JACKSON, Wyo. — After discussing his plans to step down from the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) earlier this year, Mark Newcomb has changed course, officially launching his reelection campaign this week.
Born and raised in the valley, Newcomb was elected to the commission in 2014 and currently serves as the board’s chair. If re-elected, this would be the Democrat’s fourth term. Outside of politics, he works as an environmental consultant. He said he reversed his decision to leave the BCC because he was reinvigorated by the topics currently on the docket.
“Over the past couple of months, the issues we’ve been working with tapped back into the passion that helped me run in the first place,” Newcomb told Buckrail. “It keeps me really incentivized to do the best job I can on long-range planning issues, comprehensive plan amendments, transportation considerations in the WY22 corridor, public land management with the [Bridger-Teton National Forest] forest management plan, and housing, for better or for worse.”
Newcomb noted that in his tenure as BCC chair, he has made an effort to be sure each commissioner has had the chance to weigh in on issues before decisions are made. He also opened the floor to community stakeholders more than was typical in the past, allowing public comment on matters that were originally only discussion items for the board.
“I hope that the work that I put into it has helped the community in the past and I hope it continues to do so,” he said. “I strive for enough humility to look back and review past decisions and always ask myself how we could be doing better. … Any voice matters and everybody is important; everybody has dignity and I just want to try to make sure that is preeminent in our approach to serving the community.”
Three seats on the board are up for grabs this year. Fellow commissioners Luther Propst and Wes Gardner, both Dems, have also filed paperwork to run again. Also in the running: Karyn Chin and Teton County Coroner Brent “Doc” Blue, both Dems.
