Higgins says she won't seek re-election to Hennepin County Board

Hennepin County Commissioner Linda Higgins announced Friday that she won't run for re-election next year and plans to retire when her term ends in January 2019.

Higgins, who turns 67 on Saturday and lives in north Minneapolis, was elected to the seven-member County Board in 2012 from a group of 10 candidates. She represents District 2 in east-central Hennepin County, which includes north and northeast Minneapolis, St. Anthony, Golden Valley, Medicine Lake and part of Plymouth.

"I'm giving this notice now to allow all potential candidates time to weigh their options and for constituents to make an informed decision," she wrote in a letter she posted online Friday morning.

"The issues of concern of this district are as diverse as the people who live here. I'm often struck by how many ways county government is intertwined with our residents."

Higgins is vice chairwoman of the County Board and chairs the county's Housing and Redevelopment Authority. She represented downtown and north Minneapolis in the Minnesota Senate from 1997 to 2012.

In the letter, she listed several of her proudest accomplishments, including building the new Webber Park Library and North Market grocery store. She also noted community works projects on Penn Avenue N. and Lowry Avenue NE., and a new human services office in north Minneapolis.

DAVID CHANEN