WYO House of Representatives race questionnaire answers

A questionnaire was sent to the following candidates’ for the 2020 election consisting of these questions: 

1. How should Albany County address the COVID-19 pandemic for the rest of 2020 and 2021?
2. What do you think the role Albany County has in providing free COVID-19 testing and vaccines to its citizens?
3. What is the common ground between Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter? How do we get there?
4. With the state and university budget shortfalls, how will this affect Albany County? What are you prepared to do about this?

Here are each of the candidates responses:

District 14

(D) Trey Sherwood

1. In Wyoming, we take care of our friends and neighbors. This means continuing with safety practices as recommended by the CDC and our County Health Officer until there is a cure for COVID. Into 2021, we should continue to leverage CARES funds to support essential services, access to a safe education, and our local businesses. In addition, students should have a voice at the table as we develop strategies for economic recovery and diversification. As the generation that will be most impacted by the decisions made today, we should work towards a future UW graduates want for themselves and Wyoming. 
2. I believe it is critical for the County, the University and state to work together to provide free, or low cost testing and vaccines. The rising cost of healthcare in Wyoming means that many of our friends and neighbors have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their medical bills. Heading into a recession, we cannot place the cost burden of testing on our graduates, those who are underemployed, or on a fixed income.  
3. In listening, truly listening to both those who have experienced police brutality and those who are called to serve as peace officers, I believe we agree on more than we disagree. Both movements want reform focused on transparency in hiring practices, accountability to the public, more training on de-escalation and mental health. Cops don’t like bad cops anymore than the public does. It will take empathy, healing, and collaboration to create sound reform policies that will benefit both our men and women in blue and those who have been profiled and mistreated based on the color of their skin.
4. Albany County is, per capita, the poorest community in Wyoming. This is due to our three largest employers, UW, the school district and hospital not contributing to the tax base (neither pay sales or property tax). This means Albany County and the City of Laramie already struggle to provide essential services. When elected, I will work towards economic diversification and tax reform that is equitable and transparent to ensure our community has what it needs to maintain safe roads, clean water and emergency services while stabilizing UW’s budget to retain its talented workforce and provide an affordable education for students.

(R) Matthew Burkhart

1. Keeping businesses open and striving for in-person learning should be a priority.  Providing current case numbers and data-driven recommendations to minimize exposure will enable personal risk management decisions.  People need to be kind and respectful towards each other. We must allow business owners to make decisions regarding facial coverings and testing requirements. Any such requirements must preserve individual freedoms and privacy.  Contact tracing is not a function of public health and should be avoided, as should mandatory lockdowns and limitations on private or religious gatherings.  COVID-based restrictions and disciplinary measures related to personal choices, travel and activities should be prohibited.
2. Albany County should protect the health of its citizens to the extent possible without infringing on personal freedoms or privacy.  Regardless of whether testing is free or not, it shall not be mandated for citizens as a matter of course.  Free county-provided testing should be limited to those individuals who are involved in public safety, education and health care.  Vaccines, once proven, should be available to those who are truly in need, but not mandated.
3. Wyoming is the Equality State and we are rooted in the belief that everybody has something positive to add to our community and together we strengthen the identity of America.  We must value the diversity and contributions of all racial, ethnic, and religious groups.  Discrimination against people because of their race or religion should never be tolerated and violence against people, simply because they have an opposing view, is just plain cowardly.  Free speech in a peaceful and lawful manner shall be allowed on public property and meaningful dialog between those with different viewpoints should be encouraged to reconcile differences.
4. Government must be small, efficient, transparent and focused on providing essential services as directed by the State Constitution, while minimizing taxes.  I will work to ensure that UW continues to fund programs that directly benefit Wyoming’s economy and give students the best opportunity for gainful employment.  Maintaining student enrolment is important to local business and Albany County’s tax base.  Expanding professional certificate programs and increasing enrolment in the University’s most popular degree programs attracts students and supports local businesses. Investing in research at UW to improve agriculture, energy and technology businesses has a financial benefit for our county.

District 45

(D) Karlee Provenza

1. People should wear masks, ensure they are socially distanced, and reduce contact with people outside of their close circles. Businesses that have staff with positive tests should formulate a closing and re-opening plan with health officials that protects staff and patrons, and businesses should receive support in doing so so they do not irresponsibly remain open in order to keep money flowing. Business alliances should further help businesses move their services online to help during cold winter months when it’s more difficult to support businesses safely.
2. To be able to solve the human and economic impact of COVID-19, states and counties need to do widespread testing that does not financially burden residents. Albany County officials, as well as state officials, should be educating communities on the importance of testing, how to get tested, and then should be widely disseminating tests for free. This is reliant on funding and support from state officials. The same model of education and access that should be used for testing should also be used for vaccines when an empirically tested vaccine is developed and available.
3. We need to move away from trigger-inducing terminology that amps people up and polarizes us. We all want a government that is transparent and accountable to the people, and that is the first step in moving towards a police-community relationship that harbors open dialogue, trust, and a sense of community that benefits law enforcement and the people most impacted by police. This process must include spaces for communities to share concerns in constructive ways, so law enforcement knows what is expected from them by the communities they serve and so communities have a voice in how they are policed.
4. Albany county’s largest producer of jobs is the University of Wyoming, so our county will suffer from loss of jobs and from a cut in consumer spending to help with revenue given the university does not pay taxes. We can’t cut our way out of this budget deficit. We must raise new forms of revenue by taxing those who can afford to pay for their fair share of state services – large corporations and wealthy people who use Wyoming as a tax haven. Until we solve the core problem of our budget, our university, counties, and towns will suffer greatly.

