The Commissioner’s Duty: Why Promises Must Yield to the Law

I have been asked by many constituents to provide straight "YES" or "NO" answers on controversial projects currently before the Natrona County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) or likely to come before it soon. You are probably not going to like what you are about to read...but it is the truth, and I will not pretend otherwise.

I would love to be able to provide those answers. However, the plain fact is that the position of county commissioner is not like that of a State Legislator, Governor, or Member of Congress. As a county commissioner, you must act like a judge. You are required to apply the law equally to every application. If a candidate publicly commits to a hard "NO" on a project regardless of the facts or evidence, and is then elected, they would either have to recuse themselves from the vote or risk the county being sued. Commissioners cannot let personal bias determine a vote before the proper public hearings and procedures have concluded.

That is why I cannot give a blanket ‘NO’ or ‘YES’ to an entire industry, regardless of whether it is wind, solar, nuclear, oil, gas, soda ash, or ai data centers.

If a Commissioner acts based on a pre-judgment of an application or just because they don’t like a particular industry or individual, that is a violation of due process.

That said, I am not silent on these issues. I can be vocal about my views on previous board decisions and how I would have handled them. For example, regarding the gravel pit at the base of Casper Mountain, I would have voted against allowing it based on the risk to public health, our zoning laws, increased road damage and traffic, noise concerns, and the fact that I believe that your rights end where mine begin.

The appropriate avenue for a commissioner, and where I can take a stand publicly, is in the legislative nature of the office. I can and will:

• Advocate for regulations through our zoning code that prevent industries of any type from causing harm to our citizens, our land, or our way of life. I can advocate for requirements that make companies use responsible amounts of water and our other natural resources.

  
  

• Insist that the BOCC does not give special treatment to one industry over another or make exceptions for favored businesses.

  
  

• Remind the Board of its duty to create regulations that serve the people first, rather than the interests of big business.

This is how we gain the ability to vote "YES" or "NO" legally; we must have these standards in place before the applications take place. Otherwise, we risk massive, taxpayer-funded lawsuits that result from acting in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner. Lawsuits that would likely result in the reversal of the board's decisions.

Anyone running for this office and giving you a hard "YES" or "NO" on a pending decision or on an entire industry going into the future, is either opening the future board up to litigation or giving you an empty campaign promise. They either do not fully understand the duties of the office that they seek, or they are intentionally misleading you.

I refuse to give complex issues soundbite answers. What would happen if you or another resident were trying to develop your own property, and I had decided, before even speaking to you or your neighbors, that I didn’t like your plan? What if I told you I would vote against it regardless of the evidence or the support you brought with you? What if my attitude was simply "damn the procedures and the law, I know what is best"?

I bet you would demand a fair process and insist that I act as a neutral arbiter. That is exactly the kind of Commissioner I intend to be.

Cameron Savage, Casper WY

Candidate, Natrona County Commissioner

This letter was originally published in Oil City News on June 15, 2026.