Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Following a redistricting process that saw their home district eliminated, District 23 representatives Bill Devlin and Don Vigesaa have announced their future plans.
Rep. Devlin, a 20-year veteran of the N.D. Legislature and former Speaker of the House, has announced his retirement from the legislature once his current term expires on Nov. 30.
Rep. Vigesaa, meanwhile, has announced his intention to run for the House of Representatives in District 29.
Late last year, a new redistricting map was drawn that split District 23 among three separate districts (14, 15 and 29). Devlin's residence in Finley and Vigesaa's home in Cooperstown were encompassed by District 29 when that map was signed into law by Gov. Burgum last November.
The decision to retire was a difficult one for Devlin and his wife Margie, but according to a press release supplied to local papers in his district, one of the key factors in Devlin's decision to retire, "was the knowledge that there are three incumbent legislative candidates with the experience, seniority and legislative positions needed to represent the newly merged [District 29] in the strongest possible way."
During his time in the legislature, Devlin spent several terms as chairman of the Administrative Rules Committee, was the chairman of the Political Subdivisions Committee and the vice-chairman of the Human Service Committee, among others. Devlin also served as a Steele County Commissioner for 13 years.
"I enjoyed the people I served with both in the legislative branch and the executive branch," said Devlin about his time in office. "They were all great to work with and I enjoyed the dialogue we had with the citizens of our district throughout the district. I had good input all the years there from people within the district and I greatly appreciated that."
During his years of service in the legislature, Devlin became known for advocating on behalf of rural long-term care facilities and other rural health funding issues.
"It's always been my position that we have to have long-term care facilities in rural North Dakota," said Devlin. "... I've always felt that people who built the state, when it got time that they had to maybe move into assisted living or some kind of facility, should be in the areas where their family and friends live."
Once an editor of multiple weekly newspapers in northeastern North Dakota, Devlin has long championed freedom of the press and rigorously fought for government transparency and open-records laws.
Perhaps the most clear sign of his dedication to local journalism, was his decision to inform weekly newspapers of his retirement long before the large daily papers could cover the news.
"I greatly appreciated the weekly newspapers in the district, because all of them would run our weekly reports during the session, and dialogue with your constituents throughout the session is vital. They can't get all of their news from the daily paper," said Devlin. "... so I've always appreciated how much support we got from the weekly papers to keep the residents of our district informed on what's happening in Bismarck."
Regardless of the issues he was fighting for, Devlin always had a powerful and respected voice. When asked about Devlin's time in office, Rep. Vigesaa, who served alongside him for years, had nothing but compliments to share.
"Rep. Devlin is one of the most well-respected legislators that we have in our state," said Vigesaa. "... When Bill would get on the floor and propose an issue, maybe to vote one way or another, the body listened. So we're going to miss him very very much."
Vigesaa also expressed thanks to the residents of Eddy and Benson County, who he can no longer serve when his current term expires.
"I have told many of my colleagues that the citizens of District 23 were the very very best to represent," said Vigesaa. "We got along so well over these many years, and I've enjoyed meeting the people as we campaigned and as we continued to serve them throughout these years ... for the people that I won't serve again like in Eddy County and Benson County, I'd just say, simply, thank you very much."
As for what's next for Devlin, he told the Transcript he plans to spend more time with his grandchildren and travel with his family. And just like Vigesaa, he too wanted to thank every resident of District 23.
"I just want to thank them," said Devlin. "It's a humbling experience when somebody puts their trust in you and hopefully I fulfilled what they were expecting. They reelected me a number of times, and I had a great dialogue with them."
Devlin added, "We've done a lot of good things for the state of North Dakota and particularly rural North Dakota, and I'm proud of everything we accomplished."
