(Fremont County, WY) – County 10 sent the following questionnaire to each of the Dubois mayor and city council candidates, ahead of next week’s August 18 Primary election. The answers from candidates who responded by the deadline are presented below, unedited and in alphabetical order.
Mike Strasser, Town Council
1. What do you feel is the most important issue the town of Dubois currently faces? What steps will you take or what plan do you have in place to address this issue?
I believe one of the most important issues facing Dubois is housing and affordability. If we want teachers, young families, healthcare workers, town employees, and other essential members of our workforce to move to Dubois and become part of our community, they need to have a realistic and affordable place to live.
We can work hard to recruit good teachers and employees, but if they cannot find housing, we are going to have a difficult time getting them to stay. This isn’t just a housing issue—it affects our schools, businesses, services, and the long-term health of our community.I believe we need to find ways to invest in ourselves. That means looking seriously at what the Town can do to encourage housing that is attainable for the people who actually live and work here. We should explore opportunities that could help create workforce housing while still protecting the character of Dubois.
2. Where do you stand on the proposed three-quarter percent sales tax? Please explain why either way. Is there anything about the proposed tax as written that you think voters/residents might have confusion about, or may be lacking clarity on?
I am opposed to the proposed three-quarter percent sales tax, but I support the services it is intended to fund. I do not want to see a decline in EMS, transportation, or other essential services in our county.
My concern is how the tax is structured. I would rather see a clear initiative specifically for EMS and a separate initiative for transportation. I recognize that legislative work may be necessary to make that possible, but I believe that work needs to happen before we vote on a multi-purpose tax as proposed.
Voters should know exactly what they are voting for and be able to trust that the money will be spent as advertised in the ballot language, rather than relying on the fine print of the MOA, where allotments can be changed without a public vote. For me, this is about transparency, accountability, and giving voters a clear choice.
3. What town issues in Dubois do you feel do not get as much attention, but deserve to be addressed?
In the time I have been back in Dubois, I have attended some meaningful community meetings regarding healthcare, EMS, business development, and infrastructure needs. I believe all of these issues are important and, in many ways, equally important to the future of our community.
What I feel is missing is an updated strategic plan for the Town of Dubois. We owe it to our citizens to identify our community’s needs, establish obtainable goals, prioritize projects, and create a clear direction for where we want to be in the next five to ten years.Most importantly, as we plan for growth and change, we need to maintain the identity and character of Dubois that makes people want to live, work, raise their families, and visit here in the first place. A strategic plan should help us move forward without losing sight of who we are as a community.
4. As tourism continues to grow in the Dubois community, what issues does the Mayor/council need to address to accommodate the influx of tourists, while also serving the needs of the community year-round? Do you think tourism should be a driving factor of the town’s overall economic development/identity? Why or why not?
As tourism continues to grow in Dubois, we need to actively support the local businesses that capture business from the friends who travel into our town. For many of our residents, this is how they make a living, and their success is vital to our local economy.
To accommodate this influx and serve our community year-round, the Mayor and Council must focus on providing the right tools to our Police, Fire, EMS, and Search and Rescue departments. By properly equipping our first responders and supporting our local businesses, we can ensure positive growth for Dubois while maintaining safety and stability and identity, in our community all twelve months of the year.
5. What specific strength would you bring to the role of Council member/Mayor? What is an area of weakness, or a subject matter that you would have to work on if elected? Can you think of a time when you failed at something, but overcame the failure or hurdle to work toward a solution that would apply to the role of City Council Member/Mayor? Please elaborate.
My greatest strength comes from my military background, where we were trained to objectively evaluate every mission, exercise, or event. I learned that the best way to improve processes is to truly listen to the soldiers on the ground. I will bring that exact same objective, open-door mindset to the Town Council by actively listening to our community.
My area to work on will be navigating the learning curve of municipal codes, state statutes, and city budgeting. However, I am fully committed to putting in the work, doing the research, and leaning on our town staff to get up to speed quickly.
