Property Tax
From the Senior Center to the Brew Pub, everyone is rightly concerned and talking about our dramatic property tax increases.
We cannot sustain the current level of property tax increases in our community. We are quickly losing our community character because many of the people that make Jackson amazing cannot afford to live here anymore.
As your state representative, I will:
- build alliances with other Wyoming communities because property tax increases now affect all Wyoming communities. I have the relationships throughout the state to introduce real legislative solutions that will help our neighbors and bring property tax relief now.
- work to expand and increase relief rebate programs. These programs need to be fully funded and ready to immediately deliver relief to those who need it most.
- cap the rate at which primary home assessed values increase. I will work to limit any increase in assessed home values to 5% per year.
- work to enact legislation and/or amendments to the constitution that will cap the increase on your home’s assessed value.
As a Teton Commissioner for 10 years I was successful in reducing our local mill levies. We must continue that fight to keep local mills low and we need fiscally conservative candidates on the County Commission and other local special districts.
Stewardship
We must conserve our magnificent wildlife and beautiful open spaces, while respecting private property rights. We can be stewards of this extraordinary wild place and habitat, while providing affordable housing and navigable roads for our fellow citizens. I am proud of my 25-year service to conservation efforts in and around Teton County.
However, today we face some critical stewardship issues:
- the water quality of our headwater tributaries;
- Wyoming State School Sections uses and ownership; and
- defining future public uses in Wilderness Study Areas.
As your representative in Cheyenne, I will have a seat at the Republican leadership table to ensure we have a strong voice to represent our community values. Currently, we are not involved when critical decisions are made about our wild places. For too long, Teton County has been on the defense with Cheyenne when it comes to land management and stewardship. Using litigation as a tactic is not a solution.
I will bring the same collaborative partnerships that helped keep jets boats off the Snake River, helped secure wildlife crossing on Highway 89, and kept the Bridger-Teton National Forest headquarters right here in Teton County.
Reproductive Health
As a representative, I will work to ensure Wyoming residents have full access to reproductive health services and the privacy they need to make important healthcare decisions with their medical providers without interference from the government.
I believe all life is very important and understand that the right to access reproductive care is a deeply passionate issue for those on all sides of the debate. As a Christian, I also believe each of us is empowered with free will, which is a gift and a responsibility for each individual. We can navigate this with compassion, thoughtfulness, and trust in individuals to make their own decisions.
In 2017, as the Teton County GOP Chair, I led the adoption of “respect and compassion for individual freedoms and choices” as a core pillar of the party’s platform. The Republican Party has a legacy that includes advocating for small government and supporting personal liberties. In the Wyoming Legislature, I will work hard with my fellow Republicans – who make up the vast majority of the legislative body – to recommit to those core principles.
I also believe, as a state, we need to increase support for families, and especially children, throughout the course of their lives.
Behavioral Healthcare
Wyoming has the highest rate of suicide per capita in the United States, this crisis impacts everyone in our community. In recent years, 6 of the 17 Wyoming’s NGO offering behavioral health care have closed their doors. We must do more to support and expand our behavioral health organizations and providers in Wyoming. We need to focus on de-escalation and intervention programs rather than relying on jails and emergency rooms.
Programs and initiatives I will support:
- Ongoing funding for the Wyoming-based suicide lifeline services
- This lifeline is one of the first and most important tools in helping individuals and families in stress to connect with critical resources
- Improving and expanding preventative behaviorial healthcare and early intervention programs
- Permanently funding programs like the Teton County Health Department Prevention Specialist
- Building more capacity for care
- Expand funding for the Wyoming Department of Health so that it can improve and redesign its crisis care and residential services
- Championing greater financial support and better reimbursement rates for accredited and licensed nonprofit programs providing behavioral healthcare
- Remove barriers to telemedicine by permanently authorizing reimbursement
In my time as a St. John’s Health Foundation board member, as well as Executive Committee Board Member with the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, I learned that we are stronger when we work collaboratively to support the programs, NGOs, and institutions that provide impactful behavioral healthcare services. I will bring this knowledge and experience to Cheyenne.
Affordable Housing
We are losing members of our community because they cannot find affordable housing. Nonprofit organizations, school district, the hospital, and businesses around town are challenged because of staffing issues.
One crucial role I can serve as a Republican in Cheyenne is to make sure our affordable housing programs are understood, valued, and ultimately defended. I will be a trusted voice in Cheyenne to protect our community’s self-rule so we can address our unique housing needs.
I will also work to identify other funding sources to support housing initiatives for all Wyoming workers. Options include:
- creation of a state-wide Housing Trust to fund the “missing middle” housing
- expand Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA)’s low-income tax credit financing programs for public-private partnerships and non-profits
- utilize the remaining funding through the American Recovery Act (ARPA) to fund housing projects
I know how to make progress in affordable housing. In my time as a County Commissioner, I led the transition from a County Housing Authority to the creation of the Joint Town of Jackson and Teton County Housing Department. Rather than the County as developer, the new department fosters public-private partnerships and serves as a advocate for developers bringing sustainable housing solutions. An example of this new approach was the partnership at Phase 3 of the Grove, where Habitat for Humanity delivered an incredible project on time and on budget, creating workforce housing for our community in perpetuity.
Wyoming is a wonderful place to visit and to live. We must protect a core workforce to maintain that positive “community” experience for citizens and visitors alike.