Why County Commissioner Races Should Stay Partisan

I trust the people to want to make an informed decision.

While the office is not a statewide position, it is one that warrants a high level of scrutiny. The emergency response plans for our counties, the growth of our communities, and the collection of our revenue all funnel through these boards.

Each county in Wyoming is run in a distinct fashion. In Natrona County, we want to know what your base views are, and the party identifier is a prime way to accomplish that goal.

Many voters want to know if the person running believes that government intervention is the primary way to effect change, or if it should only be used in the rarest of circumstances. If the candidates are honest in their filings and their voter registration, the people will have a much better idea of that, precisely because the race is partisan in nature.

It also makes the candidate work harder, as every party can put forth its top picks for the general election. If it switched to non‑partisan, instead of having the ability to select from a broader pool of candidates from every major party, you would likely only be able to choose from six total; the minor parties would not be able to nominate three each if they desired. Come two years from now, when the other seats are up for election, it would likely be only four who would advance to the general.

I know that not all major parties put up the max available or even one in every election – but the electorate should have the ability to do so, and the voters should be allowed to make their choice.

The ways we do things in this state were set up for a reason, and we should not try to change them just because some believe that only statewide races should be partisan.

I actually believe that city races should be partisan as well. The City of Casper’s budget for the upcoming year is nearly $200 million. That is a lot of money in the control of a very few. The voters should have any and all information available to them about the candidates for these positions.

An informed populace is nothing to be afraid of. If you as a candidate don’t respect yourself, your voters, or your party enough to put the letter by your name, you probably shouldn’t be a member of that party.

The moment that you remove partisanship from a race like the County Commissioner, it changes nothing but transparency. Special interest groups will still support them from behind the scenes, party leaders will still support them — you just won’t know it. You could also use the same arguments that would be used to make races like the Commissioners non‑partisan and apply them to the state and federal level. In my opinion, you turn it into a 100% popularity contest at that point, and we are already close enough to that as it is.

I know who I am. I am proud of my positions, and even if they did eventually change these races by statute, I, for one, would be transparent enough to tell everyone what party I am a member of.

Cameron Savage

Candidate for Natrona County Commissioner