(Lander, WY) – Following the official closing of the filing period for the upcoming primary election in August, local forums and meet-and-greets have started taking place to better help the public get to know the candidates running for local office.
The “Wyoming Citizens for Liberty” hosted a Primary Election candidate forum at the Lander Library last week, which was split into two sessions: one for mayor and city council candidates and the other for County Commission candidates.
Former House District 33 Representative Sarah Penn acted as Emcee for both sessions.
Penn explained that the Wyoming Citizens for Liberty is a “grassroots organization of people who want to help people engage,: which began doing forums during the last election season. (You can request to join their private Facebook group here to learn more.)
“We want to continue that tradition because I feel, I don’t know about you, but politicians are a little bit like babies in that they should be changed regularly and for the same reason,” Penn joked. “So I appreciate those who have stepped up to throw their names in the hat, as for those who have done so in the past.”
The first half of the forums focused on the Lander city council and mayoral candidates. Each candidate was given time to share a little about themselves and their campaign priorities, followed by curated questions from the Wyoming Citizens for Liberty. Each candidate was asked the same questions, which ranged from a one-minute cap on answers to a “lightning round” of 10-second answers. The floor was then opened to questions from the audience.
Not every candidate was able to attend the forum, and those who did not were allowed to submit their opening statements, which Penn read aloud. Those in attendance included mayoral candidates Alan McOmie and Michelle B. Motherway, as well as city council candidates Mike Box, George Case, Oakley Corsick-Boycott, and Jenny Young (all Ward 1), and Sarah L. Schlosser (Ward 3).
Opening Statements
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I’m a lifelong resident of Lander (with family in the South Pass area). I have 41 years of experience with the City of Lander through the Lander Police Department. I have 20 years of supervisory experience during that time. I represented the Lander Police Department in front of the mayor and council on numerous occasions for the chief. I also attended probably two years of department head meetings during that time. I saw how the workings of the city goes, to have a unique insight of the city itself. I have a lot of institutional knowledge… I just love Lander. …I have kids here… My family has a lot of public service; my big brother, myself, my dad, my grandfather. My dad and my grandfather were both mayors of the city of Lander, so I just kind of picked up the torch, and I’m running with it.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “My wife and I have called Lander home for the past forty years. Over the past four decades, I’ve watched our community grow and change. I’m running for city council because I want to help guide that change in a positive direction. I believe we can support growth and development while preserving a small-town character. My message is simple. I believe that the basic fundamentals of city government (are) public safety, infrastructure, and community development. While I do not have prior experience in elected government, I do have experience leading and improving operations. I took over a department that lacked structure and direction and helped transform it into a successful operation. Within two years, our company received statewide recognition in our industry, and that recognition continues to this day.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “Thank you to all who have chosen to participate in our democracy this evening, to our Lander Public Library, and to the Wyoming Citizens for Liberty. I am not here to win your vote. Common sense will show you that I am here to put Lander first. The Lander that I want to live in values potable water for all, values its elders, is actively building a future for our youth, supports small businesses, prioritizes affordable living, has a strong infrastructure, safe streets, healthy citizens, accessible health care, and remains the hometown that I remember, where good fences make good neighbors. I am consistently pro-small business, though I do miss Pamida, pro-transparency, anti-data center, and aggressively pro-First Amendment. If you want to support this campaign by putting Lander first, please, during this Challenge for Charity season, volunteer at the Lander Care and Share Food Bank, Almost Home Wyoming, or the Lander Free Medical Clinic. I also heard that George needs help with the Rotary Picnic on the 4th of July… So show up for your neighbors, and don’t forget to bring a friend or an enemy with you to the polls to vote in the primary on August 18th.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I was born here. I spent a lot of time growing up here. I moved back to Wyoming about 21 years ago after a divorce and came back to where I felt at home. I feel that Lander has a lot of potential, and I think that potential is being missed. I also believe in promoting small businesses, because without the small businesses, there can’t be the growth. I believe that citizens have a right to have a say in what’s going on in their government and to be heard at the same time.”
