Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Campaign Phone
(307)222-9019
A Wyoming native and fifth-generation Laramie County resident, I am running to represent House District 9 in the Wyoming State Legislature to work to for better opportunities for people to build lives, families, and careers in Wyoming than were available to me when I was growing up here. This is an opportunity to further build on the community that my own ancestors worked to build. Applying my education in economics, planning, and law to public service, I have previously served, or am currently serving, on the Wyoming State Bar Bankruptcy Section board, the Cheyenne MPO Citizen’s Advisory Committee, and the Cheyenne City Planning Commission. If election I will apply this education and local experience to Wyoming's statewide challenges.
My private law practice serves families who are facing dire financial stress, including escalating housing costs. However, property tax relief should be carefully crafted and targeted to those households who are in greatest need of relief. Property taxes are largely collected based on the very residential property and improvements that create the need for the infrastructure and services that the property taxes fund, especially schools. Because of my education in economics, I am convinced that there needs to be a substantial nexus between the tax base and the need for tax revenue in order to have the best public finance system. The ballot initiative, as proposed, does not meet these standards and will be a net negative for Wyoming.
Wyoming’s legacy of public lands, and the opportunities they provide, are an essential part of what makes Wyoming unique and attractive to many people. The history of establishing Wyoming’s system of public lands means that there is much room for improvement in the distribution and management of those lands to meet constitutional and statutory objectives. Therefore, I believe that carefully considered transactions to better select and manage state land resources are likely appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
Wyoming's public education funding system remains a work in progress. As long as the economy and population continue to change, the funding level for public education must adapt. One issue that has never been fully addressed is whether the public education funding structure meets the constitutional mandate for an efficient system, in addition to the thoroughness mandate.
There is fair, reasonable debate over the extent to which some social services should be publicly funded and whether these programs are core competencies or functions of government. Government should prioritize its core functions. There are a number of publicly-funded social services which are pragmatically needed. I suspect that there are some social services which are beyond the core functions of government. However, a free people may demand these services through the democratic process. There are also some services that satisfy the core functions of government because they protect the health, safety, and property of vulnerable citizens.
