After eight years crafting policy at the state level, Rep. Laurie Halverson, DFL-Eagan, wants to see those policies through at the county level.
Halverson on Monday announced she will be retiring at the end of her fourth term in order to run for the District 3 Dakota County Commissioner seat currently held by Tom Egan.
Egan announced last week that he will be retiring after 40 years in public service.
“The opportunity is there and I see the need for a strong leader to step in and fill that seat that Tom has served in so well,” Halverson said.
Halverson, of Eagan, has been the lead sponsor of paid family and medical leave efforts in 2020. She helped create the first state regulation of e-cigarettes, pushed for campaign finance reforms and funding for homeless youths during her four terms in the state House of Representatives.
The Minnesota Homeless Youth Act, which began in 2006, was appropriated less than $200,000 a year at the time. Through Halverson’s efforts, funding increased to $4 million in 2013 and has received funding every year she has been in office.
“I took that on because I wanted to be a voice for suburban homelessness,” she said. “Knowing that a kid has a safe place to sleep at night is one of the things I’m the proudest of.”
Halverson is currently the chair of the House Commerce Committee. She is a longtime committee member of the House Health and Human Services Finance Division and Government Operations and Elections subcommittee. She has also served on the Environment and Energy Committee.
If elected, she stands to nearly double her salary. House reps make $45,000 a year; Dakota County commissioners make $82,966.
The hardest part about leaving the House she said, is that she’s leaving during COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s hard to be leaving when we’re not in the building face to face,” she said. “That, to me, is a big loss. That place is all about relationships.”
Public service is in the blood, she said. Her father and uncle both worked as elected officials.
Dakota County is currently the third most populated county in the state and growing. Halverson said she wants to be part of shaping that growth and that her experience at the Capitol will help her make sure the county’s voice is heard.
“We’ve got big changes to tackle,” she said. “We want to be sure we are represented.”
She hopes to replace Egan, who has served as Dakota County commissioner since 2005 for District 3, which includes the cities of Lilydale, Mendota, Mendota Heights and Eagan.
Egan announced his retirement via a Facebook post.
“I will not be running for a fifth term on the Dakota County Board,” he wrote. “Whoever succeeds me will be joining a top notch board and a county staff that is one of the best in the nation. There is an enormous amount of work left to be done. I wish you all the success in the world.”