January 2023 Editorial

Working with Local Legislators

Marshal Albright, Cass County Electric Cooperative president & CEO

As the 2023 legislative session approaches, will a significant leadership change impact the focus of the legislature?

During the 2023 session, there will be 39 new faces in the North Dakota Legislature. In the House, 28 new members, including 24 republicans and four democrats, led by Mark Lefor (Dickinson), newly appointed House Majority leader. In the Senate, there will be 11 new members, 10 republicans and one democrat, led by David Hogue (Minot), newly appointed Senate Majority Leader.

The state is in excellent financial health, with nearly all revenue sources exceeding expectations. Along with a slew of federal money, the legislature will have the challenge of figuring out how to best use the funds.

“All politics is local.” This observation by the late Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, means that even national politics have a local impact, and people care most about issues that directly affect them. Indirectly, this famous adage underscores the importance and value of local politics.

At Cass County Electric, we think it’s critical to develop and cultivate relationships with local legislators because they craft, introduce and vote on legislation that impacts the local business climate, the residents, and the quality of life for our community. After all, our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity, but helping our communities thrive is one of our core values. That’s why we work closely with our local elected officials.

Cass County Electric powers economic development and prosperity by engaging with the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation, the West Fargo Economic Advisory Committee, the Valley Prosperity Partnership, the Barnes County EDC, and the area Chambers of Commerce. As a cooperative, we have deep roots here and listen closely to our members to better understand the community’s needs. Our leadership, board members, and employees live and work here in our community.

We strive to advocate for our community, ensuring local legislators know, understand, and act on the issues important to our area, including workforce challenges, education, childcare, water supply, and support for business retention, expansion, and attraction.

As a practical matter, we recognize that most legislators are “generalists,” yet they vote on a wide range of issues. Their expertise may not include the changing energy industry, so Cass County Electric meets with local legislators and provides guidance and expertise from subject matter experts who’ve been in the energy industry for many years.

Today’s energy landscape is an increasingly complex topic covering not only the industry’s traditional and vegetation management aspects but also encompasses power supply, transmission, engineering, resource adequacy, on-demand availability of power supply, technology, cybersecurity, the electrification of the transportation sector, and more.

Our experts provide briefings and backgrounders to legislators, committees, and staff, and we offer expert testimony for hearings and other legislative or regulatory meetings or gatherings. And because we’re involved in economic development and know local community leaders, we can provide insight into how issues and policies under discussion might impact our region.

Thank you to all our legislators as you craft and pass laws for the good of the state and the constituents you represent.