JACKSON, Wyo. — Protect Our Water Jackson Hole (POWJH) is dedicated to protecting and restoring the surface waters and groundwater in Teton County to ensure clean water for our community now and for future generations.
At the surface, Jackson Hole’s water resources look to be some of the most pristine in the country, but if you look a little deeper, excess nutrients in our water sources from wastewater, landscape fertilizer, pets and livestock is creating serious threats to human health and the environment.
Ahead of the November 8th election, POWJH talked with local town and county candidates to better understand how they plan to prioritize water quality if elected. Candidate’s responses have been compiled into videos to better inform the community. POWJH invited every candidate who will appear on the ballot to speak.
2022 TOWN COUNCIL CANDIDATES
ARNE JORGENSEN
CANDIDATE FOR TOWN COUNCIL
“We are the crucible of conservation in this country. Growing up here I’ve seen change in this community, as an architect I’ve seen failing septic systems and low groundwater levels and it’s clear that’s where the pollution is coming from.”
JONATHAN SCHECHTER
CANDIDATE FOR TOWN COUNCIL
“Our ecosystem is the foundation of everything that matters about our community – our character, our economy, everything that we are and brought us all here. And so what I really admire is who we are, our passion for this place, and how we can bring together the incredible resources of this community to do something innovative…to be great stewards for our lands and waters.”
DEVON VIEHMAN
CANDIDATE FOR TOWN COUNCIL
“Here we are – Teton County. We’re so forward-thinking, we should be on top of all this stuff. And last I heard there were over 600 failing septic systems in our valley, so we have to get on top of that and start making some changes. We absolutely need a department at the county level that is dedicated to water quality.”
KAT RUECKERT
CANDIDATE FOR TOWN COUNCIL
“Leveraging our community resources comes down to a lot within the private sector as well as the public sector, so i think if we utilize some philanthropic ideas and some public based ideas and bring them together…I think that’s going to be really beneficial.”
2022 COUNTY COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES
WES GARDNER
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“I’m running to make sure we are developing into the community we deserve…there’s no debate over whether we should protect the natural resources around us. I think the debate happens when it comes to funding and strategies to protect those resources. And when we talk about water I’m really interested in what are the investments we can make to protect our water and what are the funding mechanisms we can bring to bear to bring those solutions forward.”
TOM SEGERSTROM
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“After determining what it is that we have been doing that is at the root of these problems, there is some strategic work that needs to be done. Our water interconnects with everything and the town and the county play coordinated roles that need to be closer coordinated.”
KASEY MATEOSKY
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“You’re starting to see algae blooms in the water. It’s something I think a lot of smart people knew were happening but Teton County the last 20-30 years…tends to put its head in the sand and now there’s a crisis, and now we have to deal with it. We could have been dealing with this generations or decades ago, but we chose not to.”
LUTHER PROPST
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“…we do indeed have a water quality problem and I think we have the political will to address it, but we have a lot of work before we are able to do so. Protecting our natural resources is critical for several reasons. First, our economy depends on the health upon the quality of our natural resources. Secondly, we are one of the wealthiest counties in the country and I think we are obligated to provide national leadership in being good stewards of our natural resources.”
PETER LONG
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“The health of our environment, the health of our economy and the health of our residents all depends on the quality of our water, which is why we can’t afford to kick this issue down the road any further.”
BRENDEN CRONIN
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“The things I want to put into place as soon as I get elected is to shift our focus more on the fact that we need to transform our wastewater systems very quickly to accommodate the growth that is still happening in our community. The first thing I would do is address our wastewater treatment facility, it is an antiquated system that needs to be updated.” “I hope in the future we can continue to see SPET initiatives on the ballot to address water quality….The fact that we are still using a 1970’s based system in Teton County in this day and age in such a beautiful and stunning place, to me needs to be a focus for this community.”
MARK NEWCOMB
CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COMMISSIONER
“Here we have flowing creeks and streams and clear lakes and its hard to fathom that they are contaminated with enough pollutants to cause them to be not entirely healthy for humans.”
State candidate interviews coming soon!
Interviews with state candidates will be posted on the website next week, check back in on Oct. 21.
Are you interested in more election information? Learn why POWJH is asking voters to support the Water Quality measure on SPET.
