The Buzz: Vogelheim appointed as new County Commissioner

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Paul Vogelheim, a Jackson businessman who also works with a number of regional nonprofit organizations, was named Teton County Commissioner on Tuesday. He will fill the seat left vacant following the death of Commissioner Bill Paddleford, who succumbed to cancer in July at the age of 56.

In a closed hearing, commissioners voted to appoint Vogelheim from a pool of three names submitted to the board by county Republicans, Paddleford’s party.
The board voted unanimously in favor of Vogelheim, Chairman Andy Schwartz said after the hearing, though he declined to elaborate on what was discussed about each candidate during the closed executive session.

“I will say we are all happy with the decision and can’t wait to get him on board so we can get back to a board of five,” Schwartz said.
Vogelheim, 53, beat out former Grand Targhee Resort manager Larry Williams and former Town Council member Scott Anderson for the position.
In his first interview after he was informed by the board by phone that he got the nod, Vogelheim told Planet Jackson Hole he looked forward to stepping into the public arena, a departure from his duties with organizations like the Boy Scouts of America, Rotary Club board and Ring Link Ranch, a Dubois nonprofit.

He said the timing of the revisions to the Comprehensive Plan, currently in public discourse, inspired him to seek the position.
“In going to public meetings, I felt how important the Comprehensive Plan was going to be,” Vogelheim said. “For me, it’s not about ego, it’s not the drive to have public recognition. I’m honored but it’s more that I felt I had to step up.”
During a special interview hearing Monday, commissioners asked each of the three candidates why he had decided not to run for one of the two board positions up for grabs in the upcoming election cycle.

“I felt there were good candidates who were bringing up the important issues,” Vogelheim said Tuesday.

The new board member, a native of the San Francisco Bay area and a Gonzaga University graduate who moved to the valley in the 1990s, said he favored protecting Jackson Hole’s open space and wildlife characteristics, but also wants to promote affordable housing options for the valley’s workforce. Those two priorities have at times been pitted against one another in the public discourse.

“Keeping this a real community means [social] diversification and keeping the working class here,” Vogelheim said. “The construction folks and plumbers - they’re the ones that volunteer for Boy Scouts, for the fire department. I’m part of that working class.”
Asked how he might carry on a legacy of Paddleford, a fiscal conservative remembered for his disarming wit and common sense approach, Vogelheim said he had “huge shoes to fill.”

“I hope to have his sensitivity and ability to listen to the working class,” he said. “We also shared a love of the open spaces we have. He was out on an ATV or snow machine. I’ll be out hiking or cross-country skiing.”

Vogelheim said the decision to serve as county commissioner would likely sideline his trajectory as a manager for a San Francisco-based international business solutions company.

“I’ll be putting my personal aspirations and security aside,” Vogelheim said. “But this is an important time.”

Courtesy photo
Paul Vogelheim

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The Buzz: Vogelheim appointed as new County Commissioner | Planet JH News Article: General News

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