Albany County Commissioner Tim Chesnut is running against Sen. John Barrasso and Joel Otto for Wyoming’s Senate seat.
Chesnut is running for Senate as the Democratic candidate. Though he is affiliated with the Democratic Party, his hope is for all parties to cooperate with one another in order to have a properly functioning government.
“The government is not working well the way it is now. Both sides need to work together. As senator, I would want to bring the people in the room together,” Chesnut said.
Although he now sits on the Albany County Board of Commissioners, he is choosing to run for senator to bring about a “fresh approach.”
One of his concerns for Wyoming as well as the country is the economy and different energy sources.
“I think one of the main things we need to do is diversify our economy and energy sources. I don’t think we can live off of fossil fuel forever,” Chesnut said. “I think we need to look at Japan and Germany and look into cleaner technologies and energies. We can’t turn a blind eye to the pollution that is happening.”
The country’s debt is also one of his concerns and he believes that cutting military spending and bringing an end to the wars could improve the national deficit.
“For federal spending I think we need to cut military spending by 10 percent. We’ll still spend money on weapons research, but less on manpower,” Chesnut said.
Not only is Chesnut referring to the war in the Middle East, but the war on drugs as well.
“I think we need to end all the wars, most of all the war on drugs. The war on drugs is one that we’ve spent the most money on and it’s one we’ve lost the most,” Chesnut said. “I also think marijuana needs to be legalized. We need to realize that prohibition only creates organized crime.”
Another concern for Chesnut is how much money is spent on political campaigns. Millions of dollars are usually spent on advertising for political campaigns and it is a system in need of reform, Chesnut said.
“The amount of money that is being spent on campaigning is ridiculous. It’s basically buying an election,” Chesnut said. “I’ve spent just over $1,000. I hope people appreciate that I’m not wasting my money or their money and I’ll do the same in Washington.”
*Photo: Albany County Commissioner Tim Chesnut will run against Sen. John Barrasso and Joel Otto for State Senate.
