Wyoming state senator mulls political future
By JEREMY PELZER - Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010 1:00 am
CHEYENNE -- Whatever state Sen. Mike Massie’s political future is, it won’t include a fifth term in the Wyoming Senate.
Massie, a tall, bearded 16-year Senate veteran, said Wednesday that he won’t be running for re-election this fall. However, the Laramie Democrat said he’ll decide by the end of the month whether to run for statewide office, such as state superintendent of public instruction or governor.
"Sixteen years (in the Senate) is sufficient," Massie said. "I don't want to be hanging around longer than I should be. And it's time, after 16 years of 60-hour work weeks, to hand the ball off to somebody else."
Already, at least two Democrats are vying to succeed Massie: Laramie Mayor Jodi Guerin and 2008 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Chris Rothfuss.
Guerin, whose second two-year term as mayor ends this year, said that if elected, she would focus on economic development, workforce training and improving Wyoming's inadequate child-care system, among other issues.
"I think there are some good opportunities to advance causes of the city of Laramie on the state level -- which is something that I'm interested in doing," Guerin said. "And I also think that there are some opportunities to do things that are good for the whole state as well."
Guerin and her husband John own and run the Coal Creek Coffee Company in Laramie.
Two years ago, Rothfuss, a chemical engineer, former diplomat and University of Wyoming international studies instructor, handily lost the U.S. Senate race to incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., by a 3-to-1 margin.
Since then, Rothfuss said, people from both parties have suggested he run for the state Legislature.
"I think this is a good year for that," Rothfuss said. "It seems like it's a good place to get some legislative experience, but also to really effect some change in some of the objectives that I was looking for when I was running for United States Senate."
One of those objectives, he said, is to help Wyoming benefit more from its energy industry -- from researching coal liquification and carbon sequestration technologies to finding more profitable ways to export energy than simply shipping out coal, oil and gas.
Massie said both Guerin and Rothfuss have spoken to him about their candidacies.
"They're both really qualified individuals," he said. "Either one would do a fine job in the state Senate."
Contact capital bureau reporter Jeremy Pelzer at (307) 632-1244 or jeremy.pelzer@trib.com. Read more about Wyoming politics at http://tribtown.trib.com/wypolitics.
Barrasso apologizes for factual error
By JEREMY PELZER - Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 1:00 am
CHEYENNE -- U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., tried to call a Utah congressman on Tuesday to apologize after falsely claiming on national cable news that the lawmaker voted for the federal health care reform bill after his brother was appointed a federal judge.
Speaking with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren on Monday, Barrasso said, "In Utah, a member from Utah that voted on the bill, he was against it and then he was for it. And what a coincidence that his brother just got named to be a federal judge."
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson's brother Scott was recently nominated by the Obama administration to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
However, Jim Matheson, a Democrat, voted "no" during all three House votes on Democratic health care reform bills this session: the House bill in November, as well as both the Senate bill and the reconciliation bill last Sunday.
Barrasso spokesperson Emily Lawrimore said Tuesday that the senator "misspoke" and placed a call to the congressman to apologize.
As of early Tuesday evening, though, he hadn't yet spoken with the congressman, said Matheson spokesperson Alyson Heyrend.
Asked what Matheson thought about Barrasso's statements, Heyrend said, "Obviously he thinks it's pretty unfortunate that the senator would say something false about his voting record on the news."
As for how Barrasso got his facts wrong, Lawrimore said, "I think there were a lot of different stories last week about the appointment, and that's how he got or had the wrong idea."
Indeed, in recent weeks there have been -- mostly from right-of-center media outlets -- questioning whether Scott Matheson's appointment was intended as a quid pro quo for his brother's support of the Democratic health care bill.
Until Saturday, Matheson had stayed mum on whether he planned to vote for the $938 billion reform package that, among other things, extends insurance coverage to roughly 32 million additional Americans, requires most Americans to purchase health insurance, and obligates larger employers to provide coverage to their workers.
Barrasso, an orthopedic surgeon who's one of two doctors in the U.S. Senate, has been a vocal opponent of the health care reform bill, appearing regularly on cable TV news to attack the massive Democratic health care bill.
"I think this is going to be bad for patients, it's going to be bad for practitioners, for our doctors and our nurses, and it's going to be bad for payers," Barrasso said Tuesday in an interview on MSNBC.
Wyoming Democratic Party spokesperson Brianna Jones said that throughout the health care debate, Barrasso has been "fearmongering and having a very, very loose relationship with the truth."
"I think it was great that he was willing to apologize," Jones said. "But on the other hand, I think it belies a greater need to focus on the facts."
Contact capital bureau reporter Jeremy Pelzer at (307) 632-1244 or jeremy.pelzer@trib.com. Read more about Wyoming politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/wypolitics.
Council meets behind closed doors over press
By PETE NICKEAS - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, March 25, 2010 12:00 am
The Casper City Council held an executive-session discussion about media policy at a work session in the last month, according to sources, who say council members were reminded by Mayor Bill Brauer to not share information about the council's closed-door business.
Three officials present during the meeting were granted anonymity to speak freely about the closed-door talks, which may have violated state law. The sources stopped short of calling Brauer's point a "warning," though one source said that Brauer's main point was that "what is said [in executive session], stays here."
Attorney Bruce Moats with the Wyoming Press Association, who in the past has represented the Casper Star-Tribune in court cases, said the discussion didn't fall under any exemptions outlined by the state's open meetings laws.
Brauer denied advising council members to not speak to the press, though the sources said the back-and-forth focused on increased media scrutiny and how to deal with inquiries regarding the closed-door meetings.
"I frequently remind people when we go into executive session what that means," Brauer said. "If that's illegal ... we won't talk about it in executive session. When we go into executive session, that's all a part of the deal, to remind people what executive session means."
