Growth should lower the burden on working families, not raise it. I’ll push for big projects to cover their own costs, from power lines and roads to emergency services and eventual cleanup, and to put those commitments in writing through binding benefit agreements and Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) terms.

To keep our youth in Wyoming, we must link economic growth directly to local education. Lynne supports expanding partnerships with Laramie County Community College (LCCC) to train local residents for high-tech, specialized trades while providing active and engaging social pastime opportunities. Growth should make Laramie County a better place to live, not just a busier one. I’ll push for workforce housing plans on large projects, so people who work here can afford to live here, and for local training with LCCC, paid for in part by the companies that need the workers. Keeping our young people takes inviting opportunities, a sense of belonging, homes they can afford and a community worth coming back to, and I’ll measure progress by engaging them directly.

Safety requires planning, and planning requires civic participation. I’ll use Wyoming’s existing law allowing city-county joint sessions to make sure our sheriff’s department, emergency responders and road crews keep pace with growth. And I’ll make county information easier to find and understand, so residents can participate in the process and aren’t blindsided by decisions that affect their lives.

In semi-arid Wyoming, water is life. I’ll push for a public study of the combined water use of all pending and existing projects before the county approves new conditional use permits, instead of approving large developments one at a time while ignoring our shared aquifer. Residents along the city-county boundary live with both governments’ decisions, and they deserve a stronger voice in both. And our public lands must stay public.