Regarding hurdles, I believe failures are simply experiences we gain in life. When military missions didn’t go as expected, we did not point fingers. We broke down the execution, listened to feedback, and rebuilt a stronger plan. I will bring that approach to Dubois: if a town project hits a hurdle, I won’t get caught up in politics or blame. I will look at it objectively, listen to the community, and work collaboratively to find a real solution.
Amanda Ysen, Town Council
1. What do you feel is the most important issue the town of Dubois currently faces? What steps will you take or what plan do you have in place to address this issue?
I believe one of the greatest challenges facing Dubois is maintaining the essential services and quality of life that allow people to live here year-round. Rural communities face many of the same challenges as larger communities, but those challenges are often magnified because we cannot simply rely on services in the next town. For Dubois, that means we must pay particular attention to access to healthcare and EMS, housing availability, and the increasing cost of living.
I will continue to keep these issues at the center of Town conversations and look for practical partnerships and solutions.
A few years ago, I had the idea of bringing physical therapy services back to Dubois. I reached out to Sinks Canyon to see if they would be willing to provide the service, worked with the school district and Dubois Medical Board to find an accessible location, and wrote a grant to help Sinks Canyon get the service off the ground and keep costs lower for community members who were not school district employees. Before that, residents needing regular physical therapy could spend nearly an entire day traveling for an appointment. That service continues to be offered in Dubois today.
That experience reinforced something I strongly believe. We may be a small and isolated community, but that does not mean we have to accept that the services needed cannot be provided here. Sometimes solving a problem starts with having an idea, getting the right people involved, finding the resources, and figuring out how to make it work.
2. Where do you stand on the proposed three-quarter percent sales tax? Please explain why either way. Is there anything about the proposed tax as written that you think voters/residents might have confusion about, or may be lacking clarity on?
I serve on the committee addressing EMS services in relation to the proposed ¾% sales tax. I have been very impressed with the work of this committee. The members not only care greatly about finding a sustainable solution for EMS throughout Fremont County, but they are well-informed and have worked hard to make sure the right people are at the table. The committee has made significant progress in gathering survey information from our communities and developing a better understanding of what it would take to provide EMS services through the County or FCAG.
While I serve on the committee, I still have concerns about the ¾% sales tax as it is currently proposed. I do want to be clear that I support using a sales tax over increasing property taxes to fund services such as these. A sales tax spreads the responsibility beyond property owners. Anyone shopping in Fremont County, including visitors, helps support the services funded by the tax.
The Dubois Town Council recently voted to return Dubois’ portion of the proposed sales tax to FCAG to be used solely for EMS services. I wholeheartedly supported that decision. I would be much more supportive of the ¾% sales tax if its focus were solely on EMS.
I recently saw that the MOA now identifies how the revenue would be distributed: 54% for ambulance services, 31% for air transportation, and 15% for ground transportation. I appreciate having that additional information and believe voters need to understand how the revenue is proposed to be divided when deciding whether to support the tax.
What concerns me is that this distribution will not be part of the ballot question itself. My understanding of the current MOA is that these percentages could be changed in the future without going back to the voters for approval. If that is correct, I believe voters need to clearly understand that before they cast their ballots. We may be voting on the tax, but not necessarily guaranteeing how those dollars will be distributed for the life of the tax.
That is particularly important to me as a representative of Dubois. Ambulance service is the portion of this proposal that directly addresses one of our community’s greatest needs. I want to know that the commitment being made to ambulance services today will still be there tomorrow.
My concern continues to be whether the proposal adequately addresses the needs of Dubois. We are geographically different from many other communities in Fremont County. Commercial airline services and ground transportation do not benefit Dubois residents in the same way they may benefit residents in other parts of the county. At the same time, reliable ambulance and emergency medical services are critical for a community as isolated as ours.
I also remain concerned about whether the MOA provides enough protection to ensure Dubois continues receiving ambulance services at least at the level we currently receive. If Dubois residents are being asked to pay an additional tax to support these services, I believe they deserve clear assurances about what level of service they can expect in return.