George Case, Ward 1: “I appreciate everybody that came here tonight. …I just want to be here for the community and be someone the law enforcement, city employees, and fellow councilpersons are proud to work with and look up to. I grew up here in Lander. My parents started a business here that they worked hard for and dreamed about before they even had me. I just want to keep generations thriving here and make sure Lander stays as beautiful as it is. It’s a very special place.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “It is with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment that I seek to serve you. My campaign is built on the pillars of integrity, honesty, and compassion. These values have guided me throughout my life and will continue to be the cornerstone of my service to you. I believe that public service is a sacred trust. I am committed to upholding the highest ethical standards. I will be transparent in my actions and decisions, ensuring that you are informed and involved in the workings of our city government. My goal is to foster a culture of accountability and trust where every decision is made with the best interests of our community at heart. Compassion drives us to look out for one another and to ensure that no one is left behind. I will work tirelessly to support our most vulnerable residents, providing them with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. I am dedicated to creating a community where everyone has the chance to succeed. I’m running for Lander city council because I believe in the power of community and the promise of what we can achieve together. With your support, we can continue to build a city that reflects our shared values and aspirations. A city where integrity, honesty, and compassion guide us in all that we do.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I am a lot of different things in this community, but one of the things that I’m really proud of is, I’m a third-generation business owner, and our business motto is ‘serving Lander with integrity,’ and I plan to carry that forward. I love Lander. I was born here. I love the peacefulness, the safe, small-town community. A town where we rode our bikes to the swimming pool and the park to meet friends and never felt unsafe. I remember going to Olson’s Market for penny candy, to Ben Franklin’s for 45 records, I’m aging myself there, having no cares in the world other than waiting for the streetlights to go on or for one of the dads to yell, ‘dinner kids,’ and we went home. I want to live in a community where we have Tiger Pride, where we all go to the football games, and we live that lifestyle. I’ve asked many people in the community, ‘What is Lander’s identity?’, and nobody really knows. I get a lot of lost and confused (responses). I’m in the public eye every day, and I get a lot of confusion. I’d like to find Lander’s identity, and I’d love to serve the community as the mayor.”
Jesse Grosinger, Ward 2 (not in attendance, Penn read on his behalf): “I’m a Wyoming native, born and raised, and I’m proud to call Lander home. I’m a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a degree in mechanical engineering, a United States Air Force veteran, and a financial and systems professional with experience in budgeting, planning, and organizational operations. My interest in local government centers on three areas. First, the cost of living and housing. Lander should be a place where people can focus on building a life, not simply keeping up with rising costs. I support responsible growth and thoughtful planning that helps maintain housing opportunities for local families, working professionals, and seniors. Second, building a community that can serve current and future generations. By listening to residents, planning for the future, and making important decisions today, we can help ensure Lander remains a place where people can live, work, raise families, and retire. Third, responsible development and governance. I believe government should be transparent, accountable, and focused on serving the community. Careful planning, open communication, and a commitment to understanding the different perspectives are important parts of effective local decision-making.”
Chad Cassady, Incumbent, Ward 2 (not in attendance, Penn read on his behalf): “My wife and I are from Central Texas. Following 20 years of service in the U.S. Marines, we decided to settle in Lander and raise our three boys here. My wife currently works at the United Methodist Church here in Lander, and I own and operate a small gunsmithing shop. During my time as an enlisted infantryman and later as a commissioned infantry officer, I felt a strong disconnect from local governance due to our near-constant relocation through the decades. Once we settled down here in Lander and I had completed my gunsmithing education, Summer and I began attending city council meetings to watch, learn, and participate in whatever ways we could. The unexpected loss of our mayor and the reshuffling is how (I) became appointed to council a year ago. My observations both as a current citizen and now councilman are quite focused on a short list of items which I would like to emphasize.” (The rest of Cassady’s letter was cut short for time.)
Missy White, Incumbent, Mayor (not in attendance, Penn read on her behalf): “I’m proud that for my six-plus years on the council and 15 months as mayor, Lander has held a fiscally conservative approach, ensuring adequate funds to maintain city function in fluctuating financial circumstances. For decades prior, there was minimal effective planning to replace aging infrastructure and failing equipment. This strong financial position allows Lander to provide required essential services as well as desired services to both plan for and construct major infrastructure. If elected to continue serving as mayor, these are the points I will focus on. Provide maximum service with fiscal prudence. While no one enjoys fee increases, a minimum amount is needed. I will continue to engage with residents about why they are necessary to maintain essential services, update infrastructure, and provide long-term stability. …Continue infrastructure improvements to streets and water, sewer system, and continue to deepen the relationships with state and federal funding partners that are needed for large-scale projects. Housing for all. Those on fixed incomes and those who do the work of Lander should be able to live in Lander, and I will continue to work on options that increase affordable housing, continue transparency… (Penn then noted there was much more in Missy’s letter, but it was cut for time.)
One-Minute Answer Questions
Question 1: What do you feel that the role of the city government should be? Do you feel that the city currently meets that role?
