The same week current commissioners signed a resolution honoring immigrants, Republican candidate Vicky O’Donoghue took a different tack.
“ICE is good,” the longtime driving instructor said, “because they’re only taking the criminals.”
Her remark earned a round of skeptical murmuring from an audience of about 50 voters last week at the Teton County Library. Immigration enforcement was the most divisive topic of the general election forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. The six hopefuls for Teton County Commission also diverged on affordable housing.
Asked whether the proposed 400 affordable homes at northern South Park will suffice to solve the current crisis, Republican Melchor Moore used his challenge card to emphasize that the county can’t build homes for everybody.
“We have houses that are empty and not full and we’re building more,” said Moore, an art dealer whose family has called Jackson home for generations.
On immigration, Moore said that protesting ICE isn’t helping. “If you’re undocumented in this town and you’re not breaking a law other than that, you’re fine, nobody’s bothering you,” he said.
His remarks came weeks after a Turkish woman with no other criminal record was arrested by federal immigration officials for allegedly overstaying her visa. About 200 immigrants have been taken by ICE from the county jail after being arrested by local officers, mostly on suspicions of drunk driving or for not having a license.
The remaining three Democrats and one Independent said they support the resolution passed by current commissioners.
The statement describes immigrants as deserving of dignity and fair treatment regardless of their status. It also instructs staff to create “clear protocols” for when and how the sheriff and county employees work with federal immigration authorities.
The candidates were more unified in denouncing the idea of a Major League Baseball game in Grand Teton National Park. The league said a day later that it was no longer considering the site.
PAC support
Besides party, the candidates are also divided by who accepted outside money to fund their campaigns. All three Democrats received money from the Sheridan-based Way Back PAC and Keep Jackson Whole, a new fund backed by Rep. Liz Storer.
Storer, a Jackson Democrat, is married to commission incumbent Luther Propst.
Ali Dunford said she accepted money from the Way Back PAC because she aligns with the organization’s values, including a commitment to getting her hands dirty. “There was no quid pro quo. I don’t owe them any votes,” she said.
Karyn Chin said she solicited a donation from the Way Back group and was grateful to receive it. She suggested it helped give her an edge in the primary over incumbents with more name recognition. She was surprised by the support from Keep Jackson Whole.
Propst criticized the current reality of money in politics but took no issue with his own check. He said he recently rode mountain bikes in Moab with the man who manages the Way Back PAC.
“We have mutual friends in [Washington] D.C… and I’m happy to take his money,” Propst said.
Moore, O’Donoghue and independent Alex Muromcew, a venture capitalist, all stressed that they didn’t receive PAC support. Out-of-state money has had a “corrosive” effect on Wyoming politics, said Muromcew, a former Republican.
“I do not want to be beholden to any other party’s ideology or platform,” he said.
Budget constraints
The independent candidate was one of the most outspoken on another issue facing the next slate of county leaders: property tax funds. Voters will decide on a statewide 50% cut to residential property taxes on the November ballot.
If the measure known as Prop 1 passes, many of the candidates said Teton County would be forced to raise what it asks from homeowners. Unlike most of the state, Teton County only collects about two-thirds of what it could legally charge each homeowner.
Even with the increase, Muromcew said the county may be forced into a hiring freeze.
“This is certainly my nightmare,” he said,” warning of chaos at the legislature.
“A lot of counties do not have the budget flexibility that we do,” he said.
Chin, by contrast, said the potential cut motivated her to run for office. Teton County needs “working-class voices” in budget decisions, she said, so that resources like the public library are preserved.
Dunford said she would put the question of what to cut to voters, while Moore suggested there would be no reason to make cuts because of recaptured state funds. Those excess property funds are currently earmarked for the state’s school districts.
O’Donoghue suggested the state and county have enough money in reserves to cover the reduction, which the state estimates at $125 million per year.
Wyoming has a $750 million surplus — money the governor has said helped the state weather the pandemic and will protect future generations “when mineral revenues decline.”
