My current address is 7504 Schrader Lane, Cheyenne, WY 82009; We have been at this address for 20 years. We have lived in Wyoming for 39 years. I was born in Africa. My parents were Lutheran Missionaries.

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I am a Christian, Husband, Father, Grandfather, retired American Soldier, and a lifelong public servant, running as a Conservative, non-caucus Republican. I enlisted in the Army as a teenager and served for 36 years, spending the last eight as the Commanding General of the Wyoming Military Department, where I was responsible for the roughly 3000 men and women of the WY Air and Army Guard. I responded to multiple disasters within Wyoming and deployed to Kuwait in 2004. After retiring from the Guard in 2019, I was privileged to lead another group of men and women as the Director of WYDOT for 4 years, retiring in 2023. The twelve years spent leading a Wyoming Agency provided an excellent opportunity to observe State Government in action and work about 120 bills through the State Legislature.

Education: Master's in Public Administration from UW; Master's in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College; BS Education, BA Business / Accounting from Concordia University, Seward, NE

Challenges: 1) Reliance on fossil fuels and the associated revenue fluctuations; 2) Retaining our youth; 3) Healthcare access, specifically in rural areas.

Opportunities: 1) Innovation and expansion in the fossil fuels and minerals sector, e.g. rare earths, nuclear power, and uranium; 2) Continued economic diversification; 3) Expand the tourism sector

As a Legislator, I will work to:

1. Support our legacy industries (energy, agriculture, tourism) and ensure we support innovation and development in those sectors.
2. Continue to diversify our economy through retaining our favorable tax structure, working to reduce our regulations while lowering the cost and speeding up the permitting process.
3. Work to build thriving communities that create opportunities for our youth. I see this as providing good jobs, affordable housing, accessible healthcare, excellent education, and reliable infrastructure.
4. Work to better match the skills and interests of our workforce to industry.

The establishment of the Health Insurance Affordability TF is an excellent first step by the Legislature to address the costs of health care insurance. The results of that task force should provide specific concepts for Legislative action. In that same vein, I would support the Legislature participating in a multi-sector, multi-level health care task force that involves government, providers, and patients to address health issues across the state.
Some specific areas I recommend exploring include: 1) Expanding the scope of practice; e.g. leverage the skill sets and expand the legal authority of midwives and nurse practitioners; 2) Growing the use of telehealth; 3) Working to stabilize our rural hospitals through leveraging the federal Rural Health Transformation Program 4) Tackling the uncompensated care issue; 5) Expanding the very successful WWAMI program; 6) Exploring incentives to encourage Medical Professionals to practice in Wyoming such as loan repayment.

I do not support the sale of public lands and applaud the actions taken by the Legislature to express the same. Many residents of Wyoming use that land for recreation and hunting, which is one of the key reasons they live and work in Wyoming. Public lands also support our tourism industry, one of our key economic drivers. We should be cautious about transferring Federal land to the State given the required costs of maintaining those lands, such as fire mitigation.
I plan to support the management of these lands by: 1) Insisting on local input and respect for land-use plans before federal land decisions; 2) Pushing for adequate funding of the BLM and Forest Service so understaffing is not used as a reason to sell; and 3) Supporting Legislative resolutions such as SJ9 affirming opposition to broad federal land sales/exchanges. I would also be interested in exploring the ability to execute narrow, locally-backed land swaps that improve public access, but not blanket transfers.

There is some real tension in this space, compounded by November’s ballot measure to reduce the Property tax by 50%. My general approach will be to find a reasonable balance based on the following principles:

1. Property tax provides revenue for essential services at the local level, revenue that is important for creating the thriving communities we need in Wyoming to retain our youth and support our economy.
2. Government closest to the people is typically the best and should be locally supported.
3. I am an advocate for targeted tax relief, rather than broad exemptions.
4. Local communities should be kept whole, either through backfill or other funding sources.
5. I am not an advocate for an increase in Sales tax. I think it is regressive and would have negative consequences for the optional 2 cents.
6. I am interested in exploring a “one size does not fit all” approach relative to mill levies by allowing local communities to adjust their levies by vote.

The State Legislature plays a key role in economic development across the state.

Fundamentally, I think the Legislature is responsible for establishing the business climate and environment so that businesses can prosper in their communities.

The government is responsible for providing the road transportation system our economy operates on, oversees and regulates utilities like water, wastewater, power and broadband that are essential for business development, ensures the funding of our education system, which trains the workforce our economy uses, and maintains law and order, which is essential to the stability of our economy.

The Legislature establishes the tax structure that directly affects who invests in Wyoming and how, and funds capital-type grant and loan programs, such as the Business Ready Community Grant Fund, used across the state to set the conditions for economic development.

My opinion is that transparency and the ability to see who is donating is critical. It is also important that we keep the playing field accessible to candidates without deep pockets or PAC funding. I recommend that we allow the public to see who is funding candidates well before they vote.

Some reforms that make sense to me include earlier and more frequent disclosure, a closer look at independent expenditure groups, and an easier search function online.