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I do not believe the city at this time is meeting the role for the citizens of Lander. We don’t have an open dialogue with citizens. They close it off as much as possible. They don’t give you enough time to express your opinions… I also believe that they listen, but they don’t follow what you’re trying to tell them. They go off on their own little tangents… I want to have an open discussion. I want to bring business people together and ask them what we need to do as a city to get out of their way. Same thing with the developers. We have way too many fees, way too many restrictions on the developers… That’s one of the things that’s driving the cost in the city for affordable housing. We have a lot of good green spaces and parks. I think we don’t need another one. We’re spending way too much money on it, where it (could) go into the infrastructure of our streets. That’s one of my first big goals is to get the streets up and running and repaired. We sell Lander by what we look like.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “I feel the same way that Mr. McOmie does. I don’t think that our city’s needs are being met… We should focus our tax dollars more onto the infrastructure, sewer, water, streets… Then what we have left over, we can apply towards community projects such as parks. I see that we need a little bit more transparency with our government, and not focused on special interests or favoritism towards particular projects or even businesses, for that matter.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “I don’t completely disagree that the city is meeting or not meeting all of the needs. I think that we can do a lot better. I think that there’s a lot of hardworking people in the city of Lander, a lot of really hardworking people on the city council and the leadership. I disagree with plenty of it, which is also why I’m here. I think that transparency absolutely is always a number one, maybe if not an obnoxious priority for me. I do wish to see citizens having more of a voice. I’m very grateful to see that this room is filled and that everyone is at least participating, because so many don’t. I hope to see even more people at city council meetings. I just pray that someday all of our roads will be fixed and perfect, so that we never have to hear about that again, which is not very likely. But I want to see those fixed more and just as much as anybody, along with sustainable infrastructure that lasts beyond our lifetimes, planning for whatever’s to come.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I would agree with everybody that has spoken so far. I think a lot of times our needs are not necessarily heard. I think we do have some great representatives in the city government. I believe there’s a lot of hardworking people in the city government that don’t necessarily get the credit for the work they do. Like everybody else has mentioned, infrastructure is a big one. Housing is a big one. Childcare is a big one for our community. You can’t have businesses, you can’t have people moving in if there’s no housing, no childcare, and no infrastructure to support them. I really believe we need to be more transparent as a government and more willing to listen to our constituents.”
George Case, Ward 1: “I believe that the role of the city council is to be the voice of the community and do what they would want, however they make decisions with the community in mind, and also to educate the community on why they’re doing something. Why did they have to do this? What did that cost? …I think a council person has to stand up for their entire community and have all their best interests in mind. Are they doing that? If you talk to the general community, it doesn’t sound that way…”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I don’t know that I have much to add to what has already been said. I do view the role of the city as listening to the concerns of the people, and your role as a council person is to be the voice for your constituents. Your constituents should feel comfortable to come and tell you their concerns and what they’re concerned about. Then you can take that to city council as a representative of them. My job would be to be your voice. My role on the city council would be to make sure your voice is heard. Oftentimes in Ward 1, I know it feels like our voice doesn’t get heard. Dan does a pretty good job of making sure that our voice is heard, and I want to make sure that that is continued. I also view the role of the city as maintaining infrastructure and providing for the needs of the community. You don’t want to know what the needs of the community are if you’re not listening to the community. I think our city council tries to do the best job that they can, and I know that they really appreciate when there is participation from the community. The more community members they have there, the happier they are.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “The role of the mayor, in my opinion, is a manager. The mayor’s role is to manage the employees, manage the city, and manage the chaos that goes on every day, and I have great strengths in that. I think the role of the mayor is a bipartisan person, and that is a very, very important thing to me, that we represent across the board… that we are a person, that I am a person, that Mr. McOmie is a person, that represents all beliefs and walks of life, that we are there to not enact our own agenda, but the agenda of the people that we represent in a bipartisan way. Do I think that our current situation is doing that? I would say I do not believe that they are. I do believe that the mayor needs to be an open-door policy, just like everyone else. …You can talk roads, you can talk all the things, the constituents in Lander are not happy. The businesses aren’t happy. I would like to work towards that and be someone that is easy to find. Everybody knows where I work, come find me.”
Question 2: What do you consider to be the single most important priority for Lander and why?
