Council races unopposed in Tuesday's primary election

WORLAND — There are six of the nine Worland City Council seats up for election this year with four incumbents seeking to retain their seats.

There are two four-year seats open in Ward 1, Adam Martinez is seeking his second term on the council and Barbie Brookwell is seeking to retain the seat to which she was appointed.

Council candidates were contacted last week for a statement on why they are running for city council.

Brookwell said, “I’m running because I believe all government should be obligated to be responsive to the people who elected them.

“We see it every day on the federal level. The majority of Americans feel this country is going in the wrong direction and the federal government refuses to represent the people and only pushes their agenda. The only way to change this is for me to participate in the system.

“The city council isn’t there to represent themselves. We are here to represent the people in the city and our wards. When issues are brought before the city council the council should take action in a timely manner.

“As a council member it doesn’t matter what I think about the issue, what matters is I am there to represent what the people in my ward want.”

She added, “It is a great honor to have people put their trust in me, to carry out their business. I am honored, humbled and sometimes a little overwhelmed. Remember it is ‘government for the people, by the people. I will always do my best to help our city and its people.”

Martinez was first elected to the council in 2020 for a two-year term. In 2020 he said, “I come from a family who has been highly involved in our community for decades. I believe it is important to maintain active participation in the public life of a community.”

Rebecca George is the lone candidate for the primary election for a two-year Ward 1 seat. This would be her first term on the council.

She said, “I am running for Worland City Council Ward 1 for several reasons. The proper role of government is to ensure that freedom is preserved, private property rights are not infringed and that our households are not overburdened with rules and regulations. My husband I and have six kids in our family. The time is now to help our household, not when the kids are grown and gone. Worland City Council is another opportunity to serve and help guide the future we are creating for the younger generations, my family and yours.

“There is nothing wrong with a municipal government that says no to bureaucracy. The municipality should work for and in behalf of the citizens and should not attempt to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the people. I want to preserve the soft approach of the Big Horn Basin small town communities, that government growth is not the answer. Worland is a simple town with a nice feeling of friendship and community. Our citizenry is capable of self-governance.

“Transparency is key to any form of government. In our small Wyoming community, we want to allow our government to make good and wise decisions on our behalf, and to never suffer the negative side effects from those decisions. An active community will always let the municipality know when they are doing too much or too little. I encourage you to be proactive instead of reactive. When issues are brought before the council, my approach will be to filter issues into good, better and best categories to ensure that our local government is not doing more than it should. I look forward to serving on the Worland City Council for the next two years and would appreciate your vote to do so.”

Pete Calderon is the lone candidate for a four-year term for Ward 2. This would be his first term on the council if elected.

Calderon said, “It has been a lifelong dream to serve in public office. Politics has been part of my life from an early age growing up with a mother who fled Cuba as a child because of the communist takeover of the island. And as a young man finding myself questioning why this happened, how did the government fail, and why wasn’t liberty protected? After graduating from the University of Wyoming and majoring in political science, and having a foundation of knowledge of how governments operate. I felt City Council was the perfect opportunity to serve. It would be my sacred honor to work together with members of city council and represent my friends, neighbors, and partners in our community tackling the many local issues we face. Worland is my home. Having both my children graduate from Worland High School, I have a desire to do the best I can to improve the quality of life here; and continue making our city a great place to live for current and future generations.”

Kreg Lombard and Mike Neufer are both seeking re-election to their respective Ward 3 four-year seats.

Kreg L. Lombard began his service to Worland as mayor, serving four years from 2009-2012. He said he was unable to seek a second term due to pending back surgery. Four years ago, he accepted a write-in nomination for Ward 3 and won the seat in the general election. He is now seeking re-election to the council.

“I’ve been in public service my whole life,” he said, including 12 years as a firefighter in California.

“I like to serve people. I’ve just always been in public service and I enjoy it. I just turned 80, but I don’t feel 80 years old. I feel I have a lot to give to the council,” Lombard said.

He added that he is the type of person that “gets stuff done.”

Neufer accepted a write-in nomination following the 2016 primary election. In 2020 he ran for a two-year seat in Ward 3 that was open at that time. This election both seats in Ward 3 are for four-year terms.

In an interview in 2016, Neufer said he hopes to bring level-headed decision making to council, and said he will use his knowledge of the city’s infrastructure to his advantage. Neufer worked for the City of Worland for seven years, first at the airport as a maintenance employee and then in the public works sector. He is currently employed with Washakie Rural. He said he also brings water operations experience to the table.

The Worland council races are non-partisan which means the top two vote-getters in each race advance to the general election. Write-in nominations may be accepted following the primary election. A person must receive at least three write-in votes during the primary to accept the nomination and be placed on the general election ballot. They also would have to file the normal filing fee.