EVANSTON — The Chamber of Commerce had a strong turnout for its first candidate forum, which brought state government candidates from around Wyoming on Thursday, June 21. A total of 14 of the 18 candidates attended, each of whom answered two questions from the chamber. 

This candidate forum was the first of a series scheduled throughout the summer. More information about upcoming forums is available at evanstonwyo.com. 

Gubernatorial Race

Harriet Hageman (R), an attorney, said she has spent 20 years protecting land, water and civil rights and she wants to reform regulations, fix Wyoming’s fiscal house and establish efficient government. 

Asked what Wyoming’s position should be toward an Evanston ICE facility, she said if it is a good project she would support it, but the community should decide.

Regarding Wyoming’s budget, Hageman said it is the “antithesis of good government” and the state checkbook should be online. 

“The state of Wyoming is No. 1 in terms of the size of our government per capita,” she said, “and we’re No. 50 in transparency. And the two, in fact, are related.”

Mark Gordon (R), state treasurer since 2012, said he wants to make natural resource agencies more efficient, reduce red tape and reorganize economic development. 

Asked how he would encourage economic development especially in Evanston/Uinta County with the Wasatch Front nearby, he complimented the local communities for the renovations and new businesses. He said he wants to help build the foundation for entrepreneurs. 

Regarding budget transparency, Gordon said that, under his leadership as treasurer, Wyoming’s portfolio has been ranked first in the country and third in the world for transparency by the Peterson Institute and he wants to bring transparency and modernity to the state’s budget. 

Foster Friess (R), a philanthropist and businessman, said he is running on the basis of prosperity, freedom and kindness. He added he is very pro-life and has given $250,000 to support the partial-birth abortion ban bill. 

Asked how he would encourage economic development, he said building on existing strengths is important and the nation has grown because of entrepreneurs. However, with the state’s half-billion-dollar deficit, the state has to spend “what’s necessary, not nice.”

In answer to budget transparency, Friess pointed to openthebooks.com, which details federal, state and local expenditures — but Wyoming is one of only three states that has not complied, and he wants to reverse that.  

Taylor Haynes (R), a surgeon and rancher, said Wyoming’s land and mineral wealth needs to be restored to the state and he has fought Hilary Clinton healthcare, among other things. 

Asked what the state’s responsibility should be toward the old Wyoming State Hospital grounds, Haynes said he would want to see what the community wants to do. He said the property should be in private hands and Wyoming is responsible for the buildings’ safety, and he suggested it could be repurposed for community-based mental health services. 

In response to a question about how he would approach education through budget struggles, Haynes advocated university and vocational tracks rather than cuts. 

Sam Galeotos (R), businessman and entrepreneur, said he is pro-life, pro-faith and pro-family and his goals are to control state spending, allow the private sector to create jobs and train youth for jobs. 

Regarding the Wyoming State Hospital, he said he would take the lead of the community in making it useful for economic opportunities. 

Galeotos said of economic development opportunities that growth is never top-down but happens at the local level, based on communities’ strengths and weaknesses.

“We need to quit looking at the state of Wyoming as one square,” he said. 

Bill Dahlin (R), saying he is the only candidate who sells coal, emphasized that Wyoming has never had business diversification. 

“We need to think differently,” he said. 

Asked about his position on medical marijuana, he said Wyoming has one of the highest rates of fibromyalgia and medical marijuana has been found to be the most effective, but there should be safety benchmarks. 

Regarding economic development, Dahlin said the Wyoming Business Council needs to send money places like Uinta County, as 70 percent of the investments are in energy and Wyoming shouldn’t be afraid of diversification. 

Mary Throne (D), a legislator, said Wyoming needs leadership independent of party. 

“We make ourselves a boom-and-bust state,” she said, adding that waiting for oil prices to rise is not an effective plan. 

Asked about the ICE facility, she said the issue brings two of her core principles into conflict: her opposition to a top-down approach and to private prisons. She said she would want to seek different opportunities for the community.

When asked about Wyoming’s education, she said that education should not take a cut based on oil prices, especially as good education drives economic development. 

Rex Rammell (Constitution), a veterinarian, said Wyoming needs control over its land and he would work with President Trump to restore the land to the state.

Asked his position on legalizing medical marijuana, he said he would sign the bill if it were passed by the legislature. 

Regarding economic development opportunities, he said it would be better to compare Uinta County/Wyoming to North Dakota rather than Utah. Citing the 2006-2016 “Rich States, Poor States” report, he said North Dakota ranked third and Wyoming ranked 43rd but suggested North Dakota’s state bank is a strategy for economic development.

Secretary of State Race

Edward Buchanan (R), a Wyoming legislator since 2003, was appointed secretary of state this year. He said his goal is to cut down on regulations and make them more visible to the public. 

Asked what he would do to modernize voting and make it more efficient and secure, Buchanan said he would work to replace aged equipment, strive for 100 percent voter eligibility and oppose mail-in ballots. 

Regarding a formal registration process and voter ID laws, he said there has to be a secure system. 

“If your elections are not secure, then your democracy is not secure,” he said, “and not much else really matters.” 

James Byrd (D), a Wyoming legislator since 2009, said he sponsored a bill (now law) to restore voting rights to nonviolent felons. He also praised Wyoming’s education, saying, “Most of our students don’t leave; they are cherry-picked away from us.” 

Byrd said that, although Wyoming’s voting equipment needs replacing, Wyoming has the best elections in the country. 

He also said he has worked to encourage new businesses and business expansion for the last six of his 10 years in the Wyoming legislature. 

“I am all about not leaving three trillion tons of a stranded asset—coal—in the ground,” he said. 

Treasurer Race

Curt Meier (R), citing his 30-year successful business practices, said he wants to keep Mark Gordon’s legacy going as a social and fiscal conservative.

Asked how he would manage Wyoming’s financial portfolio, he said investing in the stock market can be sound judgment but must be done judiciously. 

He also said Wyoming must get $700 million more out of its investments, as with $3.6 million in savings, Wyoming has only three more years before it “falls off a cliff,” and raising taxes and cutting education are not viable options. 

Auditor Race

All three auditor candidates answered questions about the Wyoming Online Financial System (WOLFS) 12-week payment process and budget transparency.

Jeff Dockter (D) said the auditor’s job is an Information Technology (IT) position, as 66 percent of the $16.7 million budget goes to IT (paralleling his work). 

Dockter said he would speed up and innovate the WOLFS vendor process, open a conversation with state agencies and integrate automation into the process.

He also said he wants to put Wyoming’s checkbooks online, turn to open source funding if funding is not approved and teach high school students how to use the online checkbook. 

Nathan Winters (R), a legislator and Thermopolis pastor, said the state auditor must be a strong and principled leader. 

Winters said the state must pay its bills on time but an automated process would need oversight so it couldn’t be defrauded. He said agency training needs to happen with real-world experiences. He also said people must be informed about the money spent in the state. 

“Wyoming should have been the first to do that (put its checkbook online), but it will be 48th if I’m the auditor,” Winters finished.

Kristi Racines (R), a CPA and CFO of Wyoming’s judicial branch, said the auditor is the chief accountant of Wyoming’s leadership. 

Regarding the 12-week vendor payment, she said the state is not looking at a risk-based model. Further, even with automation, the system must be made more efficient. 

In answer to budget transparency, she said there are too many “coffee cans” that will take a long time to disentangle, and the auditor’s job has more to do with how the money is spent. However, the state’s budget must be transparent.