FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Fargo Republican Rep. Shannon Roers Jones on Tuesday formally announced a run for mayor in North Dakota’s biggest city.

Roers Jones, 45, an attorney and Fargo native, has served in the Legislature since 2017. She will face Mayor Tim Mahoney, who has held the post since 2015, when he took over as acting mayor when then-Mayor Dennis Walaker died after a long battle with kidney cancer.

Mahoney is a general surgeon who says he's a political independent. Mahoney said Tuesday he intends run for re-election in the city’s June election. He ran unopposed in the last election in 2018.

North Dakota law allows legislators to hold local — but not statewide— offices. Roers Jones said she was undecided if she would seek re-election to her south Fargo House seat.

Roers Jones’ most notable legislation was successfully sponsoring a bill in 2019 that repealed the state’s longstanding Sunday business restrictions.

During his tenure, Mahoney has helped lead a multibillion-dollar effort aimed at protecting Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, from chronic flooding.

Dennis Walaker

State Rep. Roers Jones announces bid for Fargo mayor