Mike Box, Ward 1: “I think the single most important priority for Lander would be our crumbling infrastructure. Without proper water and sewer and the things in relationship with that, we’re not able to grow. I think we have to have those structures in place first before we start looking into housing development, zoning, that sort of stuff. You can build all the houses and have all the development and housing in place, but if you don’t have the substructure in place to handle that, then it’s not going to do you any good.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “I’m hoping that everyone says infrastructure. Maybe I’ll be surprised if they won’t say that, but it’s infrastructure. A huge part of why I chose to run for city council this cycle is, not only our crumbling infrastructure… I have a huge concern about the conversation around data centers that is sweeping the nation. I’m very anti-data center, and I wanted to be on the city council if and when the time comes to (say) ‘No, I don’t want that in our community.’ I will do whatever it takes to make sure that that doesn’t happen. I’m not saying that it’s the first and foremost, the most important thing, but without water, we have nothing.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “Like everybody else, infrastructure is a big one. If you don’t have a good foundation, you can’t build and you can’t grow. The other issue is businesses. We all live here. We all should be participating. We should all be buying local. We want tourism, but when tourists come to town, there’s limited restaurants, there’s limited shopping, and we’re seeing more and more small businesses being pushed out. …We have always been a retirement or a senior community. Growing up, that’s how I was taught Lander was. We also have to have those structures in place for those people who are taking care of us for medical and those who are growing older.”
George Case, Ward 1: “Planning for the future is probably the most important in my eyes. Infrastructure is really important, but the costs are astronomical. So there has to be a good plan. Something set out that will last for years. I just think that people need to be able to stay here for generations, so if you have a lot of people who grow old and leave or young people that can’t afford to stay, or you have turnover of other people coming in from other places, it’s going to make an unstable community. We need to plan for people to be able to live here and to stay here. I think that’s what most people want.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I think that everything is interconnected. So you can’t really pull one string without it pulling every other string. For me, the priority is that Lander is a place where people can grow old and be taken care of, and where their family can stay, and where my children can grow up, and they can find a job, and they can have a family of their own, and they can stay in Lander and build that family in Lander and strengthen that community in Lander. I think the priority of Lander is the community that we have here. It is an incredible place to raise kids. It’s an incredible place to be able to call home, and it’s a place that my priority is to make sure the people who want to be here can be here.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I second that, that there’s not necessarily a single most important thing, and if I were to narrow it down to one single most important thing, it would be safety and security, and that we can feed our people, and that we don’t have homelessness, and that we have solutions for those things and we work together as a community. As the mayor, I want to look at those things and be transparent… and be frugal and financially smart while we look at those things. Of course our roads are bad. Of course our infrastructure needs help. We’ve ignored it for a very long time. The current city council is working very hard on those things, and we need to continue that forward in a smart and fiscal way, not just spending money to spend money. I do want to keep our children safe, and there’s a lot of things that need to be done to keep continuing to let our children live here and be happy here and let our elders live here and be happy here. …Transparency is one of the biggest things I see in doing all of the things that have been mentioned before me.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “To me, it’s the infrastructure. When I go travel to other cities when I’m visiting my grandkids and my daughters… I drive through the towns, and I look at them, and some of the stuff that jumps at you is how nice the roads are, how green the yards are, what kind of businesses are in there, what kind of playgrounds. …It’s multiple facets of the city, but we need to sometimes slow down and look at what we really need, and to me it’s the infrastructure right now. Our water and sewer takes care of themselves; we have an enterprise fund, but the streets is where we need the funding and the funding is going someplace else right now. There’s a lot of things we can do to fix the infrastructure in this town, getting the business people to get together, they can help us; there’s a lot of great people. I’m not the smartest person in town, but I’ll tell you what, there’s a lot of people who are. You get them together, get them to talk, and you come up with great ideas and great solutions. That’s what I want to work for. I want to get the business people together. I want to get the contractors together and work on the plan.”
Question 3: Where should the city be spending its money? Do you think it’s possible to cut the cost of delivering services without cutting the services themselves?
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “I do think that that’s possible, and I think again, like how Alan said, I definitely alone don’t have the answer to how to do that. I don’t think that’s how a community works. I think it’s really, really hard with the cost of living rising, not just here but all over, the cost of everything is rising, but I think that we’re all together smart enough to come up with creative problem-solving and be a solution-oriented community together to make it sustainable far into the future and be more, like Michelle said, fiscally responsible. I think where the city should be spending its money is on infrastructure.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I would say it is possible to cut the cost of the services and still keep the services. I do think that you have to look at what those services are. Safety, infrastructure are big ones for people to feel safe and want to live in a community. I think being an open book as a city council and showing where we’re spending our money and why are we putting it that way and why are we buying this, why are we spending it here instead of here, I think is a big one and goes a long way with constituents. You have to have accountability within the government, and I think we lack that a lot on multiple levels within government.”
