Local Republican Women Discuss Getting Republicans And Women Elected
By Betsy Love on Tue 02/16/2010 08:07
Republican Women of Sheridan County had their first meeting of 2010 last night at the Sheridan Senior Center. The speaker at the meeting was Wyoming GOP Chairman, Diana Vaughn, who spoke with the group about the importance of getting not just Republicans elected, but more women Republicans as well:
Vaughn mentioned that although women in Wyoming tend to vote in higher numbers than men and are often very politically active, they still only represent a small fraction of the state elected officials.
The meeting of Republican Women, which includes several men, also discussed the looming state gubernatorial race. The speakers at their next meeting on March 11th will be the Republican primary contenders for governor.
You can get more info at www.wfrw.vcn.com
The Sheridan County Republican Caucus and County Convention Held This Weekend
By Betsy Love on Mon 03/15/2010 07:00
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Sheridan County Republicans held a precinct caucus and a county convention this weekend in order to elect a caucus chairman, vote on party resolutions, and elect delegates for the State Convention and adopt the county platform. Cathy Poleman, who is the Chairman of the Sheridan County Republicans, says the resolutions and platforms committees had quite a lot of work cut out for them.
Before these resolutions become public and official, they must go through the state processes and become adopted. The elected delegates who will represent Sheridan County at the state convention, Cathy says, include our four state representatives from Sheridan County
This year, the Wyoming Republican State Convention is in Sheridan and will take place on Thursday, April 29th-May 1st, at the Holiday Inn.
Also coming up is the annual Reagan Day Dinner, which will also be at the Holiday Inn in Sheridan on March 20th. Liz Cheney will be the guest speaker at the Reagan Day Dinner, but she will also be the guest on public pulse this Tuesday.
Speaker Of The House Colin Simpson Was In Sheridan Thursday To Talk Budget Session
By Ron Richter on Fri 03/12/2010 00:05
Wyoming House of Representatives Speaker Colin Simpson
Its been one week since the Wyoming State Legislature wrapped up the 2010 Budget Session in Cheyenne. Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives Colin Simpson stopped by the Sheridan Media studios Thursday to discuss some of the issues from this year's session. Sheridan Media's Ron Richter has more.
Most local government's around Wyoming had hopes that the Legislature would tap into the Legislative Reserve Account to allow more funding to be distributed to municipalities around the state. Speaker of the House Colin Simpson comments on why the reserves were left alone.
Currently there is approximately $700 million in the Legislative Reserve Account. The budget will go into effect July 1st of this year, and Simpson says the Legislature will convene some six months later to determine if there are any changes that can be made.
Simpson said that education funding, Medicaid and the retirement system were three major reasons why legislators choose not to use any of the reserve funds this session. Be sure to join us Monday, where we'll hear from Simpson on a bill that he co-sponsored that ultimately died in the Senate.
Democrats pan campaign finance system
By EJ Conzola II - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, March 14, 2010 12:00 am
Politics should not be a zero sum game, in which one side has to lose if the other is to win, a former and possibly future candidate for elected office told Natrona County Democrats on Saturday.
The nation's elected leadership needs to "focus on problems, instead of the opposition," former U.S. Senate candidate Chris Rothfuss said in his keynote speech to the Natrona County Democratic Convention.
Members of both political parties should approach contentious issues by looking at what will be best for the American people, said Rothfuss, who lost his 2008 senate race to Republican Mike Enzi.
Unfortunately, "the people that we have in Washington, D.C. just aren't good at that," he said.
Although Rothfuss called on both parties to put aside partisanship and work for the good of the people who elected them, he was -- not surprisingly -- especially critical of Republicans, whom he took to task for "looking for ways to shoot down ideas."
Despite the obstructionism of the GOP and the current focus on the struggling effort to reform health care, the administration of President Barack Obama has accomplished a great deal, particularly in the area of foreign policy, Rothfuss said.
"The rest of the world looks on us as an ally again," said Rothfuss, a chemical engineer who worked as a science advisor for the U.S. State Department from 2003 to 2006.
