On Sunday, Feb. 20, State Representative Tony Jurgens (R- Cottage Grove) announced his run for State Senate via a press release.

He will run in the newly formed Senate District 41 which includes Hastings and Nininger Township in Dakota County, parts of Cottage Grove and Grant as well as Denmark Township, Lake Elmo, Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland, Lakeland Shores, St. Mary’s Point and West Lakeland Township in Washington County. “I’m excited to announce my run for Senate in the Senate District 41. I’m going to continue to work hard for the residents in Cottage Grove, Denmark Township, Hastings, and Nininger Township and I look forward to working with the residents in the new areas in Washington County,” Jurgens said. “Now is the time for leadership that will keep our communities safe by supporting law enforcement and enforcing laws to keep criminals off the streets. A record surplus means it’s time to give some money back to people through permanent tax cuts. We know we need to get students back on the right track with transparency and accountability to parents. That’s exactly what I intended to do in the Senate.”

Representative Jurgens took a few minutes Monday to discuss the reasons behind running for Senate for 2023 with the Hastings Journal.

“With redistricting it’s a great opportunity to look at other options. My district that I represent now – 54B – is changing, and it’s not entirely the same neighborhoods and constituents. The new senate District 41 to me just looks like it’s a good opportunity to try something different.”

Senate District 41 includes many of the same constituents that he is already working for plus more than doubling that number from around 39,500 to 89,000. The redistricting takes place at the start of 2023.

Jurgens explained the north and south boundaries of the new district, “The new district shoots between Woodbury on the west and Stillwater on the east. Goes up between the two to Grant on the northern end of Grant to the southwestern corner of Nininger Township is a pretty good sized district for a metro area.”

Potentially changing the title from Representative to Senator is not a big deal to Jurgens.

“That doesn’t really mean a whole lot to me. The job is basically the same between the House and the Senate. There are some differences in culture and how they operate and, and things like that, but the job itself is basically the same you are representing the people in your district. You listen to their concerns. You try to help them, when necessary, whether that’s putting them in touch with the right department or agency within the state, helping move things along or sometimes drafting and getting legislation passed to help them.”

Before the end of this session, what does Jurgens hope to accomplish in the House?

“My top priority right now is to get my bill passed that would eliminate state income taxes on all social security benefits,” Jurgens said. “I’ve been chief author of this for the last four years. With the budget surplus that we’re looking at this year, in addition to budget surpluses in the last several years, I think that this is the time that we finally do the right thing and get that passed for our senior citizens who are receiving Social Security benefits. Minnesota is one of only 13 states that taxes Social Security benefits, and I think the right thing to do is to eliminate that and I think the right time to do it is this session. I hear from people all over the state asking when can we finally get this bill done legislatively. I know that the Senate considers this a top priority for them this session. In the House. It’s a little bit more of an uphill battle with Democratic leadership. I did talk to the chair of the Tax Committee last week and asked if I could have a hearing on that. He indicated that I would get the opportunity but didn’t promise anything and nothing is scheduled yet, but we’ll keep working on it. And that’s something that people can from all around the state can help by emailing their state representative and their senator and ask them to pass that bill.”

Looking at the new district and its demographics, Jurgens understands what it means to represent everyone.

“Demographics are always constantly changing, and I think the this newly drawn district is probably going to be pretty similar to what I’ve represented in the past that has been pretty middle of the road. You have a large number of Democrats and a large number of Republicans and once you’re in office, you represent all of them – not just one side. So that’s what I will continue to do. But, I think that the makeup of the district is probably going to be pretty similar to what I’ve been accustomed to.”

Jurgens was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016. He lives in Cottage Grove with his wife Dawn. Their two daughters and their husbands live in Hastings, and they have two grandchildren. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Southwest Minnesota State University.