Children 4 Spouse Laura Bakk | Preceded by redrawn district Role Politician Name Tom Bakk | |
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Education Mesabi Range College, University of Minnesota Duluth | ||
Senator tom bakk on the 2017 legislative session
Thomas M. "Tom" Bakk (born June 8, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and the minority leader of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represents District 3, which includes portions of Cook, Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis counties in the northeastern part of Minnesota.
Contents
- Senator tom bakk on the 2017 legislative session
- Senate dfl leader tom bakk on marriage equality
- Early life education and career
- Minnesota House of Representatives
- Minnesota Senate
- 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign
- Personal life
- References
Senate dfl leader tom bakk on marriage equality
Early life, education, and career
Bakk completed his secondary education at Cook High School in Cook, Minnesota, and went on to receive an A.A. from Mesabi Community College and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He is a retired labor official.
Minnesota House of Representatives
Bakk represented District 6A in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.
Minnesota Senate
Bakk was first elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2002 and was re-elected in every subsequent election thereafter. He was the chair of the Senate's Rules and Administration Committee and has also served on the Tax Committee, which he chaired from 2007 to 2010. He previously served on the Rules and Administration subcommittees for Committees and Conference Committees.
After the 2010 election, Bakk was elected by his caucus to serve as the minority leader during the 2011–2012 session. He was the first DFLer to serve as minority leader since party identification returned to the Minnesota Legislature in 1973. After the DFL regained a majority in the 2012 election, Bakk was elected by his caucus to serve as majority leader, a position he assumed when the Legislature convened on January 8, 2013. After the DFL lost a majority following the 2016 election, Bakk was elected by his caucus to again serve as minority leader.
2010 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign
Bakk campaigned in the 2010 Minnesota gubernatorial election. He led in early fundraising among the DFL candidates, raising $146,000 in 2008. He began 2009 with a little more than $131,000. He ended his campaign in March 2010.
Personal life
Bakk and his wife, Laura, have four children.