State Sen. Tracy Potter is not afraid to stand out.

He stood out last fall when he was elected as the lone Democrat in Bismarck's delegation in the Legislature.

And upon taking his seat in the ornate Senate chambers, Potter overflowed with ideas and was never shy about sharing his opinion about them.

"He was like a lightning bug," said Senate Minority Leader David O'Connell, D-Lansford. "He got up (to speak) more than anybody."

As the session progressed, Potter, 56, quickly became known as an outspoken lawmaker with an independent streak a mile wide. It's a description Potter himself readily agrees with.

"I've been told 'don't speak so much, take your time as a freshman.' I ignore this. I am a full-blown senator like everybody else," he said.

This approach put Bismarck's newest lawmaker in the middle of some of the biggest issues debated this past session.

Early on, he proposed a property tax relief proposal that used state income taxes as the delivery mechanism. After much debate, an almost identical idea was used by the Republican majority in its marquee initiative to offer $118 million in tax relief.

Potter also successfully proposed a repeal of the state's cohabitation law, a ban on unmarried couples living together that has been on the books for more than 100 years but rarely enforced.

"A repeal on that had failed the previous two sessions, and I got it accomplished," he said.

Potter also played a significant role in the debate over whether North Dakota should act now to ban abortion in a post-Roe v. Wade world. As debate on the issue dragged on, Potter stood up and offered a compromise amendment that simply convened a special session if the court decision were overturned. His amendment passed but was eventually removed before the ban passed.

Potter also showed a rarely seen tendency to buck his colleagues on issues large and small if he had a differing opinion. For example, he was the lone dissenting vote on 18 bills, including the popular Red River water supply project and a bill providing funding to operate the governor's office.

Each lawmaker should vote how he or she feels, regardless of how others vote, he said.

O'Connell said Potter could be difficult to control because he had so many of his own ideas and was so independent. Margaret Sitte, Potter's Republican opponent last fall, said his independence is actually a sign that he's out of sync with the district he represents.

"He was out there on a limb so far left of everybody else and he did not mind pushing the (voting) button to be there," Sitte said.

Sitte, a former state representative known for her advocacy on socially conservative issues, said she's considering running again.

Last fall, she lost to Potter by just 53 votes in a district that has long trended Republican.

For Potter, it was the fulfillment of a long-held desire. A Bismarck native who works as executive director of the Fort Lincoln Foundation in Mandan, Potter said he's long been interested in politics. He's also a longtime Democrat, having first identified with the party during the Vietnam War.

Potter, who's married with two grown children, said he decided to pursue his longtime interest last fall because it seemed a good time to be running as a Democrat.

He also said he'd reached a point in his career where he could afford the time commitment of being a lawmaker.

O'Connell said Potter has the intellect and people skills to be successful in higher office or Senate leadership.

But Potter said he has no such ambition.

"I like it when people talk about me for higher offices, but I'm not considering one," Potter said.

He said such a position could compromise the independence that he values.

"I think it would inhibit me," he said.

"It would make me less likely that I could be myself."

(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli @;bismarcktribune.com.)