(R) Roxie Hensley

1. The role of the County Health Department should be to inform the citizenry with the latest scientific evidence, insure that we have the resources to respond to an upsurge in cases should that happen, work to identify and protect the vulnerable and trust the public to do the right thing. There is currently no basis for mandates or enforcement measures. The use of government power to restrict liberty should always be done with grave caution.
2. The County should Continue coordination with the states efforts to provide covid testing and the vaccines to the citizens free of charge.
3. We get there with the olive branch rather than slings and arrows. The rhetoric is so hot on both sides that meaningful dialogue is currently impossible. The discussion has to start from the basis of our common humanity and the realization that we all want the same outcome: justice for all.
4. The budget shortfall is a wake-up call. Albany County’s economic dependence on UW needs to be immediately re-evaluated. We need to do the hard work to truly diversify the local economy so that we are never in this position again.

District 46

(D) Tim Chestnut

1. Albany County public Health Officer Dr. Jean Alias, Albany County Public Health, Ivinson Hospital and Albany County Emergency Management coordinator Amy Binning have plans in place to mobilize the state’s new testing regiment.  As the pandemic continues to grow within the UW population it will be through the leadership of UW, Albany County, and the City of Laramie to monitor and implement the plan. Also, the Cares Act funding distributed through the state should be used to assist local hospitals with increasing need for care.
2. Governor Gordon has authorized the use of Cares Act funding to provide free testing for all Wyoming citizens. Under the guidance of Dr. Alias and the aforementioned entities Albany County has a unique ability in Wyoming, due to the University of Wyoming, and our strong hospital and clinical capacity to serve all “willing” Wyoming citizens to be tested. 
3. The common ground must be equality on human rights, equal justice under the law, and providing law enforcement the necessary tools to be successful. We should all expect to be treated with respect and equal justice in America, but as we have seen this year both minorities and law enforcement have struggled to find success. Wyoming is woefully under invested in mental health and social work professionals especially in rural areas. Too often law enforcement is thrust into domestic situations where an on staff mental health/social worker could deescalate, and free up police resources for more training. It is easy to say “All lives matter” but until we recognize the realities of unequal justice for minority populations, we will continue to repeat the errors of the past century.
4. There is no doubt that Albany County budgets will be affected by the pandemic due to the drop in tourism dollars and decreased sales tax funding. One of the positives of living in a county that does not rely solely on the energy industry we do not experience the boom and bust cycle that Wyoming perpetually faces. Under the leadership of Albany County Senator Chris Rothfuss, the state of Wyoming has allowed the University to invest in our students and the economy with additional stimulus payments. By providing $3,200 in Cares Act funding to students, the strain on renters and landlords has been vastly decreased. By investing Cares Act dollars across the Laramie economy Albany County will be affected far less than other Wyoming counties

(R) Ocean Andrews

1. Wyoming should continue to appropriate the money we received from the federal government for the purpose of keeping people in their homes when their jobs are affected, making sure they can afford food, supporting especially affected businesses, and funding local authorities’ efforts to stop the spread if COVID-19.  The state should not be directly involved in dictating specific response measures. 
2. This is where local governments need to make decisions about the needs of their communities. The role of the state government should be to appropriate the COVID-19 relief funds it received from the federal government to local health authorities and facilities.  If free testing is something that local authorities decide would be the best use for the funds, then that is what they should be used for. 
3. As an entrepreneur and a UW graduate, I know that creating jobs from within is the most sustainable way to grow our economy. Wyomingites are a creative and resourceful people with a lot of good ideas.  One of the main reasons people fail to create their business ideas is they find out how difficult the government can make it to start something new. Large companies constantly lobby for more regulation designed to make it more difficult for the little guy to compete. That needs to change. A low-cost university is very important to Wyoming. To keep it that way, we must make sure that the university is using funds as efficiently and effectively as possible. High quality and low-cost education must be the focus of UW spending decisions. 
4. I think everyone wants justice to be served appropriately. Both groups usually agree that there are good and bad actors within the criminal justice system.  The disagreement usually lies in who we should focus on.  I think to get to common ground, we need more objectivity and respectful dialogue when talking about criminal justice reform.

District 47

(R) Jerry Paxton

1. Albany County just as all other counties in Wyoming is subject to protocols imposed by the State Health Officer.  The County does have the ability to address any conditions that are unique to the county but any deviation requires the approval of the State Health Officer. 
2. Governor Gordon has already made COVID-19 test kits available free of charge to Wyoming residents.  If and when a vaccine is widely available it will be up to the Governor and other elected officials to determine if it is appropriate to pay for the vaccine with public funds. 
3. There can be no middle ground between Black Lives Matter and Blue lives Matter until both sides agree that violence will not be tolerated.  It is imperative that both sides need to clearly delineate their objectives in order to discover if there Is any common ground.
4. Given the current financial situation in Wyoming the University along with all state entities are going to have to tighten their belts and perhaps delay high cost projects until we find a way to balance our budget.  In addition to cuts it will be necessary for us to spend some of our reserves and to explore all possible sources of revenue.  This would include continuing to pursue a deep water port on the west coast to export our clean coal to other countries and implementing or increasing taxes that do the least amount of harm to our most vulnerable populations

(L) Lela Konecny

• No submission