Mead launches campaign for Gov.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

By Ben Cannon

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead has launched an exploratory committee that he called a preliminary step in his bid to be the next governor of Wyoming.

The Jackson Hole native made the announcement last week from Casper, where he lives with his wife and the couple’s two children.

Mead, 46, is from a family with long ties to Teton County and a history of involvement in state politics. He is a grandson of the late Cliff Hansen, a former governor and U.S. Senator. His mother, Mary Mead, who was killed in 1996 in a horse accident during a cattle-drive near the family ranch in Spring Gulch, unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1990.

His brother, Brad Mead, lives in Jackson Hole. The family has relatives in Alta, Wyoming.

Mead is the third Republican to form an exploratory committee ahead of the 2010 governor’s race, but said the move is an all but absolute sign of an imminent campaign.

“I think it is a definite go,” Mead said in a phone interview last week, cautiously adding that his campaign should move forward barring serious illness or other unforeseen issues. “We’re fully prepared and we’re beginning to have staff come on board.”

In recent months, Mead traveled around  Wyoming to get a feel for the state’s political climate and lay early groundwork for a gubernatorial race.
“Teton County’s important to me politically as well, and I have met with some folks there who have been helping me out,” Mead said.

He has named as exploratory committee chair Bill Scarlett, a former chairman of the Teton County Republican Party.

The other Republicans who have formed exploratory committees are current House Speaker Colin Simpson of Cody, and former State Rep. Ron Micheli of Cody.
Simpson, like Mead, is a descendant of legendary Wyoming politicians. His father is former U.S. Senator Al Simpson and his late grandfather was the former Wyoming Governor Milward Simpson.

“It’s sort of the nature of Wyoming politics in that you have some families that have been political for years,” Mead said. “Colin and I are friends and it will make for an interesting race for both of us if he does run.”

The potential Republican contenders, however, do not know whether they will face a challenge from Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat. The incumbent has not announced whether he will run for reelection, and doing so would require convincing the Wyoming Supreme Court to exempt him from a two-term limit for the 2010 election.

A spokesman for Freudenthal said the governor has given no indication of his plans and may not do so anytime soon. He has until the end of next May to decide.
Mead said his own decision to run for governor was made regardless of whether the governor may seek a third term.

“I felt for us and for the campaign that we didn’t want to wait for that decision because I had already made my own,” he said.

Asked if he thought an anti-Democrat tide predicted by some to sweep the country in the next election cycle could influence the governor’s race, Mead observed that Wyoming politics commonly operate outside of certain partisan trends found elsewhere.

“Wyoming is a little bit unique, because as a whole I think Democrats and Republicans alike are much more conservative here than the rest of the country,” Mead said. But it is important, he added, for any governor to form a coalition with Wyoming’s congressional delegations.

While it may be too early to talk about a cohesive platform, Mead said state leadership should work to diversify Wyoming’s economy in order to avoid the slumps associated with the state’s heavy focus on energy and mineral development. He said a handful of high-tech companies in Jackson and Cheyenne’s new atmospheric research supercomputer point the way to new industry for the state.

Mead, a fourth generation Wyoming rancher, served as U.S. attorney for Wyoming from 2001 to 2007. He resigned from the position following the death of U.S. Senator Craig Thomas, whose vacancy Mead unsuccessfully applied to fill. JHW


COURTESY MATT MEAD
Matt Mead, who has traveled Wyoming recently to test the state’s political waters.

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Mead launches campaign for Gov. | Planet JH News Article: General News

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