He criticized the current campaign finance system, which he said gives large campaign contributors greater access to elected officials than the average citizen.
Rothfuss also criticized the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to spend freely on political campaigns, but stopped short of criticizing the five justices responsible for the ruling, saying they were following the Constitution as they saw it.
Rothfuss also said he is contemplating a return to politics with a bid for a state Senate seat if state Sen. Mike Massie runs for governor.
Former Wyoming Secretary of State Kathy Karpan also scored the way campaigns are financed during her luncheon speech. Karpan, who has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for governor and U.S. Senate, noted the costs of campaigning have spiraled upwards in recent years.
"There's something wrong with that picture," she said.
Karpan praised the fundraising strategy employed by the Obama campaign, which raised a great deal of money through small contributions from many donors, largely through the Internet. Because the money came from a large number of people, rather than a small circle of large contributors, Obama is less beholden to those wealthy backers, she said.
"Broad-based support meant freedom," she said.
While the speeches by Rothfuss and Karpan were the highlights of the day for many Democrats, most of the convention centered around the drafting of a party platform for the 2010 election and the selection of delegates for the state Democratic convention, which will be held May 14 and 15 in Casper.
Posted in Local on Sunday, March 14, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 6:05 pm.
Measure still needs formal approval at council meeting
City gives initial approval to street extension
By PETE NICKEAS - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:00 am
Casper City Council members have informally agreed to connect 21st Street to Wyoming Boulevard.
Five of the eight members in attendance at a work session this week voted for the proposal, which calls for the road to be built in three segments between Missouri Street and Wyoming Boulevard.
Three members voted against the plan, reflecting their growing concern about the city's lagging tax revenues.
There are two missing segments between Missouri Street and Wyoming Boulevard: One stretches from Missouri to Kingsbury Drive, and the other is a shorter portion between Walsh Drive and Wyoming Boulevard. Under the construction proposal, the segment between Missouri and Kingsbury would be broken into two shorter sections, the first running from Missouri to Rustic Court and the second completing the link to Kingsbury.
The city is obligated to pay for half of the road construction for about half of the first segment, City Manager Tom Forslund said.
Engineering estimates had pegged the city's cost as high as $450,000, so when the city's cost came in at about $200,000, it was a relief to city council members and city planners. The city didn't budget for the project, as city planners didn't think construction would begin this year. That road segment will be paid for with cost savings from other projects.
Anything past the city's obligation -- finishing the first segment or doing the entire second segment -- is optional. To build 21st Street out to Wyoming Boulevard, the city would have to pay the entire cost of the construction now and hope to recapture that outlay from developers in the future, Public Services Director Gary Clough told the council during Monday's work session.
Those costs add about $600,000 to the total project price, though the city would also be able to "recapture" 75 percent of the construction costs of the road from future developers who might build in the area to be served by the road, according to Clough.
The city has saved money on other projects, and construction costs on the other two segments could also be paid for with those savings, Clough said.
Still, council members were hesitant to commit money not knowing what next year's budget will look like. Ward 2 Councilwoman Stefanie Boster suggested waiting until after the budget is approved in June to consider the project.
Forslund said the developer building the first portion will begin construction when the weather is better, and the city needs to decide now if it wants to do the entire project. Otherwise, the city will have to seek bids and do the construction work separate from the development work.
Debate between council members focused the city's poor finances and the need to alleviate the pressure on 15th Street, which is near its capacity, according to Forslund.
Ward 3 Councilman Maury Daubin voted against the measure, saying the time wasn't right to commit money without knowing more about the city's financial future.
Council Vice President Paul Bertoglio disagreed, citing low construction costs and the need to open up the area.
"I think we should, given the cost savings we have," said Bertoglio, who lives in the ward where the construction is scheduled. "At some point we're still on the lam for this. The cost is probably going to double, and the opportunity [is there] to get this done so much cheaper. We need to keep in mind that we have to start some of this interconnection ... 21st [Street], that's going to become a major arterial at some point."