George Case, Ward 1: “I think the city should invest in themselves and spend it where it will do the most good, always. The budget will always do that. It will always renew itself and leave itself open for unexpected expenditures, but always save money at the same time, anywhere possible. I think cuts are possible in many places, probably not everywhere, but there are certain things that might be sucking too much out of the budget and we can put it somewhere else. There’s also a lot of grants available, so if we talk about the city’s money or we talk about the general fund, or can we apply for this, how does that work? It’s pretty complicated, but there are a lot of options.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I think the budget is, or can be, a very complicated thing. I think there is money coming in and money going out and it’s knowing which money is doing what and going into what bucket. …What is it funding? Why is it funding that? Why is that a priority? One of the things that I think would be interesting, because I’m a big fan of the people having a say in what happens, is having it put to some sort of vote on what we spend our money on and seeing what the people think is the most important thing for us to be spending our money on. I guarantee you it would probably be infrastructure and roads would be number one. But I know that we also, as a city, as a community, want a community center. We want a place for our kids to be able to go and to hang out and that’s safe for them to be, and that there’s a lot of needs that our city has that we have to focus on when it comes to focusing on budget.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I am a loss prevention expert. I work at the number one crime address in Lander Wyoming, and part of what I think as a manager you can do is to determine where there needs to be cutting done and where we’re spending money that doesn’t need to be spent. That’s one of the things that I plan on doing pretty much right away. I think we can cut our budget. I do think we can. I think there’s a lot of complex things that go into the budget. …I think we can stop spending millions of dollars on studying things. I think that we can balance our budget. I think running it like a business is necessary at this point, and I would like to audit to reduce some of the fees that are being sent out to the community.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I do believe there are areas that we can cut back on spending to become more efficient. I’d like to see our street departments become a little bit bigger, better at doing the curbs, gutters, valley pans, even patches within the street instead of outsourcing. Outsourcing people still make money. …We’re here to make sure that people are getting what they deserve. When I ran the budget for the Lander Police Department, there was times that I would give money back. I was able to save money. But when we would give it back to the city council, the comment that I would get is, ‘Well, we’re going to cut your budget for next year.’ That’s not what you do. You take that money aside, you put it in a different fund, and you start looking at other places to put it to help the other people. We shouldn’t have been slapped down for not spending money. I thought we were doing a due diligence by being good and efficient within our budget. I don’t see that today in Lander.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “…Ms. Motherway took my thunder on the frivolous spending on study after study after study. You study it. If they don’t have the right answer, you just can’t keep going on to the next study… until you have hundreds of thousands of dollars in all these stupid studies, and we’re still zero. Mr. McOmie stole my thunder on contractors on the point of I think the city should be self-efficient. Just like you said, with basic road repairs, valley pans, sidewalks, curb and gutters. You take a look at Main Street and you see the sidewalks are busted up, the curb and gutters are cracking. The contractors may not like what I have to say about that because I’m sure there’s no padding on their contract or their bids… but the city can be self-efficient.”
Question 4: How best can the city of Lander support local businesses?
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “…I think local businesses that are here that have been here for generations need to be encouraging new growth. I know with my family, my cousin just had to close up her shop because of rent hikes to where she could not afford it any longer. It priced her out. We have to look at where we can place businesses. We have to make it to where all businesses are visual. They have employees to work in them because so many of them are lacking the employees. I mean, I go into (Mr. ) D’s every day, there’s a new sign for somebody being hired. You go by Dairyland, there’s always signs. We need to focus on getting the people here to work and people back to work.”
