Primary Voter’s Guide Part 2

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

By PJH Staff

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-With all of Wyoming’s congressional seats open this year, voters can expect to hear a lot of debate on energy development, balancing the budget and protecting the state’s wild, open spaces. Ending the war in Iraq, recovering from a struggling national economy and foreign relations will also be on the table.

Closer to home, several seats in the Wyoming Legislature are also up for grabs. Candidates hoping to represent voters in and around Teton County are focused on more state-specific issues, such as property taxes, attracting affordable health insurance providers to Wyoming and economic sustainability.

Here’s a breakdown of the open seats in the Aug. 19 primary:

Wyoming State Legislature:
The three House Districts – 16, 22 and 23 – that cover parts of Teton County are on the ballot this year. All the seats are for two-year terms. Senate District 16 is also on the ballot. The Aug. 19 primary will elect one candidate from each party for the general election in November.

The district lines wind and weave throughout the county, causing confusion for some voters. Just because your neighbor is in House District 22, don’t assume you are, too. District’s lines were redrawn in 2002 to adjust for growth in the western part of the state, particularly in Teton County. Voters can find out which legislative district they are in by calling the Teton County Elections  office or by asking their precinct committeeperson.

Wyoming’s congressional delegation:
All three congressional seats are up for election this year, and like the state legislative races, the Aug. 19 primary will elect one candidate from each party for the general election in November. Sen. Mike Enzi, a Republican from Gillette and the state’s senior senator, is being challenged by two Democrats, Al Hamburg of Torrington and Chris Rothfuss of Laramie. The seat is a six-year term.

Sen. John Barrasso’s seat, to which he was appointed after the death of Sen. Craig Thomas last year, is also on the ballot. Barrasso, a Republican from Casper, was appointed by Gov. Dave Freudenthal to replace Thomas until the 2008 election could select a candidate to serve out the remainder of the former senator’s term. Barrasso’s re-election campaign is being challenged by two Democrats, Nick Carter of Gillette and Keith Goodenough of Casper, who both hope to serve out the remaining four years on that seat.

Wyoming’s lone at-large Congressional District is wide open with six candidates vying to replace Rep. Barbara Cubin, a Republican from Casper who is stepping down after 13 years in Congress. The Aug. 19 primary will narrow this field of candidates from each party, which in this race, could mean a three-way race on the November ballot since a candidate from each of three parties – a Democrat, a Republican and a Libertarian –  is running in the primary.

Energy rich, but health care sick
Jackson Hole thrives with the help of tourist- and second-home-based economies. In the rest of the state, windfalls from tax revenues collected from mineral and energy development booms have kept Wyoming’s economy growing during a national economic downturn.

But while the western side of the state, including über-wealthy Teton County and the booming natural gas industries in Lincoln and Sublette counties, has relatively strong or growing local economies, the region’s lawmakers struggle with how to increase or continue to provide many quality of life issues – healthcare, childcare, housing, environmental protection – gripping communities in the rest of the state.

Now, with as much as half of the Wyoming Legislature up for re-election this year, many voters are asking – what can lawmakers do to sustain our quality of life, while making improvements for others across the state?

Most lawmakers agree that Wyoming continues to deal with the issues exacerbated by a very large, but sparsely populated Western state, such as access to rural health care and limited workforce housing, a rising issue in communities like Pinedale, 80 miles south of Jackson.

Statewide, about 10,000 children are without health insurance, according to Dan Neal, director of the Equality State Policy Center, a broad-based coalition that focuses on state government accountability in Wyoming.

“There are big problems with the availability of child care here,” Neal said.
The state Legislature last year approved a child care program Neal called a “less ambitious program than what advocates of quality child care would like.”

“Health care is a common issue to everyone,” said Rep. Pete Jorgensen, a Democrat from Jackson seeking re-elections this year. Jorgensen said Wyoming’s health care was “probably the chintziest program in the country.”

Some 60,000 Wyoming residents in a state of 500,000 are not insured, while more are in the category of not having enough coverage, known as the underinsured, Jorgensen said.
His challenger for the seat, Republican Joe Schloss, agrees with his opponent’s assessment of health care coverage in the state.