The state's open meetings law allows city councils and other legislative bodies to hold closed door meetings to discuss sensitive issues, but those exemptions are outlined within the law.
"That discussion about what should be disclosed in and of itself does not fit any exemption I could think of," Moats said.
Moats added that if the mayor had an opinion of what should and should not be public, he should have said it in an open meeting.
"There's no harm in the public knowing that is the position of the mayor," Moats said. "They might want to comment to the mayor about that policy."
One of the common exemptions used by the city council to hold closed-door meetings is for "contract negotiations." For the past few weeks, sources said, the city was working on a contract extension for the local firefighters' union.
That contract became public when it was approved at a full city council meeting.
One source said the mayor's reminder was that most items discussed in executive session -- such as the firefighters contract -- eventually become public when they are brought into an open city council meeting, and that is the time to speak about them. Brauer said he was concerned about items that never become public -- such as some disputes over personnel matters.
Another source said that not all council members agreed with the mayor, saying it may be counterproductive to clamp down on media relations when public distrust of government is high.
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
A governing body of an agency can hold closed-door executive sessions ...
1. With law enforcement officers to discuss threats to the security of public or private property, or to discuss threats to the public's right of access
2. To discuss personnel matters
3. To discuss litigation or potential litigation
4. To discuss national security
5. When a licensing agency is preparing, administering or grading examinations
6. When considering the term, parole or release of an individual from a correctional or penal institution
7. To consider land purchases when media publicity would cause a likely increase in price
8. To consider the acceptance of gifts, donations and bequests which the donor has requested in writing to be kept confidential
9. To consider or receive information considered classified by law
10. To consider accepting or tendering offers of wages, salaries, benefits and terms of employment during negotiations
11. To consider any student-related disciplinary action
Local groups get $23K
By PETE NICKEAS - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, March 28, 2010 12:00 am
Casper's tanking tax revenue hasn't stopped the city council from agreeing to spend more than $23,000 on discretionary events and programming.
The council's "Community Promotions" program allows local groups to ask for city money and services for their programs. Results from the spring round of applications, which have to be formally approved at a full council meeting, were discussed and approved at Thursday's city council work session.
Some groups ask for cash, others ask for in-kind services or to use city facilities, and some ask for all three. After the groups ask for the money, each council member decides if the application is worthy of consideration. All 10 groups seeking money or services were approved for some aid this time around.
After each member votes on the application's merits, they decide how much cash and how much in facilities and services to provide the groups. The totals from the nine members are averaged, and the results are voted on at a full city council meeting.
The 12-24 Club, which was awarded $250,000 in the fall for upgrades to its new building, will receive $1,100 in cash and about $500 in waived facilities fees for a recovery rally. That event -- with or without the city funding -- is expected to turn a profit, according to the group's application.
Council Vice President Paul Bertoglio and Ward 2 Councilwoman Stefanie Boster were the only council members who voted to provide no cash to any of the five groups seeking city money. Bertoglio also voted "no" on three of the facilities requests and one of the in-kind requests.
"Some of these groups are using our facilities ... with or without our funds, they are going to be cash positive. At some point, some of these groups need to raise fees to do some of this stuff," Bertoglio said. "These are great organizations -- but they have the ability to raise the fees a few bucks and cover the events."
Casper Mayor Bill Brauer voted to approve almost $16,000 of the requests. No other council member wanted to approve more than $10,000 of the requests. Brauer also voted to spend the most money in the fall round of community promotions applications.
"They were doing something good to help promote the community," Brauer said in explaining his vote. "There's always concern with the revenue dropping. That's no reason to shut off the faucet."
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 about 25 percent.
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
Breakdown
Money approved
Cash -- $5,752
Facilities -- $5,113
In-kind -- $12,447.74
Money requested
Cash -- $23,374
Facilities -- $5,113
In-kind -- $12,447.74
Ayers to speak at University of Wyoming
By JEREMY PELZER - Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Monday, March 29, 2010 3:30 pm
CHEYENNE -- Bill Ayers, a professor and former domestic terrorist who became a household name during the 2008 presidential election, will visit the University of Wyoming next month to discuss education and social justice issues.
Ayers will deliver a lecture entitled "Trudge toward Freedom: Moral Commitment and Ethical Action" at UW's Education Auditorium on April 5. The following day, he will participate in a teleconference with Wyoming school principals.
His visit comes as part of a biannual lecture series put on by the UW's Social Justice Research Center, a privately endowed center that studies problems of oppression and inequalities among different social groups in society.
No public funds are being used to pay for Ayers' visit, said UW spokeswoman Jessica Lowell.
Even so, Ayers' presence on campus is sure to spark outrage among conservatives. In the late 1960s, Ayers helped found the militant left-wing terrorist group the Weather Underground, which protested the Vietnam War by bombing the Pentagon, U.S. Capitol and other government buildings.
Ayers found himself back in the headlines two years ago, when Republican John McCain's presidential campaign tried to highlight Ayers' ties to then-presidential nominee Barack Obama. The two lived in the same neighborhood in Chicago's South Side, once worked on the same charity board, and Ayers hosted a small meet-the-candidate event for Obama in 1995.
Obama, who was a young boy when the Weather Underground bombings took place, denounced Ayers' terrorist past and said that Ayers played no part in his presidential campaign.
These days, Ayers has become a respected academic. As Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he studies, among other things, teaching about social justice, urban educational reform and children in trouble with the law.
Ayers is a founder of the "small schools" movement, which seeks to replace sprawling, crowded urban schools with small, student-centered facilities, often built around specific focuses such as African-American studies and the United Nations.
Contact capital bureau reporter Jeremy Pelzer at (307) 632-1244 or jeremy.pelzer@trib.com. Read more about Wyoming politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/wypolitics.
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