SACRAMENTO – Senator Jim Nielsen, R-Red Bluff, issued the following statement of gratitude to the people he has had the honor to serve as he retires from the California State Senate.

“I am retiring from public service at the end of this year and wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you and farewell.

“I was first elected in 1978. Since that time, I have represented 19 counties in Northern California – from the Central Valley, to the Napa Valley and up through the Sacramento Valley.

“Taking care of you, the constituent, has always been my first priority and the focus of the staff who worked with me to serve you, from issues with the DMV to the EDD, from the Oroville Dam break to the devastating Camp Fire, from budget fights to water rights.

“Nothing has been more important to me in my career than helping to make a positive difference in your life.

“Your support through the many years means so much to Team Nielsen.

“To the many millions of you that I have had the honor and privilege of serving, please accept my deepest and sincerest heart-felt thanks.

“My wife, Marilyn, and I plan to spend more time together, visiting our children and grandchildren, traveling and enjoying life.

“We don’t know exactly what God has in store for us, but we are excited about the possibilities.

“You can be assured that I am not riding off into the sunset…I am riding off into the sunrise.

“Farewell and God bless.”

Some fun facts about Senator Nielsen’s legacy in public office:

• Nielsen is the 23rd-longest serving State Senator.
• Of the 4,465 people who have served in the California legislature, Nielsen is the 34th-longest-serving. That is in the top 1 percent ever.
• Nielsen was elected Senate Republican Leader in 1983, when he was 39 years old, making him the youngest known person to ever hold that office.