“Clearly we have too many in the state who don’t have proper health care,” Schloss said. “It’s a shame this state is so wealthy in so many ways but we’ve got shortcomings like this, and we need to address them.”

Schloss said he favors pooling populations, perhaps with adjoining states like Idaho and Montana, to tempt healthcare providers and carriers that might otherwise overlook Wyoming, a state with the population of a single mid-size American city.
The skyrocketing property tax occurring alongside increasing land values is also becoming a hot button issue for candidates.

Jorgensen said he favors “need-based” aid for the elderly and other groups, but opposes a blanket relief program. He said this is particularly a problem in East Jackson, where a number of residents disproportionate to the rest of the county subside on fixed incomes.
Schloss, on the other hand, favors a cap on residential property taxes, and said “we’re on the verge of a property tax revolt” in Teton County.

Charles Stough, a Republican from Pinedale, and Jim Roscoe, a Democrat from Wilson, are both candidates for House District 22, where Rep. Monte Olsen, a Republican from Daniel, is not seeking re-election. Both Stough and Roscoe identified property tax reform as a key local issue facing the Legislature.
Stough said reclamation of impacted natural gas lands, alongside health care and education, are important quality of life issues.

“We need to support the smaller communities in terms of those infrastructural needs,” he said.

Roscoe said the Wyoming Range, which some have said is in danger of a large-scale drilling operations, should be protected and that its preservation is a matter of quality of life. He also said the lawmakers “can do a lot to invest in the research and development of renewable energy technologies,” to help shore against an inevitable bust for the state’s fossil fuel-driven economy.

Legislature 101
Wyoming’s state legislature doesn’t have any career politicians. It is one of a few legislative bodies in the country whose members aren’t paid an annual salary, don’t have an office and don’t have any staff.

When a citizen calls a senator or representative, they use the home phone number listed on the State Legislature’s website. Other than a file cabinet in their committee room and desk on the House or Senate floor, Wyoming’s legislators don’t even have a place to store the stacks of information they accumulate during a session.

While the Legislature is in session in Cheyenne, legislators receive a $150 a day, plus $85 for food and living expenses.

Because they don’t have any staff, the legislators rely on the Legislative Services Office (LSO), which scribe the complex wording of bills and amendments for legislators and provide them with research on important issues. The LSO is equipped to help the candidates, but its assistance can only go so far. Because of this, many legislators have to do research on their own, or must rely on the information provided them by lobbyists and special interest groups in order to become informed on each particular issue.

Is it worth it to be part of a citizen’s Legislature?
There are 60 representatives and 30 senators in the Wyoming State Legislature. Of the 60 members of the House, 43 are Republicans and 17 are Democrats. In the Senate, 23 are Republicans and seven are Democrats.

And while the lawmakers get a per diem of about $150 plus $109 for food and lodging, the job is essentially without a salary, meaning legislators must earn their living outside of state government. Of the legislators currently working, most hold agricultural, legal, social service, education or construction and extraction jobs, according to the LSO. Twenty-two of the 90 legislators are retired.

The non-salaried “citizen” lawmakers in Wyoming are different from other, larger states, such as California, where the legislators are career politicians paid an annual salary.
Dan Neal, the director of the Equality State Policy Center, said the “citizen” component of the Legislature can be a double-edged sword.

“There are not many people who can afford to take one or two months out of their lives every winter and leave everything behind to go to Cheyenne,” he said. “When they are in Cheyenne, they are very preoccupied, and for them to think about  business or family matters in a detailed way is very difficult.”

Sen. Pat Aullman, a Republican from Thayne, decided not to run for re-election this year. Aullman, a house painter from Lincoln County, said the voice of the working class is not adequately represented in Cheyenne because it is too difficult to support oneself or one’s family and honor the time commitment required of a legislator. During her term, she said she could find time for the sessions in Cheyenne, but that traveling across the state to interim-committee meetings took a full day each way, leaving her with little time to tend to her business back home in Star Valley.