Reach city reporter Pete Nickeas at pete.nickeas@trib.com or (307) 266-0639. Read more about Casper politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/redtape
Posted in Local on Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 6:03 pm.
Ten groups seek city money
By PETE NICKEAS - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 12:00 am
Ten organizations are seeking money and services from the city of Casper during the spring round of "community promotions" funding.
That money is doled out by the Casper City Council to any group the council deems worthy of funding or help from the city. Some groups ask for police officers to patrol crowds. Others seek to have facility fees waived, and others ask for cash. Some ask for all three.
The council first decides if groups are worthy. Any group receiving a majority vote advances to another round of voting, where council members decide how much help they want to give. Groups receive an average of what the nine members think they should get.
Of the 10 organizations seeking funding, Special Olympics Wyoming is the only one that applied for and received money earlier this budget year.
Special Olympics Wyoming was supposed to submit two applications in July for the round of money disbursed in the fall -- one application for a winter 2010 event and one for a fall 2010 event, according to Debbie Huber, one of the group's volunteers.
The Casper City Council awarded the group more than $4,000 in October -- $1,750 for city facilities, $510 in in-kind services, and $1,944 of a $4,000 request for cash. That will be used for the fall 2010 event.
Since the group was late with its Winter 2010 application, the event has already passed, and the group is now seeking a $6,000 reimbursement for money it already spent on ski lift tickets.
Also seeking money is the 12/24 Club, a nonprofit organization that sponsors anonymous meetings for addicts. Though the group didn't receive any community promotions money in the fall, the city council did award it $250,000 in August to help with construction costs for its new building.
The 12/24 Club's request is for $5,000 in cash and $500 for facilities and in-kind services for a Recovery Rally. That event is expected to turn a profit, even without the city funding, according to the group's application.
When the council approved the fall round of community promotions funding, it gave out $173,000 -- $52,000 in cash, $72,000 for city facilities, and $48,000 of in-kind services. The successful groups had sought a total of $355,000. The council awarded just 23 percent of the cash the groups requested and honored nearly all the requests for facilities and in-kind services.
That funding was approved at the beginning of the economic downturn the city is now experiencing. Revenue from the statewide 4-cent sales tax, which pays for community promotions funding and the day-to-day operations of the city, is down nearly 25 percent.
The council members will fill out vote sheets that will be compiled and presented at the March 25 work session. Formal approval of any money could come at a subsequent meeting.
Reach city reporter Pete Nickeas at pete.nickeas@trib.com or (307) 266-0639. Read more about Casper politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/redtape
Posted in Local on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 5:07 pm.
Family supports Freudenthal's decision not to challenge term limits law
Wyoming gov rules out third term
By JOAN BARRON - Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Friday, March 5, 2010 12:00 am
Dave Freudenthal, Wyoming Governor
CHEYENNE -- With his wife Nancy at his side, Gov. Dave Freudenthal formally announced Thursday that he will not be a candidate for re-election this year.
"This decision is not made lightly but has strong support from my family," said the two-term Democratic chief executive.
"I suspect this statement comes as no surprise to most observers of the Wyoming political scene," he added.
If he had decided to run, Freudenthal would have had to challenge the state's term limits law, which observers said was no barrier given that the Wyoming Supreme Court already overturned term limits for legislators.
The governor said his decision began to gel over Christmas when he sat down with his wife and children. The children were uniformly opposed to him running again, he said.
Nancy Freudenthal said it was very much a family decision.
The job is demanding on a governor's personal and family life, she said.
"It was hard for me not to blurt out what I thought," she said.
Nancy Freudenthal's appointment to a federal judgeship is awaiting a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate.
A recent Republican poll gave Freudenthal an extremely high approval rating.
The governor earlier announced he would commission a poll on various issues, a move that briefly fueled speculation he would run again.
Freudenthal said Thursday that the pollster was paid for the survey, but it wasn't done.
"We'll turn the stuff over to the (Democratic) party and let them work with the pollster, what questions they want," he said.
Freudenthal said he does not know what he will do when he leaves office in 10 months.
He declined to talk about any "legacy."
