Thomas M. Hackbarth (born December 28, 1951) is a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

politician and former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

. A member of the

Republican Party of Minnesota The Republican Party of Minnesota is the state affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Minnesota and the oldest active political party in the state. Founded in 1855, the party is headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, E ...

, he represented District 31B, which included portions of Anoka County in the northern

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

metropolitan area.

Early life, education, and career

Hackbarth graduated from

Anoka High School Anoka High School is a four-year public high school located in Anoka, Minnesota, United States. It serves grades 9– 12 for the Anoka-Hennepin School District 11. History The first Anoka High School opened in 1904. Classes initially took place ...

in Anoka, and then attended North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park. He has been a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

for the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department since 1983. He is also a retired salesman in the automotive parts industry.Minnesota Legislators Past & Present - Legislator Record - Hackbarth, Tom M
Leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved on 2010-11-26.

Political career

Hackbarth was first elected in 1994 and served one term. He ran again in 1998, was elected, and has been re-elected every two years since then. Before the 2002 legislative

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

, he represented the old District 50A. He chaired the Environment and Natural Resources Committee from 2003-2006. Hackbarth was slated to chair the House Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the legislative session beginning in 2011. The House Republican Party caucus reneged on the chairmanship after an incident on Tuesday, November 16, 2010. On that date, Hackbarth was questioned and briefly detained by police who found him with a loaded gun, for which he had a permit to carry, acting suspiciously in a

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

parking lot in St. Paul, Minnesota. Hackbarth stated he was looking for a girlfriend, he had recently met through an online dating site. Hackbarth is a key proponent of building a new stadium for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. On October 5, 2009, he announced a renewal of the effort to build a Vikings stadium without increasing taxes on Minnesota citizens. The plan proposed a constitutional amendment authorizing the use of revenue from the addition of

slot machines A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

at existing Twin Cities area

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

facilities for Vikings stadium funding.District 48A Rep. Tom Hackbarth announces Vikings stadium plan
Hometownsource.com (2010-11-22). Retrieved on 2010-11-26. Hackbarth lost the

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

for the Republican nomination for re-election in 2016, losing to

Cal Bahr Calvin Bahr (born July 17, 1962) is an American businessman, truck driver and politician serving since 2023 as a member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents the 31st district, in the northern Twin ...

References

External links

Project Votesmart - Rep. Tom Hackbarth Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackbarth, Tom 1951 births Living people People from Anoka, Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Anoka High School alumni 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature