Sen. Kari Dziedzic brings family and political history to biggest leadership role yet

When incoming Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic was deciding where to attend college, her good grades won her admission to the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology. She majored in mechanical engineering.

"I was good at math and music and the sciences and I got in, so I went with it," the Minneapolis DFLer said on a recent afternoon as she moved into her new corner office across the street from the State Capitol. She was decorating the space with thrift-store finds and a damaged Dziedzic Av. street sign that she salvaged from her brother's garage.

Dziedzic (pronounced DEED-zick) never did work as an engineer. But her choice of a college major demonstrated the traits she's known for to this day: serious, pragmatic and smart. She'll need all that when she leads the DFL Party's 34-33 majority in the upcoming legislative session — as the first Democratic woman to serve as majority leader, and the second woman in the Senate's most powerful post.

Along with Gov. Tim Walz and House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, Dziedzic will shape and shepherd the agenda at the Capitol, owing to a surprising Democratic hat trick in November: control of the House, Senate and governor's office.

The specifics of the DFL agenda won't be unveiled until Wednesday. But Dziedzic said she's certain voters are tired of gridlock.

"We're just going to try to get things done," she said.

She said the DFL will move quickly in January to protect abortion access. Another priority will be what she called "helping Minnesotans afford their lives": money toward education, environmental protection, affordable housing and child care.

Cathy Lawrence, chief development officer for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, calls Dziedzic a trustworthy straight-shooter who will work across the aisle. "She really has a blue-collar mentality," Lawrence said.

Dziedzic may not yet be a household name around Minnesota, but the senator comes with a legacy in DFL politics in Minneapolis. The public service career of her father, the late Walt Dziedzic, spanned nearly five decades as a police officer, City Council member and Park and Recreation Board member. He's credited with shaping northeast Minneapolis into a formidable citywide force.

As the first of Pat and Walt Dziedzic's six children, Dziedzic got her start in politics at home. The senator shares her father's work ethic, commitment and negotiating skills, if not his blustery outgoing personality. She remembers meeting Vice President Hubert Humphrey, whom she said her father worshiped.

"It was always, 'How can we help people? How can we make lives better for people?'" she said.

As she was graduating from the U, Dziedzic interviewed for engineering jobs before getting pulled into the world of ground-level politics on former Minneapolis City Council President Lou DeMars' 1990 congressional campaign. Lawrence, then a strategist for the campaign, was there when Dziedzic knocked on the door.

"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, a very smart, politically savvy person is here to help,' " Lawrence said. "We were a really small campaign and all of us had to do everything, and she was willing to do anything."

DeMars lost, but Paul Wellstone was elected to the U.S. Senate. He hired Dziedzic as the scheduler in his Washington office while Lawrence worked for him in Minnesota.

"She's always had the political skills and she's a hard, hard worker," Lawrence said. "Every time I showed up to go door-knocking, she was already there."

Dziedzic said that Wellstone, who died in a plane crash in 2002 while running for reelection, remains a hero to her.

"He just had such energy and enthusiasm and was able to just draw people in and have conversations with people that didn't agree with him," she said. "But they were able to find common ground and get things done."

Dziedzic is a careful speaker, not one to seek attention. She's considered approachable, detail-oriented and in touch with the northeast Minneapolis district where she has lived most of her life, and she still attends the Catholic church she grew up in.

When she touts an achievement, it's about wanting to continue working across the aisle with Republicans and how many bills have been unanimously approved by the 67-member Senate, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We got a lot done to help Minnesotans," she said. "And hopefully they'll work with us and we'll help Minnesotans afford their lives. We're here. We're excited to get to work. We're ready to lead."

Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake, said that while he and Dziedzic represent districts that are polar opposites, they've worked together on housing issues, including an eviction moratorium during the pandemic.

"I have a ton of respect for her," he said, adding that she's "constantly meeting with her constituents to understand their point of view."

Draheim said he wasn't a fan of the eviction moratorium and that Dziedzic disliked parts of it as well, but they did what they could.

"In the situation we were in, I think we worked well together," he said.

After her stint in Washington with Wellstone, Dziedzic returned to Minnesota and got a job as executive assistant to Minnesota North Stars owner Norm Green. It was the start of a difficult chapter in her life: in March 1993, Dziedzic filed a lawsuit against Green, saying he had forced her and others to endure verbal and physical abuse of a sexual nature.

The suit alleged that Green kissed female employees and commented on their physical appearance and makeup. Several times, according to the suit, Green slapped Dziedzic as she was about to eat, warning her that she would get fat and be less attractive.

At the time, Green said his behavior had been "misunderstood or misinterpreted." The parties settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

Dziedzic said she spent a lot of time trying to put the lawsuit behind her, but that it also grounded her. In her leadership role, she said it's important to make sure "that people feel welcome coming to work [and] feel respected."

Until her election to the Senate in 2012, Dziedzic spent much of her career working behind the scenes in government and campaigns. She worked on Mike Freeman's 1998 gubernatorial campaign and then as an aide to Hennepin County Attorneys Freeman and Amy Klobuchar, Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein and former DFL Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller.

"She knows politically the ins and outs of a lot of things," Stenglein said. "She was a great asset. I could send her to any meeting and she'd represent me very well. She was very well liked and she knew everybody."

When Pogemiller left the Senate to take a job in Gov. Mark Dayton's administration, Dziedzic ran for his seat and won a special election in January 2012. She has been re-elected four times since, including in November, when she ran unopposed.

Asked what advice her father might have offered her, Dziedzic said: "Just listen to people. Keep your head down and do your work. People want you to get things done."