"We don't do that legacy stuff," he said during the news conference. "This legacy stuff is incredibly dangerous."
"I would like to see us actually do a carbon capture/sequestration process. I would like to see the GE process work. I would like to see the NCAR thing get going," he added.
But these projects, he said, are part of a process and will move forward regardless of who is governor.
Lawmakers from both parties were positive about Freudenthal's performance during seven-plus years as chief executive.
Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, who lost to Freudenthal in a close race for governor in 2002, said he respects the governor's decision and knows it was not an easy one.
The governor, he said, has tried to minimize the impact on the state of the federal government's handling of wolves and sage grouse.
"I think he really tried to represent Wyoming against the intrusiveness of the federal government, and he did that," Bebout said.
"When we had huge energy development, he did the balancing act," said Sen. Kathryn Sessions, D-Cheyenne.
"He tried to preserve those things that we hold most dear in this state -- our water, our air, our mountains, our open space. He was the balancer between all of that and industry and money and all the stuff on the other side," Sessions said.
"He did so much for our kids, for juvenile justice, recognizing that what was happening to young people was not acceptable and using his office to make the improvements that needed to be made," she added.
Rep. Roy Cohee, R-Casper, a former House speaker, said Freudenthal has done a good job.
"In the last eight years we've been fortunate, and I think we have done a fair job investing, saving and spending appropriately," Cohee said.
Rep. Rodney "Pete" Anderson, R-Pine Bluffs, said Freudenthal has been a very popular governor.
"But he's obviously had a free ride with the financial part of the state," Anderson said. "I don't know why he'd want to go back in when it'd be such a problem after that (success)."
House Speaker Colin Simpson, R-Cody, a probable candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, said Freudenthal has been a fine governor.
"And I applaud his love for the state and the way that's been portrayed during his tenure as governor. He'll be remembered as, I think, a well-liked, popular governor who's led Wyoming through some exceptional times," Simpson said.
Freudenthal said he told his staff Thursday morning that his decision to close one door is "kind of bittersweet."
One one hand, he said, "I'm 59, I've got a great life ahead of me, and things look good."
"On the other hand, it's been a grand adventure, and you hate for it to end," Freudenthal said.
Contact capital bureau reporter Joan Barron at 307-632-1244 or joan.barron@trib.com
What they're saying
Here are some comments about Gov. Dave Freudenthal's announcement that he won't seek re-election:
"He tried to preserve those things that we hold most dear in this state -- our water, our air, our mountains, our open space. He was the balancer between all of that and industry and money and all the stuff on the other side."
-- Sen. Kathryn Sessions, D-Cheyenne
"Anybody that has dedicated that many years to public service needs to be commended and respected for the sacrifices that they’ve made in the public service."
-- Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Micheli
"He'll be remembered as, I think, a well-liked, popular governor who's led Wyoming through some exceptional times."
-- House Speaker Colin Simpson, R-Cody
"He left the state in a good place. ...I have said publicly many times that I think Gov. Freudenthal's done a pretty good job for Wyoming."
-- Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Mead
"It's obviously going to be a new era for the state, and it's also a loss for the state, too. He's done a magnificent job for eight years."
-- State Sen. Mike Massie, D-Laramie
"Thank you to the governor and certainly to Mrs. Freudenthal for their service to the state of Wyoming. He's been in that office going into his eighth year, and I know full well the toll that takes on both the governor and his family."
-- State Auditor Rita Meyer, GOP gubernatorial candidate
"Dave has been a good spokesman and salesman for our state. His fiscal conservatism and his recognition of the power of the Legislature has resulted in good things getting done and bad things from happening. Assuming the rest of the year goes well, Dave will be pleased with his legacy, and I thank him for his service."
-- U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo.
"Gov. Freudenthal has created a lasting legacy for our state. There's no question that Dave always puts Wyoming first. We've enjoyed a great working relationship, and our state has excelled under his leadership."
-- U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.
Posted in Govt-and-politics on Friday, March 5, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 2:39 pm.
sumber:
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-www.trib.com
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