REGIONAL— Northeastern Minnesota’s most influential state senator says he still hasn’t decided whether he’ll seek re-election later this year. Sen. Tom Bakk, in a wide-ranging interview with the Timberjay late last week, said the outcome of redistricting, his health, and whether his longtime Senate colleague, David Tomassoni, seeks re-election, will all factor into his decision.
Bakk, a longtime Cook DFLer who left the party two years ago and now caucuses as a Republican (he calls himself an independent) is weighing his political future as what could be his final legislative session got underway on Monday. Bakk, who will turn 68 later this year, has served in the Legislature since 1994, holding the title of either Senate majority or minority leader, for much of that time. He underwent heart surgery in 2020 for a leaking valve and while his recovery has gone well, he knows there are times when the pressures of elected office take too big a toll.
“I just had my annual physical down at the Mayo,” said Bakk. “My doctor told me that less stress would be a good thing.”
The political changes that have overturned traditional voting patterns in northern Minnesota are also part of the equation. Bakk faced one of his toughest campaigns in decades in 2020 as the political winds shifted in favor of Republicans in the region. Bakk lost in places like the city Babbitt and Koochiching County, where he had previously won by two-to-one margins. Bakk says he hasn’t changed politically, but the way many of the region’s voters view the DFL has changed.
Even having forsaken the DFL label, Bakk could face considerable uncertainty in a re-election bid. Bakk said he’d like to run as an independent, which would almost guarantee a DFL challenger, but it’s unclear whether he could face a three-way challenge from a GOP opponent as well. “I am working on that and so far it’s going pretty well,” said Bakk, when asked if he’s likely to face Republican opposition.
Throw in the political uncertainty of this year’s redistricting and the makeup of a new senate district in the region, and it has left Bakk more ambivalent about a re-election effort than in the past. Yet the question of who would replace him looms large. “I’ve been looking around, wondering who will pick up the flag when I leave,” said Bakk, who sees his and Tomassoni’s Senate seniority as important political levers for the region. “If Tomassoni and I both leave at the same time, it would be pretty hard on northern Minnesota. I feel some obligation to not just cut and run.” He said someone with experience, such as a county commissioner or House member, would be his first choice.
While Bakk didn’t state it outright, given the value of seniority, it’s also apparent he’d like someone considerably younger to take his place. He noted that the region hasn’t been able to build as much seniority in the state House since the retirement of the late Rep. Tom Rukavina and the defeat of Rep. Loren Solberg. Rep. Rob Ecklund, DFL-International Falls, who replaced the late Rep. David Dill in 2015, is now the senior House member from the region.
Unfinished business
Bakk is also motivated by his desire to see some major initiatives through to completion, and this session offers the potential for making big strides on some of his top priorities. With a historic $7.7 billion projected budget surplus and a DFL governor who is pushing a whopping $2.7 billion bonding bill, Bakk is in a key position to advance projects close to home.
As chair of the Senate Capital Investment Committee, a plum position he negotiated with Republican leaders at the time of his departure from the DFL, Bakk will be in a key position to help shape whatever bonding measure is approved later this year. “I do think the Arrowhead got shortchanged,” said Bakk, when asked about the governor’s bonding proposal, which was light on local government projects from the region. “The Legislature will obviously have its own priorities,” Bakk added.
He’s skeptical that Senate Republicans will accept Gov. Tim Walz’s total price tag for bonding, suggesting that $100 million to renovate facilities for non-profits and a total of $250 million for affordable housing is likely to face opposition from the GOP. Bakk said he recognizes the desperate need for affordable housing outside the metro area, but said the lack of interest in building affordable housing in Greater Minnesota has kept most of the recent housing dollars in the Twin Cities. “None of that money ever finds its way up here,” Bakk said.
When it comes to preserving the state’s own public infrastructure, Bakk is clearly on board, citing the state college and university system. “We’re way far behind,” he said. “MNSCU has a lot of old buildings that need maintenance.”
Bakk agreed as well with the governor’s emphasis on repairing water infrastructure. “That’s a big priority for me,” said Bakk, suggesting he might push for an even higher spending target than the governor has proposed.
And he lauded Walz’s proposal to earmark $12 million to build the new park lodge at the Lake Vermilion Soudan Underground Mine State Park, a park that Bakk had a major role in creating. Completing the build-out of the park is clearly among the projects that Bakk sees as part of his legacy in office. He brought members of the capital investment committees to the park this past fall to show them the possibilities.
Funding construction of a new medical school facility for UMD is another high priority, he said.
He said the U of M’s regents recently listed the$12 million project as a priority. While UMD already has a medical school, Bakk said a new facility located near Duluth’s downtown healthcare district could help address the region’s chronic shortage of physicians. “It could be a great feeder system for Essentia and St. Luke’s,” he said. “The benefit of having a medical school in a rural area is that they’re more likely to stay in the area.”