Senator Tom Bakk
On March 20, Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) formally ended his bid to receive the 2010 DFL endorsement for governor. Bakk made his announcement at the St. Louis County DFL Convention.
Bakk said he hopes his campaign slogan of “jobs, jobs, jobs” will stay at the forefront of the gubernatorial race.
“As a carpenter who ran out of unemployment in the 1980s, I understand the stress today’s unemployed Minnesotans face,” he said. “Every Friday in 2010, more than 200,000 Minnesotans receive an unemployment check. A state record of 240,398 unemployment checks were issued January 9, and we’ve reached a point where almost 500 people a week are receiving their last check. Many people are losing their homes, health care or their businesses; this is unacceptable.”
How important is the employment issue to the state? “More than 70 percent of the current budget deficit is from a reduction in income tax collections,” said Bakk. “Until Minnesotans are back to work, our state will not have the revenue necessary to invest in areas that will create future prosperity, such as education and health care.
“Until people understand and accept that everyone must be part of the solution to solving the financial crisis,” he added, “there will not be the pubic support needed to get our state back on track.”
As a candidate, Bakk said, he worked hard to have an honest conversation with citizens. “I know we cannot raise taxes or cut spending enough to address the state’s financial challenges,” he said. “We need a balanced approach that makes getting Minnesotans back to work the top priority but also acknowledges the need for additional cuts and new revenue.”
The decision to drop out of the race wasn’t easy. Bakk ended 2009 with the most cash on hand of any candidate for governor. He also had the second highest number of superdelegates and won the third highest number of counties during the February precinct caucus. He was the only candidate to propose a plan to repay the state’s public schools $1.2 billion lost in the governor’s unallotment cut.
Ellen M. Perrault, Bakk’s political director, said that Bakk would still push for his plan to help fund the state’s schools through Senate bill 2980. She added that he is still a big supporter of Polymet and is waiting for the environmental review to be completed before any more work can be done on that front.
When asked, Perrault said that Bakk hadn’t made up his mind on whom to endorse yet. “He’s back at work, and it’s a busy [legislative] session,” said Perrault.
“I want to especially thank my supporters and volunteers who have put in thousands of hours on the phones, working to spread my message of ‘jobs, jobs, jobs,’” said Bakk. “Our campaign had the delegates to be a factor at the convention, but after much reflection I did not think we could reach the 60% needed for endorsement. Faced with a decision of spending the next month working to earn delegate support or focusing entirely on the immediate problems Minnesota is facing, I’ve chosen the latter and will focus on my work as chair of the Senate Tax Committee.”
Bakk was elected to the Minnesota House in 1994 and has served in the state Senate since 2002. For now, his tentative plan is to seek endorsement for a third term serving Senate District 6. That endorsement will take place during the Congressional District 8 convention May 1st in Hinkley.
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