JACKSON, Wyo. — Ahead of the primary elections in Wyoming on Aug. 16, Buckrail asked the candidates running for Town Council and County Commission these same two questions:
- What is your biggest priority if elected?
- What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
The Town Council is a non-partisan office. Regardless of party affiliation, voters who live within the town of Jackson have their pick of two candidates out of the seven running.
Their answers appear in the same order as their names will appear on the ballot. Two candidates, Elliot R. Alston and Joel Smith did not respond.
Arne Olaus Jorgensen
What is your biggest priority if elected?
“To continue to focus on the needs of our community and our public lands.
The vast majority of the work of the Town of Jackson is the provision of our Core Services. This focus must be maintained while working to increase our investments Transportation, Housing, Health and Human Services, and Conservation. Within this larger view, I am very focused on increasing our ability to invest in Community Housing opportunities and expand our effectiveness and transparency in the Town of Jackson budgetary processes.”
What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
“I am running for re-election because Jackson is a Community of People in an Incredible Community of Place, and it is critical that we retain a sense of — and protect — both.
Growing up in Jackson, my parents instilled in me a deep appreciation of our environment. While spending time both in and out of Jackson, I have come to recognize the uniqueness of our neighbors and that many are not represented in our political discourse. I would be honored to continue to serve on the Town Council and humbly ask for your vote.”
Katherine Rueckert
What is your biggest priority if elected?
“My biggest priority is to rein in the local government.
Your elected officials see the Rodeo & Fairgrounds as a chunk of land they can carve away at, and, based on the projected budget for 2023, they see community members as a checkbook to pay for their 6.5-million-dollar overspending. I’d like to preserve the Rodeo & Fairgrounds, cut spending to alleviate some of the community’s tax burden, and invest in housing opportunities we can afford.”
What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
“It came down to two questions: If not you, who? If not now, when?
I believe our representative government flourishes when elected offices are a revolving door of new people, new ideas, and fresh perspectives. I see running for local office as my civic duty – I’d like to get in, get stuff done, and get out. A few of the main issues I’m focusing on are preserving Jackson’s western heritage, balancing the budget, and common sense housing.”
Jonathan Schechter
What is your biggest priority if elected?
“Jackson Hole is a 21st century community with a 20th century operating system. My biggest priority is to continue helping the Town of Jackson’s government modernize everything it does, so we can better meet the needs of our residents, businesses, and visitors.
We must continue to address the issues every candidate is discussing, including affordable housing, transportation, and growing income inequality. To truly meet our community’s needs, though, we also must ask the hard questions raised by the Comp Plan’s Vision Statement. What is a healthy environment? Community? Economy? How are we doing? How do we know? Answering these questions is vital to sustaining what matters about Jackson Hole.”
What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
“To help Jackson Hole Sustain What Matters.
What matters is our environment. Our community. Our economy. The qualities that make Jackson Hole so remarkable. I have spent the past 20+ years working with Jackson and similar communities, helping them identify and Sustain What Matters to them. As a town councilor, I have helped Jackson face unprecedented growth and change. All the challenges we face are only accelerating, and I want to continue using my skills, knowledge, and ability to get things done to help the community, region, and people I love so dearly, and which has given me so much.”
David Scheurn
What is your biggest priority if elected?
“My biggest priority would be Community Safety.
There are a lot of things happening in our Town & County that need to be addressed immediately to make sure that our children & community are safe. I would support funding and be an advocate for the police department to make sure they can address the issues facing our community.”
What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
” I was asked by multiple people who live in Town to run.
Then after doing research on our current town council – I noticed a lot of double talk and them not listening to the residents’ concerns. They care more about what nonprofits & what the paper say about them than the voters. Which is what made me submit my name for consideration.”
Joel Smith
Devon Viehman
What is your biggest priority if elected?
“Fast-tracking affordable housing and strategizing new zoning regulation policies immediately.
Local zoning, regulation and permitting processes have become so cumbersome that no one can build workforce housing without losing money. We must restructure zoning regulations and permitting or we will just have more luxury townhomes and hotels because they are currently incentivized with the current structure. Because developing housing takes so long and is so expensive, no one can build anything different and turn a profit. We can’t expect people to willingly lose money. We need to take a step back and fix what is broken. For example, transitional neighborhoods were created to encourage multi-family units, but what happened was the prices were driven so more big boxes with vacant accessory residential units were built. Fast-tracking affordable housing also means consistently voting YES, and I have demonstrated that during my time on the county planning commission. I’m ready to take bold action and make swift, data-driven decisions.”
What prompted you to run for office this election cycle?
“I am running because our community is frustrated and so am I.
Individuals in the working and middle classes increasingly can’t afford to live here, and if they do, most of their monthly budget goes toward housing. It isn’t sustainable and we continue to lose valuable members of our community: young people, retirees and everyone in-between. The quality of life isn’t what it should be in this special place. Our community isn’t a commodity, but it sure does feel like that is what it has turned into. I have advocated for housing and homeowner protections for over a decade at the state and national level. I’ve served on the Teton County Planning commission. I founded the Community Housing Fund. No one knows housing like I do, and I want to use my skills and experience to help navigate my community through this crisis.”
Candidates participated in an online forum in June hosted by the Teton County Library and the League of Women Voters. The video recording is available here.
More information about where, when and how to vote is available here.
