Former DFL Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic dies of cancer at age 62

[dflprincess]

Last edited Sat Dec 28, 2024, 10:51 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.startribune.com/former-dfl-senate-majority-leader-kari-dziedzic-has-died-of-cancer/601199772

Former Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, who came from a famous northeast Minneapolis family and led the 34-member Senate DFL caucus through the landmark 2023 session, died Friday from the ovarian cancer that forced her to step away from her leadership role this year.

Dziedzic, 62, died in a Minneapolis assisted-living facility where she had been staying since early summer, according to a family member. Until the past week, she was in regular contact with colleagues and working on bills for the 2025 legislative session even though her treatment had kept her physically away from the State Capitol throughout 2024.

For much of her career, Dziedzic worked behind the scenes on behalf of other candidates and as a staffer for officials. She was elected to represent Senate District 60 in northeast Minneapolis in 2012, and 10 years later became leader of the Senate DFL caucus shortly after their surprising electoral gains gave the party a 34-33 advantage in the chamber.

Her death means the Senate will be evenly split at 33 members each for the DFL and the GOP when the 2025 session begins Jan. 14.

Gov. Tim Walz, who on Saturday called Dziedzic “humble and dedicated” with an “old-school political savvy,” likely will have to call a special election so voters in her district, a DFL stronghold, can choose a senator for the remaining two years of her term. The seat likely won’t be filled until late January at the soonest.

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