Welcome

Dear Viewers:

Hello and welcome to the Website of Rep. Stephen Hartgen, District 23, Idaho House of Representatives. I'm pleased you're taking a look at this page, and hope you'll look at the other pages here. My contact information is below.

I was appointed to fill this seat in the Idaho House in July, 2008 by Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter, following selection by the District 23 Central Committee. I was then elected in November, 2008, by a margin of about 65 percent.

Serving in the Idaho House of Representatives is a great privilege and honor. I am proud to represent District 23 in the 60th Idaho Legislative Session, 2009-2010. We are in temporary quarters at the Idaho Capitol Annex. In 2010, we’ll be back in the restored Idaho State Capitol.

Since beginning service in July, 2008, I have frequently travelled about the diverse and beautiful land of District 23, getting onto the back roads and meeting more people wherever I go. District 23 is about 12,000 miles in size, stretching from Washington St. on the western side of Twin Falls all the way to the Oregon border. We have about 45,000 residents by 2008 estimates, with 35,000 or so in Western Twin Falls County and another 10,000 or so in Owyhee County. Our district has a number of friendly, small communities, an extensive network of roads and ranch trails, an important federal training range for the Air Force and a varied and stable agricultural economy. The district includes about two-thirds of Twin Falls County and all of Owyhee County, a diversified agricultural region of farms, ranches, high desert, deep canyons, high bluffs and the majestic Owyhee Mountains along the Nevada border.

The people of our Southern Idaho are as varied and wonderful as the land. We're hard-working, common-sense oriented and conservative in our values and outlooks. Twin Falls and Owyhee County residents are down to earth, honest and fair-dealing. We love our families, our land, our state and nation. We're immensely proud to be Idahoans and Americans.

If our nation's Founding Fathers could return, I think they'd want to live "Out West," in a place just like District 23. They would recognize many of the values today which they fought to create in the new American nation. And, they would love our respect for the land, our appreciation for the ranching and farming way of life and our hard work and dedication to our communities, schools, churches and civic groups.

Legislators have official Legislative photos taken early in the session. These are also used on the official state websites and in the State of Idaho Bluebook directory.

As deeply-connected as we are to the land, District 23 residents are also open-minded and alert to new ways to do things. Whether it's in agriculture, ranching or business, residents seem to have an abundance of initiative, determination and drive. We're rural, yes, and we're progressive too.

I can't think of a better place in America to serve in public office. Where ever
I go, people are straightforward, considerate and respectful of our government and
of each other. The values we practice in daily life are the same ones we want in
our children and in our community leaders.

I'm also very proud to be an Idaho Republican. This past year, I had the privilege of being a delegate to the Republican national Convention in 2008 and I came away with a renewed commitment to the values of our party. Individual Liberty. Personal Responsibility. Opportunity to grow and succeed. Fiscal Prudence. Keeping our nation safe and secure. Those are values I believe in and want to see our state and nation follow.

It is a genuine privilege to serve in House Seat B, District 23, Idaho House of
Representatives. I trust you'll feel free to contact me at any time, as outlined below, with your issues and concerns.

With Best Regards,

Rep. Stephen Hartgen
District 23
Idaho House of Representatives

Contact Information: Feel free to contact me at any time, either through my Statehouse email, shartgen@house.idaho.gov or at my personal email, Stephen_Hartgen@hotmail.com.
Or you can call me during the legislative session at 208-332-1000 or 1-800-626-0471, or call me at my home, 208-733-5790 or on my cell, 208-420-6761. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can. If you prefer to use surface mail, my home address is 1681 Wildflower Lane, Twin Falls, Idaho 83301 or you can mail me materials during the legislative session at Rep. Stephen Hartgen, Idaho State Legislature, State Capitol Building, Box 83720 Boise, Idaho 83720-0038.