David Joseph Tomassoni ( ; December 5, 1952 – August 11, 2022) was an American politician who served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1993 to 2022. A former member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party. As of 2022, it controls four of Minnesota's eight U.S. House seats, both of its U.S. Senate seats, the Minnesota House of Repr ...

(DFL), Tomassoni left the party to become independent in November 2020 and joined the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus. Tomassoni chaired the Senate Economic Development Committee from 2007 to 2010. He then chaired the Environment, Economic Development and Agriculture Finance Division, co-chaired the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources
LCCMR
, and chaired the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) four times. Tomassoni was also vice chair of th
Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission.

Early life, education, and career

Tomassoni was born in

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 census. According to 2021 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 15,279, making i ...

. He graduated from Chisholm High School in

Chisholm, Minnesota Chisholm is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,976 at the 2010 census. The city has been called "The Heart of the Iron Range" due to its location in the middle of the Mesabi Iron Range. History The city ...

and received a BSBA from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. Tomassoni played professional hockey in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for 16 years and for the

Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

at the

1984 Winter Olympics The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games (Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: ''XIV. Zimske olimpijske igre''; Cyrillic: XIV Зимске олимпијске игре; mk, XIV Зимски олимписки игр ...

Minnesota House of Representatives

Tomassoni represented District 5B in the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint ...

from 1993 to 2001. He served as an assistant majority leader from 1997 to 2001.

Minnesota Senate

Tomassoni was elected to the Senate in 2000 and reelected in 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2016, and 2020. He was a

majority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

from 2001 to 2007.

President of the Minnesota Senate

Tomassoni was elected

president of the Minnesota Senate The president of the Minnesota Senate is the presiding officer of the Minnesota Senate. Until 1973, the Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota served as the Senate president. Since then, presidents have been elected by the body, usually at the nominatio ...

on November 12, 2020, in a rare event where the Senate's Republican majority supported a member of the DFL for Senate president. The move was seen as strategic, given that the slim Republican majority in the Senate could be lost if the Senate president became lieutenant governor. That happened in 2018, when Senate President

Michelle Fischbach Michelle Louise Helene Fischbach (; born November 3, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who is the U.S. representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district. The district, which is very rural, is Minnesota's largest congressiona ...

became lieutenant governor after

Tina Smith Christine Elizabeth Smith (née Flint, born March 4, 1958) is an American politician, retired Democratic political consultant, and former businesswoman serving as the junior United States senator from Minnesota since 2018. She is a member of th ...

was appointed to the U.S. Senate. Three weeks after the 2020 elections, when it was determined that the DFL had not won a Senate majority, Tomassoni and Senator

Thomas Bakk Thomas M. Bakk ( ; born June 8, 1954) is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. Currently independent and a former member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, Bakk represents District 3, which includes portions ...

announced they had left the DFL to form their own "Independent Caucus." Republican Majority Leader

Paul Gazelka Paul E. Gazelka ( ; born October 1, 1959) is an American politician and small business owner from Minnesota. A Republican, Gazelka was a member of the Minnesota Senate and was previously a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. In the s ...

welcomed the move and made Tomassoni chair of the Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee in exchange for voting with Republicans on floor votes. This changed the Senate's composition to 34 Republicans, 31 Democrats, and two independents.

Electoral history

Personal life and death

Tomassoni and his wife, Charlotte, have three children and lived in

. He was involved in the insurance business. In July 2021, Tomassoni announced he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.Sen. Tomassoni on figuring out how to move forward with ALS
/ref> Tomassoni died of ALS at a hospice in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, on August 11, 2022.

References

External links

Senator David Tomassoni
''official Minnesota Senate website''
Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Senator Dave TomassoniSenator David Tomassoni
''official campaign website'' * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomassoni, David 1952 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American politicians American athlete-politicians American sportspeople of Italian descent Businesspeople from Minnesota Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players HC Gardena players HC Merano players HC Milano players HC Varese players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1984 Winter Olympics Italian expatriate ice hockey people Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota Democrats Minnesota Independents Minnesota state senators New Haven Nighthawks players Olympic ice hockey players of Italy People from Bemidji, Minnesota People from Chisholm, Minnesota Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Minnesota Presidents of the Minnesota Senate Ritten Sport players