Two vie for State District 28 seat

 


John Winter runs for re-election

Republican John R. Winter is running for re-election as the Wyoming State Representative for District 28. Winter has already served two terms in the 65th and 66th Legislative Sessions of the House of Representatives.

Born and raised in Cody, Winter now resides on Kirby Creek near Thermopolis with his wife Diane of 26 years. Winter is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a degree in Range Management and worked for the BLM in various roles over the course of 14 years. He returned to the private sector in agriculture and was a big game outfitter in the Thorofare area of Yellowstone between Cody and Jackson Hole. He operated a business for 38 years called Two Ocean Pass Outfitting. 

Winter describes himself as a leader who has conservative values. He is an advocate for President Trump, and a supporter of pro-life issues, voter ID, and the Second Amendment. Winter also said he is “Pro-Wyoming and the Wyoming Republican Platform and supports private property rights.”

Winter is opposed to Medicaid Expansion. He is also opposed to marijuana and other drug use. There are other concerns he has, such as the 30x30 Plan by the Biden administration and “the overreach of the federal government trampling on our rights.”

Winter recently has been working on natural resource issues that are related to grizzly bears, wolves, and wild horses. Winter said, “There are so many issues in the legislature, and we have to vote on so many things down there. But you have to have a basis for your value system. And my value system is conservatism. That’s how I address all the other issues that are down there. From a conservative standpoint.”

Winter said that one of the efforts has been to delist the grizzly bear and that he wants to “send a message from our governor to the federal delegation that we need to re delist the grizzly bear. And so that’s been accomplished. We’re constantly dealing with predators and that sort of thing.”Winter also wants to address issues regarding the venues at Hot Springs State Park. He said, “That’s one of the main reasons why I am running again is because we’ve got to get our state park back in operation, and we need to put it back in good shape. There’s been 20 years of hassle over there at the park and it just keeps going downhill.”  

Winter explained that he has been on the Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee and he said, “my goal is to make Hot Springs State Park a jewel for Wyoming. And because it is, and we just need to update it.”

Winter is also a member of the Agriculture, State, and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee at the state legislature and the Select Federal Natural Resources Management Committee.

Kim Bartlett seeks state seat

Democrat Kim Bartlett, is running for office as the Wyoming State Representative for District 28. Bartlett said, “My priority issue is Medicaid expansion. I think that’s something that is long past due here in Wyoming.”

Bartlett is motivated by the death of a business owner who had health issues. Bartlett said, “When you’re a small business owner, the first thing that you do is you get your business up and running. You don’t take a salary. And because you don’t take a salary, you can’t prove income and because you can’t prove income, you don’t make it to the health care exchange. You have to make at least $24,000 a year. And here in Wyoming, we have a gap between people who make $17,000 and $24,000 a year, which means if you make less than that, you’re on traditional Medicaid. But if you don’t make over $24,000, you’re not eligible for the exchange.”

Bartlett added, “We worked very hard on Medicaid expansion last year. We went to the legislative session. And it is my purpose to get that over the finish line to make sure that we close the Medicaid gap here in Wyoming. And that’s the primary reason I’m running. I’m also running because I think that we need to expand jobs. There are some industries where we have legislation that creates a barrier for those businesses coming into Wyoming.”

Bartlett continued about other issues she wants to address and said, “And I want to make sure that we don’t have any barriers to business coming to Wyoming. I want to make sure that we continue to grow our economy. So that’s also very important to me. Education is very important to me and equality is very important to me.”

Regarding what kind of equality, Barlett said, “I’m talking about equality across the board. I mean, I think that all individuals here in Wyoming should receive the same treatment, regardless of faith, regardless of race. I think women’s health should be on an equal par. I think that for women’s income we should close the gap between men and women. If a man makes a dollar, a woman makes $0.76 on each one of those dollars.”

Bartlett also addressed ideas regarding property taxes and said, “I would also like to look into freezing property taxes for seniors. I know that we have some property tax relief funds, but in the age of giant property tax increases, I think it would be nice to cut that off for people who are over the age of 65.”

Regarding Bartlett’s qualification for the office, she said, “I have an educational background in business law and human rights. I have worked for many years for different organizations and on state ballot questions and interfaced with the legislatures in the states that I came from. And that included working with the governor’s office, working with the Secretary of Energy, Environment, and working with the corporation commission. Various nonprofits and groups, both urban and rural. Because of that background, I feel very comfortable running for office here.” 

Bartlett is originally from Oklahoma.

 

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