George Case, Ward 1: “I think running the city like a business would help a lot of the businesses in the community. There are little things that can make huge impacts to businesses and employees and the rest of the community. They always have to have the businesses and the employees. Anytime they make a decision or need to change something, because we’re kind of stuck here. You’re in this business. You either deal with it, fight for it, or get out. So, the businesses need… to identify their problems and figure out the best path forward.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I would agree with George that the businesses need a council they can work with. So, to know what the businesses need, we need to be able to hear from the businesses. The businesses need to be comfortable coming and talking to council and telling them what their needs are. Without knowing what the needs of a business are, there’s a lot of darts that we can throw at the board and hope that we hit the right thing, but unless we get specifics from the businesses themselves, we’re just kind of guessing, and that’s the category I fall in. I’m a teacher by trade, so I am not a business person necessarily. I don’t have a business mindset for really understanding and wrapping my brain around this question. So, I would need to rely on the businesses themselves as the experts on what they need.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I think as the mayor, understanding that when you spend a dollar at a local business, you’re voting for that business. You’re voting for that business to succeed, and if you spend your dollar at a non-local business, what percentage of that actually stays in Lander? That’s such an important thing to remember. One of my ‘whys’ of why I am here is because of Title II, and it was a title that was proposed through the council, and it was detrimental to many businesses in town, and I spoke of it because I was scared. I was scared that the actions of our current mayor and council were going to put businesses out of business, and I want to be business-friendly. You have to be business-friendly, and you have to remember to vote with your dollar. It is an important thing, and it’s what keeps our businesses open.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “When it comes to the city’s role in businesses, I think the city’s not supposed to get in their way. We have way too many zoning codes, we have too many building codes, things like this that get in people’s way. Those costs are never addressed through the businesses themselves because they pass it on. That’s what a business does. Any kind of extra tax comes on, the businesses pass it on to the customers. So we need, as a city, to get with the business people and say, ‘What do we need to do to get out of your way? How can we support you, but also get out of the way?’ Quit causing all this extra stuff. When you have to have a permit for a water heater, this is ridiculous, that’s the kind of stuff that’s going on. We’ve got to get out of people’s way, and that’s the way that I feel. Michelle… she’s upset about the Title II. I was a police officer for 41 years. There was no reason to change the Title II as far as I care, and she’s right. It puts some stuff on people that shouldn’t have been put on it. …Listen to the people, listen to the business people, and follow what they want.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “That’s an area that I’ll just be totally honest, I’m not familiar with. I don’t know exactly how that part of city government works. What I can say is that I can get with the people and listen to what the other city council members and what the folks on our board and the city have to say, and just try and find a common solution, a common place, and just work with the others in the city council and the mayor, and try and figure out the best solution for Lander.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “I have this conversation a lot with, I’m not a small business owner, but I have this conversation a lot with friends and neighbors and enemies who are small business owners, and I think that the number one piece of feedback that I get more often than not is the communication level, especially between our city council representatives. They’ll say, ‘I reached out to so-and-so, and they didn’t write me back or text me back or call me back, and I don’t feel heard.’ I think that’s just a common sentiment across the board, whether you’re a small business owner or not. But that, to me, that’s like the bare minimum, and I don’t think that it’s fair to say that happens with every council person every time, with every person that any one small business owner communicates with, but that is the most common thread… I think (that is) the bare minimum, and that’s where it has to start, is a more open line of communication and response, and a willingness to listen and take action.”
Question 5: Question 5 dealt with the City’s role in the current situation concerning the Bruce Gresley Aquatic Center, and how the city could work with the Lander school district to find a solution
George Case, Ward 1: “I think that they have to work together and maybe go back to the original plan and see how that would work. How did we get off course, and how can we get back on? There’s a lot of different places that the money can go. Changes were made in the past year at the state level, but there are a few solutions, and we’ve got to have the pool… it has to work right; (it’s a) big part of our community.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I think that the school board and city council need to find a way to work together on sharing the responsibility of the pool. It is not just the school district’s pool, a lot of the people in the community use the pool, my kids use the pool, that’s where they learned to swim. I started taking them there when they were two, as I’m sure a lot of people here have. If you have kids, you probably started taking them there when they were two so they can learn how to swim and then they can do swim club and they can just work their way up. My kids did not continue, so they’re not going to be champions, but I love the championship that we have here with swimming at our high school. I think it is amazing and I think it’s something that we have to make sure continues. The city and the school district have to find a way to work together to make that happen because it is a priority.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “We’ve talked about this topic for a long time. In 1974, Mr. McOmie’s father and my grandfather got together and they built that swimming pool. It was originally designed and the original agreement between the city was 40% school district, 60% the city of Lander, and 100% during the summer for the city of Lander. Somewhere around 2010, I believe, we got off on that track, and it is now the responsibility of the school district. I need to get that back. We as a community need to get that back in control and/or build a new center. Build a new center that will bring more commerce and more tax dollars into Lander because that’s important. And 30 years? Go Tigers.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “As Michelle said, I have a big time history on this with my dad being involved in the original. The school tried to pass the bond that built that building twice and it failed. So the city stepped up and said, ‘Hey, let’s together push through this and it was passed.’ The bond schedule was passed, so there was an agreement where the city paid for 60% and the school paid for 40%. Where it went awry was the fact that we became successful in our swimming programs. …2012-2014 is when we quit paying. …But this year we just got done with our new budget and they allotted $25,000. But I agree, we need to sit down with the school and say, ‘Where can we help again?’ We’ve got a lot of money that we can spend that is going to places that I disagree with. And I think that needs to go.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “I think I heard the other night that I think 80% of the community uses the pool. …The school uses 20%. I think the city should find a way to help out with the pool. It’s basically our community center. That’s pretty much all we really have for our kids. Our kids grew up in that pool. I had my times in the pool. I think that money can be allocated towards that project smartly… with proper overseeing, transparency, and making sure that money goes to that project.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “Yes, the city needs to work with the school district to save the pool. That’s it. Hard stop. Because who are we if we don’t have that and if we’re not able to work together? …It seems like a no-brainer to me, and I know that it’s more complex than that. But I don’t think that it should be, and I know also that there’s way too many people in this community, myself included, who would just absolutely never talk to me again if I didn’t fight with every inch of my being to keep this community pool… But there’s no way that while I’m here and while I’m alive that I’m going to let it go.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I’m going to echo everything that everybody has said. Just wandering around my ward this last couple weeks, I’ve heard from multiple parents who are upset by the fact that swimming lessons have been jacked way up. Year-passes for a family are up to over $1,000 per year. And families are like, ‘How do we even afford to let our kids go swimming?’ I think the city entered into a commitment with the school district and with the community, and they need to uphold that commitment. I think we need to be looking at what grants can we get through USA Swim, through organizations like Coca-Cola, and other organizations that have those funds for sporting events and sporting centers.”
