 - The Lander City Council has selected Chad Cassady to fill the Ward 2 Councilmember position that’s been vacant since former Ward 2 Councilmember Missy White became mayor in the wake of Monte Richardson’s unexpected death.){kind=link}
(Lander, WY) – The Lander City Council has selected Chad Cassady to fill the Ward 2 Councilmember position that’s been vacant since former Ward 2 Councilmember Missy White became mayor in the wake of Monte Richardson’s unexpected death.
Cassady was one of five candidates the council interviewed for the open position this month – all of whom were “excellent,” Councilmember Dan Hahn said before nominating Cassady during a special meeting Tuesday.
“They all had great answers and all produced information that would work as a base for the Lander council position,” Hahn said. “(So) this was not easy for me.”
The “one difference” that made Cassady stand out, Hahn said, is the fact that Cassady has already been attending city council meetings regularly.
“(He) has been in our council chambers month after month, learning and listening and even engaging with the council,” Hahn said. “This is why my nomination and vote goes to Chad Cassady. He stepped up months ago and even stated that he would keep on coming to our council meetings no matter what. This is why he deserves to be our next council person: He is already dedicated.”
Councilmember Julia Stuble, who said she had planned to nominate Cassady as well, echoed Hahn’s comments about the people who applied for the open council seat.
“(It was) an incredible slew of talented folks who had displayed a lot of commitment to their service to the community already,” she said. “That they’re willing to (take) this greater step into responsibility is just deeply gratifying. … I hope we find other roles and committees and boards for those who are not going to be selected tonight to continue to serve Lander in a greater depth.”
Councilmember Melinda Cox also nominated Daniel McLane for the position, but the council voted 4-1 in favor of Cassady – and although she voted for McLane, Cox later extended her “complete support” to Cassady.
“He is going to be a great addition to our council,” she said.
Cassady will be sworn in on May 13.
Candidate interview
During the candidate interviews earlier this month, Cassady – who retired from the Marine Corps in 2021 – introduced himself as someone with “an interest in helping.”
“As a Marine for 20 years … I would hope (that) I might be able to contribute to the problem-solving in some complex issues that you all face,” Cassady said at the beginning of the interview process. “That’s what I hope that I could help with. … That’s why I’m here.”
Cassady agreed with the other candidates that a council member’s role is to represent the families and individuals within their ward – but he also added that it’s important to build “rapport” with the rest of the council and with other local citizens as well, and to have “the courage to make difficult decisions.”
“We live in a resource-restricted environment, (and) that creates complexity and challenges that take courage to face,” Cassady said. “It’s easier to face those challenges after building rapport with others so that you can work on a team with them, even if you don’t agree with them.
“That rapport allows you to argue with trust (and) to assume good intent in others.”
As a Ward 2 constituent, Cassady said he has already had the opportunity to participate in “vigorous debates” with Stuble, who represents Ward 2 and whom he described as “exceptionally professional,” “knowledgeable,” and “thorough.”
“(Those) are characteristics that I appreciate as a Ward 2 resident,” he said. “And I would make an assumption (that) the people who voted for her voted for those personal characteristics. … So my ability to agree with her, disagree with her – I think that that aligns quite well within Ward 2.”
Cassady also spoke about rapport when he was asked how he would represent residents who disagree with him on certain issues.
“You need to build a common understanding with them (and) ensure that they are heard,” he said. “Whether I agree with it or not is kind of inconsequential. … It’s not my role, I don’t believe, to convince them of anything. My job is to listen to them so that I can then make their argument on behalf of them in a different venue with different people. I need to be able to represent them, so I need to understand their argument and every element of their argument.
“If they ask me my opinion, I might share that, but it’s not about me or about my opinion.”
Cassady demonstrated his dedication to that last statement later in the evening when he chose not to list his top priorities for the city, noting that he would prefer to host town hall meetings with Ward 2 constituents and “let them set those priorities” for him.
He did identify infrastructure as “one of the most significant challenges” Lander faces, however, and he said he would approach that problem with “humility,” recognizing that he doesn’t yet “know the entirety” of the situation.
Once he does “understand the problem” more thoroughly, Cassady said he would take “as many opportunities” as possible to speak “face-to-face” with his constituents about the city’s infrastructure needs so they are able to develop informed opinions that he could bring back to the council for consideration.
He described a similar strategy for responding to constituents who might express frustration about specific city services like snow removal: Cassady said he would empathize with the individuals first, then try to help them understand the decision-making process that led to the outcome they found unfavorable and let them know that “we will do the best that we can with the resources and the time that we have.”
When asked whether the city is “headed in a good direction,” Cassady said he would need to do more research into the community’s “history” to fully answer that question, but his observations over the past several months have shown him “a group of talented people trying to juggle hard problems” in Lander.
“Challenges … are being tackled with some courage and some very focused attention by the staff, (and) I’m very pleased with that,” he said. “I think generally they’re moving in a good direction from what I’ve seen thus far, in that the right attention is being put in the right place for the right reason. So that’s my view of it currently.”
Housing was another topic the candidates were asked about this month – specifically, the need for more reasonably-priced housing in Lander.
That issue is one that can’t be “solved,” Cassady said – instead, it should be “managed.”
“It’s much too complex, in my mind, to be able to put your finger on and say, ‘This is the solution,’” he said. “Housing is not a local market – it’s a national market. So local solutions perhaps are not going to address it the way that we would hope. …
“I think it’s going to take significant messaging and discussion with the people of the city (to) define expectations of what reasonably priced housing means and whether that’s achievable in the economy in the United States in 2025, and then to manage that problem going forward.”
At the end of the interview session, Cassady thanked the council for “letting all of us show up and participate in this.”
“I haven’t been able to do this in my adult life, (but now) I have the spare capacity … and I feel like it’s a responsibility to participate,” he said. “I would like to help, (and) I think that it would be fulfilling. …
“Learning, being challenged, facing difficult conversations, and working hard towards achieving the best possible outcome – that’s fulfilment.”
For more information, call the City of Lander at (307) 332-2870.