“When I got home, I was working to make ends meet, and in doing that, I couldn’t get out and see my people in my district the way I should have,” she said.

Rep. Keith Gingery, a Republican from Jackson, said he can make the schedule and travel of a legislature work, but not without difficulty.

“I have to take all my vacation time [to be a representative,] which drives my wife crazy, because then I don’t have vacation time to take a real vacation,” he said. “Then I run out of vacation time and take leave without pay, which financially can be difficult, but I decided to take that financial hit because I wanted to do this.”

What’s a typical day like for a legislator in Cheyenne?
The state legislature meets for two types of sessions. The budget session, in which lawmakers set state spending and savings guidelines, meets for one month starting in February of odd-numbered years. The general session, in which all other legislation is considered, meets for two months starting in January of even-numbered years.

During the session, legislators who don’t live in Cheyenne typically rent hotel rooms.
The pace of life during a legislative session in Cheyenne is far from relaxing, Gingery said. He said his days begin at around 7 a.m., when lobbyists and other groups want to catch a bit of his time before the start of committee meetings at 8 a.m. The committee meetings last until 10 a.m., when the floor sessions begin. There, Rep. Pete Jorgensen, a Democrat from Jackson, said “you need to be in your seat, in the bathroom or excused … you’ve got to be there all the time.”

The floor session is followed by afternoon and evening committee hearings. 
After that, there are often receptions hosted by lobbyists and interest groups. The events can range from swank affairs with shrimp and cocktails, to “less flamboyant” gatherings hosted by public interest lobbies, Jorgensen said.

“Those are kind of handy to go to, initially, for me, because you get to talk to other legislators who you didn’t have a chance to meet during the day. But after a while they’re bad for you because they have alcohol and bad food,” he said. “You’re best to go home and do your reading for the next day … or go to bed.”

Gingery agreed that receptions were a distraction to his work, but said he tries to make it to one if he knows someone from his district will be there. Otherwise he, too, is at his makeshift office in his hotel room, reading bills, preparing legislation, on the phone with his wife or asleep.

On the weekend, many legislators drive home to be with families, while others may opt to stay in Cheyenne. For some, the legislative session can drag on endlessly. When asked what there is to do in Cheyenne on the weekend, Jorgensen said there is a “terrific symphony hall,” but it only offers one concert each session. Otherwise there are occasional events at the Community College and, he said, you can always “wash your clothes.”

How much influence do lobbyists have in the capital?

Lawmakers have only their own devices to keep them educated about the issues surrounding the avalanche of legislation they encounter during a session in Cheyenne.
“The biggest thing I think we lack is any kind of individual researcher or secretarial help,” Jorgensen said.

Without any staff, each legislator relies on his or her own research, the LSO or information provided by lobbyists, special interest groups and constituents.
Neal said this means citizens can have a lot of influence on the lawmaking process in Cheyenne, but also warned it can be an uphill battle to make your voice heard over that of big industries.

 “The industry lobbyist is there to lobby for the interest of that company or industry,” he said. “They have to produce good information, and they have to be honest about it, because lobbyist that aren’t honest don’t last very long in Cheyenne. But on the other hand, they aren’t obligated to tell a legislator everything that’s important to someone who has a different interest in that bill.”

Neal said these lobbyists can develop long-term relationships with legislators, and said his organization encourages grassroots lobbyists to build relationships with their legislators as well. If the legislator knows that person as an expert on a certain issue, he or she will call them for information when a bill comes up that falls in that person’s field of expertise.

Aullman said she relies heavily on information from the “experts” back home that could provide her with insight on a certain piece of legislation. She also said that even though lobbyists wield a lot of power, especially the agriculture and energy industries, ultimately the “everyday” people probably have the strongest voice.

“There’s not too many times that, especially for high interest bills, there aren’t two sides both there explaining things to you,” she said. “You also hear from your constituents, and that’s what people need to understand, their voice makes an impact on the legislature.”

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Primary Voter’s Guide Part 2 | Planet JH News Article: Cover Stories

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