Two local challengers for contested seats in the Wyoming Legislature participated in a Republican Party Primary Election Candidate Forum last week in Dubois.
The incumbents for both seats – Wyoming Sen. Tim Salazar, R-Riverton, who currently represents Senate District 26, and Wyoming Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, who currently represents House District 34 – are both running for re-election but declined to participate in the forum, according to the League of Women Voters of Fremont County, which hosted the event along with the Fremont County Republican Party, the Republican Women of Fremont County, and the Fremont County Democratic Party.
“We are disappointed in (their) decision and firmly believe that Fremont County voters deserve to hear from candidates,” forum moderator Maggie Miller said. “We are pleased to offer (the challengers) the opportunity to share (their) ideas with the public.”
Senate District 26
Elizabeth Philp said she is running for Senate District 26 “on a platform of bringing common sense and civility back to the Wyoming political landscape.”
“It is important to me that we treat each other with respect while making important decisions for the State of Wyoming,” she said. “We need to elect people that are fair-minded and are willing to work at keeping state government on an even keel – and keeping the tax base so people are paying their personal taxes.”
She described herself as “one of the ones that thinks that we should all be paying our share of personal property tax” – though she also noted that the property tax system “needs to be looked into.”
“We’ve got work to do there,” she said. “There were several tax bills in the last legislature, and I think they still need work.”
One of the bills the Wyoming Legislature passed this year authorizes a 50 percent property tax exemption for homeowners ages 65 and older who have been paying property taxes for 25 years or more in Wyoming.
When asked how the lost revenue resulting from the new exemption should be replaced, or, alternatively, which services should be cut to accommodate the loss, Philp said she is “sympathetic to the schools and cities and towns, because … some places depend heavily on the property taxes,” but she also noted that “we have to be careful about how we backfill that, because oil and gas (are already) paying more than their share.”
“Wyoming depends so heavily on that for their tax base,” Philp said, suggesting that the legislature could instead consider taxes on wind power that’s generated in Wyoming and exported outside of the state.
The federal government is “putting pressure on fossil fuels” right now, Philp said, calling that issue one of the most important challenges currently facing the state.
“We need to be cognizant of that,” she said.
Philp, a lifelong Fremont County resident and rancher and former first responder, currently serves as a Precinct and State Committeewoman for the Fremont County Republican Party and previously served on the Wyoming Livestock Board.
“I am adept and knowledgeable about politics, (and) I am well-informed and experienced in state government,” she said. “I am a strong believer in the Constitution of Wyoming and the United States.”
Topics that are important to her include supporting the Second Amendment, preserving multiple use of public lands, quality education, and preserving “good-paying jobs” in the energy industries, tourism, and agriculture.
For more information, visit Philp’s campaign website.
House District 34
Reg Phillips, who is running for House District 34, also referred to the federal government when describing the most important challenges facing the state.
“(There) is federal overreach on a lot of our public lands … that affect our income,” he said. “Our minerals still pay for a lot of what we want for services here, (so) Wyoming needs to have a huge say in this, because it does pay our bills with all the tax money and the payments.”
Another statewide challenge has to do with water, which Phillips called “probably our most valuable natural resource that this state has.”
“The Front Range of Colorado … would like all the subsurface water in the southeast part of Wyoming,” he said. “We need to work diligently with the state engineer and the governor to make sure that we don’t give our water away, because we need that for future development.”
When asked about the property tax issue, Phillips said he wants the state to “wait and see what happens” after the new exemption for longtime homeowners takes effect.
“We need to (find out) what the impact of these taxes is going to be,” he said. “I don’t think we want to do some knee-jerk reactions and keep passing tax bills, because I think it’s really going to put us in a bind.”
To replace the revenue lost as a result of the property tax exemption that’s already been approved for longtime homeowners, Phillips said he’s curious about the possibility of tapping into the state’s “rainy day” account.
“I just wonder if we can’t take that out of savings,” he said. “We’ve got to pay it, because we want our services, (so) I think we need to look to the state to help backfill for that one.”
An increase in sales taxes won’t “give us enough revenue,” he added.
“It may be a more fair tax because everybody pays it, (but) I’m not sure it’ll fill our coffers,” Phillips said.
The 46-year Dubois resident and retired firefighter currently serves as a Precinct Committeeman for the Fremont County Republican Party and as a member of the Central Wyoming College Foundation Board of Trustees.
As a state lawmaker, he said he would be “willing to listen” and have “discussions – not arguments – about what we need” in Fremont County, then “take those discussions down to Cheyenne,” where he would “work with other legislators” to accomplish what “needs to happen in this district, this county, and this state.”
“We’ve got to start working together,” he said. “Find something you can agree on. Find something to unify you, and keep having those discussions.”
For more information, visit Phillips’ campaign website.
To watch the entire forum with Philp and Phillips, click here.
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