Brand served as a member of the St. Peter City Council from 2011 to 2018. He co-owns a rain garden installation and native plant landscaping company, Seed to Site, with his wife, Genevieve.[1][3][4][5]
Minnesota House of Representatives
Brand was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. He first ran after three-term DFL incumbent Clark Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. In 2020, Brand lost reelection to Republican Susan Akland. He ran against Akland again in 2022 and won.[1] During the 2020 election, Brand was endorsed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), who later pulled the endorsement after a protest outside Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll's home, which Brand did not attend.[6]
Brand is the vice chair of the Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee and sits on the Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy, Taxes, and Transportation Finance and Policy Committees. From 2019 to 2020, Brand served as vice chair of the Agriculture and Food Finance and Policy Committee.[1]
Brand has advocated for increased investments in local government and county program aid.[7][8] He introduced legislation to give homeowners incentives to upgrade water softeners and reduce chloride in water.[9] He supported legislation to boost funding for research on alternative crops such as kernza, and wrote a bill increasing funding for grain bin safety and farmer education.[10][11]
Brand is the lead author of legislation that would eliminate non-essential PFAS chemicals from products for children, cookware, ski wax, carpet, cosmetics and more.[12][13][14] The legislation has been supported by environmental groups and opposed by chemical corporation lobbyists.[15] He also authored legislation that would allow Minnesotans exposed to harmful chemicals to sue companies for the cost of monitoring their health.[16]