I support finding a sustainable way to fund EMS throughout Fremont County, and I believe a sales tax is a better mechanism than placing an additional burden on property owners. My concern is not simply whether we should have a tax. My concern is whether this particular proposal directs the money where our community needs it most and provides enough accountability and protection for Dubois.
3. What town issues in Dubois do you feel do not get as much attention, but deserve to be addressed?
Housing and the increasing cost of living in Dubois have concerned me since I moved here in 2016. I am continually looking for ways the Town Council can address these issues. Finding solutions can be challenging when there are differing priorities among council members, but I believe these conversations need to continue.
4. As tourism continues to grow in the Dubois community, what issues does the Mayor/council need to address to accommodate the influx of tourists, while also serving the needs of the community year-round? Do you think tourism should be a driving factor of the town’s overall economic development/identity? Why or why not?
Tourism in Dubois is a reality because of our proximity to Grand Teton National Park, Jackson, and Yellowstone. Tourism supports our businesses and our economy, and we should welcome visitors who appreciate what makes Dubois special. But we also need to be thoughtful about how we promote growth.
I have been very vocal about the Wind River Visitors Council, particularly its budget and plans for promoting additional tourism. My question continues to be: What is the long-term cost of increased tourism to our town, our residents, our infrastructure, and our natural resources?
Jackson provides an example of what can happen when recreational areas become heavily used. We are seeing more County 22 license plates in the mountains surrounding Dubois. When I visit with some of these people, they tell me they are trying to escape the congestion and pressure on recreational resources in their own area, including challenges related to fishing and hunting.
I do not want Dubois to wait until we experience those same problems before we start talking about them.
I would like our community to have a stronger voice in determining how tourism is promoted and how tourism-related funds are used. I am particularly concerned when the goal becomes simply bringing more people to Dubois rather than asking what type and level of tourism is sustainable for our community.
Tourism should be an important part of our economy, but I do not believe tourism alone should define Dubois. First and foremost, Dubois is our home. Economic development should support the people who live and work here year-round while also welcoming visitors.
The lodging tax is governed by Wyoming law, which limits how those funds can be used locally. I would support conversations with our legislators about whether communities such as Dubois should have greater flexibility and input regarding how tourism-generated revenue is used, particularly when increased tourism also creates additional demands on local infrastructure and services.
5. What specific strength would you bring to the role of Council member/Mayor? What is an area of weakness, or a subject matter that you would have to work on if elected? Can you think of a time when you failed at something, but overcame the failure or hurdle to work toward a solution that would apply to the role of City Council Member/Mayor? Please elaborate.
The last four years have been very eye-opening for me and have taught me a great deal about municipal government.
One of my strengths is that I am willing to speak up, even when my opinion is different from others in the room. I will not apologize for having an opinion, but I will always try to explain why I believe what I do. At the same time, I am willing to listen to another perspective, learn new information, and change my position when someone gives me a reason to see an issue differently.
I believe my fellow council members and the community have learned that when I question something, I am not simply trying to be the dissenting opinion or be difficult. I am usually asking whether there is a better way to accomplish something we may have done the same way for many years.
A weakness that goes along with that strength is that I can be persistent when something weighs on my conscience. I have had to learn that change in government can be slow and that one council member cannot accomplish something alone. Sometimes an idea I believe in does not move forward, or does not move forward when I think it should. I have learned to state my position but most importantly continue listening, gathering information, building support, and looking for another opportunity to address the issue rather than simply giving up.
I try to be professional and thoughtful in how I express disagreement. I will always put the interests of Dubois first.
Most importantly, I see my role as a listener and an advocate for our community. I want residents to feel comfortable telling me what is going well, what is not going well, and what they believe the Town should be paying attention to. I may not always agree, and I cannot promise that every problem can be solved, but I can promise that I will listen, ask questions, and make decisions based on what I believe is best for Dubois.
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