Lightning Round
Question 1: What to do when local control meets our Bill of Rights. Do you think local control trumps the Bill of Rights?
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I don’t really understand the question… Yes, I think that the local community should be able to decide what the local community needs.” (Young again later reiterated after the other candidates answered that she didn’t understand the question when first asked.)
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “No.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “No, and in no way… it will never happen. The Bill of Rights are our rights as citizens and guides to government.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “Just a simple no.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “Nope.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “Nope.”
George Case, Ward 1: “No, because that’s something we commonly fall away from and we forget what we’re here for and why and how it started, so no.”
Question 2: Do you support allowing residents that live within a certain radius of the city limits the ability to vote for city council members and the mayor?
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “Yes, I do. I think that if you own a business, brick and mortar structure in Lander, you should be able to vote for city council and mayor if it affects you directly.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I’m gonna say yes, but the caveat for that is state statute says no. Only residents of Lander can vote in any election concerning Lander. But yes, I agree, if you have purchase in this town, you should be allowed to vote.”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “Well, I would agree, yes, that they should have the right to vote depending on the distance. What type of services they’re receiving, then yeah, they should be able to contribute.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “Yes, I absolutely do and I hope this is a problem that we can address on city council in the very, very, very near future.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I would concur, yes. The majority of our business owners in Lander do not reside inside Lander that need to have a say in what’s going on in our community. With the caveat of boundaries.”
George Case, Ward 1: “No, and I have business-owning friends that live outside Lander that disagree with that, but they’re not getting the services that we’re here working on in the city limits; so where are you going to draw the line?”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I say yes for mayor specifically, and I think that anybody outside the city limits should have an ad hoc person that is part of council that they can vote for as their representation.”
Question 3: Does economic development, such as the half-cent and proposed three-quarter-cent taxes, fall within your perspective of government’s responsibility?
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I believe the half cent was a no with me. It was misspent… with the places it should have gone. We’re not in the business of building businesses with three-quarter cent again…”
Mike Box, Ward 1: “I’m for a tax as long as the tax goes for where it’s supposed to go, but with proper oversight and making sure that that’s where those dollars go.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “I do, but I’m not a fan of how much of it has been handled in the past. So I would like to see it better handled.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I would agree. I think there needs to be more oversight on it, and that it tends to be a lot of over-taxation on our residents…”
George Case, Ward 1: “I think less economic stimulus should come from an added-on tax and more should come back from the general budget… the general fund.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “I would say for a tax, it’s a no on economic development, but a yes on essential services. That’s what our taxes should be used to pay for.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I would say as far as economic development, the half-cent sales tax was misspent, and the three-quarter percent is convoluted because of the three things that they put together.“
Audience Questions
Question #1: A proposal on the ballot says 50% is going to be cut… on property taxes, if that happens, how would you handle the spending? Will you cut employees, will you cut certain things? You guys all want a good infrastructure, but if you cut 50% of your taxes, does that not go to your infrastructure?
Mike Box, Ward 1: “…I’ve got to be quite honest, I need to get up to speed on this. I cannot answer that question, unfortunately, because I don’t know the facts. I apologize for that.”
Oakley Corsick-Boycott, Ward 1: “If that happens, for me, that’s a better conversation for me to have with the council members present, who are there to solve that problem, because I don’t know how to do that alone. But I think that’s a good question, that I don’t know how to problem-solve.”
Sarah Schlosser, Ward 3: “I would agree with Oakley. … And like Mr. Box, I need to bring myself up to speed on that, but I also believe that we need to look at where our spending is going and what that impact in allowing our constituents to know what voting yes will do to our community… and it goes into effect.”
