier this month

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of lawmakers, lobbyists and labor officials made their way to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. The occasion was a memorial service for Mark McAfee, a beloved lobbyist and advocate for economic justice who stalked the Capitol corridors for three decades.

Less than a week earlier, McAfee died unexpectedly from a heart attack caused by a blood clot during knee surgery at the age of 57. The medical procedure was required after he was hit by a driver using a cell phone in a gas station parking lot.

“I guess heaven just needed a good organizer,” was how state Rep. Mary Murphy, DFL-Hermantown, reacted to news of his death, after letting out a long sigh.

For the last decade, McAfee worked for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5, focusing on health and human services issues. His joking name for the policy area: “hell and human sacrifices.” Prior to that, McAfee spent two decades advocating on issues for the Minnesota Farmers Union. In addition, he served as volunteer chairman of the Jobs Now Coalition, a liberal economic advocacy group.

“He wouldn’t even say a bad word about the woman who ran him down,” said Kris Jacobs, executive director of the Jobs Now Coalition. “I never heard him utter a bad word about somebody else, ever.”

McAfee was born in Austin, but grew up primarily in Roseville. He earned an undergraduate degree from St. Cloud State University and then a master’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado. McAfee lived in Lakeville with his wife of 30 years, Betsy, a longtime employee of the Attorney General’s Office.

“He loved his wife; he loved his life,” said Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5. “Anyone around him found Mark a just marvelously contagious personality.”

McAfee had an abiding passion for jazz and was a regular patron of the Dakota Jazz Club. The owner and several employees of the club were among those in attendance at the Capitol memorial service. ”You know he was loved, because three of his bartenders showed up for the open house,” joked Bernie Hesse, an organizer with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789.

McAfee was also a history buff and animal lover. He was legendarily devoted to his three dogs, Jack, Sam and Pepper.

Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, announced McAfee’s death on the House floor last week. The chamber went silent. “If you simply say you’re going to do something, whether it’s at a meeting or to another person, and then you follow through and actually get it done, you’re ahead of 95 percent of the people out there already,” Lesch said. “Mark was a person who always did that. That’s why I relied on him.”

Lesch worked with McAfee on numerous issues over the years. Recently they’d been pushing legislation that would require employers to provide paid sick days to workers. “Mark was the kind of guy who was willing to take that on and fight because he was a visionary,” Lesch said. “He saw that that was the future of making peoples’ lives better. And you know what the funny thing is? He represented AFSCME, all of whom have paid sick days.”

Right up until his death, McAfee had been vowing to return to the Capitol. He didn’t want to miss the conference committee on the health and human services bill. “He told everybody he was going back there on crutches,” recalled Jacobs.

But he never made it back to the Capitol. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, remembers the last words that McAfee uttered to him: “I look forward to seeing you again.”

“I think he’s going to be very much missed,” Hansen said, tearing up. “I don’t know anybody who would say anything bad about him — which is a rarity around here.”