This past week not only brought the start of the spring legislative session, but also the announcement of retirements. As of January 15th, two members of the State Assembly have publicly announced that they will not be seeking another term, Representative Dean Knudson and Representative Dave Heaton.
Rep. Dean Knudson has served as Assemblyman of the 30th Assembly District for the past 5 years. Since his election, he has served on numerous committees including the Joint Committee on Finance and as vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Review of Administrative Rules. The representative announced his retirement with the following statement:
“The time-honored American principle of rotation in office makes our government stronger by encouraging citizens to step up to serve in public office, bringing their experience and perspective to our system of self-governance. It has been an honor and privilege to represent the people of the 20th District in the Assembly. I am very grateful to all those who worked and sacrificed to support my service in legislature.”
Rep. Dave Heaton was amongst the newest members of the Assembly, serving only one term in office. Rep. Heaton’s election race was one of debate after he won by less than a 100 votes to incumbent Mandy Wright in the 85th Assembly District. Over the past year, Rep. Heaton made a name for himself in office passing legislation to reform the food share program as well as his support for the Justice for Children bill package. The Representative made the following statement in regards to his retirement:
“Representing the people of the 85th District is one of the greatest honors of my life and I recognize how fortunate and blessed I am that the people selected me for such an important duty.”
With the end of session only a few months away, many predict there will be more retirements to come. A majority of the legislature joined during the 2010 election cycle when the Republican Party took the majority in both houses as well as the Governor’s office.