George Case, Ward 1: “I think it’s pretty likely that that ballot initiative will pass, and it’s probably going to affect the county level more than the municipal level, because the city doesn’t get much from property taxes. Everybody wants them to be lower, so that’s great, and then you’re going to lose services. That’s why there’s another tax right behind that, that we’re going to try and replace things with that are pretty necessary for our community.”
Jenny Young, Ward 1: “The 50% tax referendum is a big deal. I know it’s desirable, but it’s really going to impact more than just our cities. It’s going to impact our schools. That’s where school districts get their funding, is from property tax. If it does pass, the city will have to prioritize essential services and make sure that they are being as tight with their budget as possible. Things will have to be cut, and I don’t know what those things are. I don’t know where you start without looking at the budget directly and having it in front of me and seeing where the “…bloat” is, if there is any bloat… Anything that’s not essential will have to go.”
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “Government runs on taxes, and then when we lose half of it, we get things like the school district is going through right now, where they’re going to cut funding for sports and for other things for our children, and the city will have to do the same. It’s just like in a business, when you hit a low or you have a competitor that’s trying to put you out of business, you have to lay off people. Unfortunately, it’s just the truth of it. You have to look for ways to reduce, and you have to make hard choices. You have to have a person leading the race or leading the pack that is able to make those hard choices. It is devastating to lay off a person. …We’ve had to do that. I know what it’s like to look someone in the eyes, and that will have to happen if you don’t have the tax dollars. I’m really worried about our children in the school district.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “There is a 50-50 right now, but you have to apply for it. It is on the ballot again for everybody at this time, not just certain individuals, but how many residencies you have here. The big thing is the city doesn’t get a lot of property tax. That goes to the counties. That goes mainly to the school districts, which that’s why the school is in the problems they’re in now, especially since the state legislators changed the spending models that the schools can use. They can’t move the money around like they used to. With us, there’s other mechanisms we can come up with and put it in front of the people, the citizens of Lander. Do you want a district to help out stuff? The state statutes say that we only have to fund five things within the state, and that’s your fire, your police, sewer, water, and streets. So anything else is there to be cut. But there’s also mechanisms where we can look and say, okay, cemeteries can be handled this way, parks and districts this way, fire districts. …If that comes to shove, then we have to put it in front of the people. That’s why the three-quarter cent sales tax is there, because with the property tax that got cut, the poor county is now looking at how we are going to fund ambulances, and that’s why the three-quarter has been there. …We take 50 percent from here, and all of a sudden we’re coming up with other taxes to cover the deficit we just had. …That’s something that I will look at is becoming more efficient, and if we have to lay people off, yes, we’re going to have to lay people off. Like with Michelle, it’s a tough thing. I’ve seen it. I lived through it. When U.S. Steel shut down, when the Western Duke plant shut down, we had a police department with almost 30 people, and we were down to 15 and nothing flat, and it was tough trying to give the citizens the services they deserve. We drove snowplow trucks to help clear streets… it was a terrible time, and I’d hate to see that, but we need, as citizens, to have a voice and say enough is enough. I hate taxes. I’m a conservative, and I hate taxes, but taxes are necessary to get the services that people want. So it should be up to the people and what they want.”
Audience Question #2 (directed only to Motherway and McOmie): What can you do as the leader of Lander to reverse the decline in terms of that bipartisanship… and increase civility the way that it seemed it was six years ago when I first got here?
Michelle Motherway, Mayor: “I spent a lot of time asking people ‘What is Lander’s identity?’ and you summed it up, that we used to have somewhat of an identity, we all got along, we were all neighbors, but now we are a town with two faces or two sides, and I understand that.I think a lot of it has to do with just listening to people. I don’t know if I agree with you or disagree with you in my personal views, but that’s not the mayor’s position. The mayor’s position truly is to be bipartisan and to have an open-door policy, and I think that that will be part of how I solve those things, is just open door and listening.”
Alan McOmie, Mayor: “I agree with you. I’ve been seeing in a big division in town, and I hate saying the word division. We used to all know where everybody would live next door to each other, and I’d love to see that get back. …I used to drive around and just stop and talk with people when I was working and ask them about their community and how they felt. …I would set up in City Park with the tourists that come through. I carried pamphlets with me to sell Lander and sell our community and sell to other places. I think we just need to have a good conversation. I hate the yelling that’s going on. It shouldn’t happen. We should have a good conversation without yelling.”
The audience questions marked the end of the mayor and council session of the forum. County 10 will publish coverage of the second session for the commission candidates tomorrow, June 17.
Penn noted that the Wyoming Citizens for Liberty will also hold a legislative forum in Riverton on June 23 at the Holiday Inn, starting at 6 PM.