Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Starting this week and continuing over the next five weeks the Northern Wyoming News will be profiling candidates who are on the Aug. 20 primary election ballot.
This week we begin with the four U.S. Senate candidates (three Republicans and one Democrat) and three U.S. House candidates (two Republicans and one Democrat).
Next week will be the Republican candidates for House District 27 and House District 28. No Democrats have filed for those legislative offices.
We will proceed with Senate District 20, Washakie County Commissioners, Worland City Council and finally Worland mayor.
Our hope is that you the voter take time to read these before casting your vote either in absentee voting or at the polls on Aug. 20.
There are also candidate forums scheduled to help you be an informed voter — the Worland Senior Center will host one next Tuesday, July 16 for city and legislative candidates and commissioner candidates will be on July 25. Both are at noon.
The Washakie County Republican Women will be holding a forum or debate with details still being worked on the exact format and a tentative date of Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. at the community center.
There are a variety of others ways to be informed. Candidates will be appearing on debates from Wyoming PBS (except for U.S. House). House Republican candidate Steven Helling expressed disappointment during a visit Tuesday to the Northern Wyoming News, that Rep. Harriet Hageman has declined the offer by PBS to participate in the debate so the debate has been canceled. Hageman also declined to debate Democratic candidate Lynn Grey Bull in 2022.
Other debates will be conducted and other candidates will be making stops in Washakie County and the Big Horn Basin.
There are also opportunities to check out a candidate’s website.
Voting is a right granted us by the Constitution but it comes with a responsibility to not just cast a vote “willy nilly.”
It is important to understand where your candidates stand on the issues that are important to you.
In reading the comments from the House and Senate candidates about what they feel the No. 1 issue is right now, most do not have what I would consider No. 1. (That’s a topic for another day.)
You can learn a lot about a candidate by what they say or don’t say.
I personally appreciate candidates who are running for an office or an idea or for change, rather than running against an opponent. That is something I look for when evaluating candidates.
What is important to you? Do you know where your candidate stands on that issue? You should before you cast your vote.
Be informed but most of all don’t forget to vote.
--Karla Pomeroy