Schloss to challenge Jorgensen’s reelection to HD 16

Thursday, May 08, 2008

By Sabra Ayres

JACKSON, Wyo. – Joe Schloss, the chairman of the Teton County Republican Party, has announced he will run against incumbent Rep. Peter Jorgensen for House District 16 in the Wyoming State Legislature.
   
Schloss said he plans to formally file on May 15.
   
Jorgensen, a Democrat from Jackson, announced earlier he would seek a fourth term.  Schloss is the first, and so far only, candidate to announce a run against Jorgenson in November.

Steve Duerr, an attorney from Cora, also announced this week that he would be seeking office in neighboring House District 22. Duerr, a Republican, would replace Rep. Monte Olsen, a Republican from Daniel, who is not seeking a fourth term as the representative for the district, which includes Wilson, Hoback Junction, Alpine and northern Sublette County.
   
Schloss said if elected, he would focus to bring political change to the House seat. He said he would work on issues of concern to the district and state, such as solutions to increasing property tax rates in Teton County and across the state. He would also pursue ways in which the state could address the high number of uninsured residents.
  
 “I think as a state, we need to pursue this,” he said. “I think it’s a great travesty that the most prominent nation in world has this problem” with so many uninsured in Wyoming and the rest of the United States.
   
Schloss said as a lawmaker, he would examine the option of “pooling our population's resources to attract an insurance carrier” to provide some sort of state policy.
   
The 26-year veteran of law enforcement said he was also concerned with the impact of illegal immigration on the state. Schloss said Wyoming needs a strong, legal immigrant labor source to help fill the employment needs of the state. This was particularly important in cities like Jackson, which has seasonal work force needs that are not being met, he said.
   
“We’re not getting the number of H2B visas to fill the need,” he said, referring to the temporary work visas issued to foreign workers seeking employment in the United States.
   
Jorgensen has been challenged twice since he was elected in 2003. He was not immediately available Wednesday for comment on Schloss’ announcement.
Editor’s note: Joe Schloss’ opinion column for Planet Jackson Hole will be on a hiatus during the campaign period, though he may appear now and again as one of our guest Op-Ed writers in the coming months.



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Schloss to challenge Jorgensen’s reelection to HD 16 | Planet JH News Article: General News

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