I’ve spent most of my career working across northern Wyoming, facilitating difficult conversations around community issues.
And here’s something I know for certain:
Communities and economies do not get stronger when people stop listening to each other.
They get stronger when people are willing to think independently, have honest conversations, and work toward practical solutions — even when they don’t agree on everything.
That’s especially important right now. Families are worried about rising costs. Young people are struggling to see a future here. Communities are trying to preserve what makes Wyoming special while also creating opportunity for the next generation.
Those are real issues, and they deserve more than political theater and ideological litmus tests.
Over the past three decades, I’ve led a lot of meetings where people disagreed about roads, land use, mineral development, reclamation, water, growth, taxes, economic development, and the future of their communities. I’ve seen conversations reach the point where people were frustrated, dug in, and ready to throw up their hands and go home.
One thing experience has taught me is that the hardest part of solving a problem often comes right before progress. If people stay at the table and keep working the problem, what feels like the point of failure is often the point where a better solution starts to emerge.
Not because anyone gives up their principles, but because they’re willing to keep thinking, keep listening, and keep looking for a way forward.
I believe that’s a deeply conservative value.
Conservatism is rooted in stewardship — recognizing that things of value are usually built slowly and should not be discarded casually. Businesses, communities, institutions, relationships, and trust all require investment to build and maintain. That’s why I believe conservatives should be willing to stay engaged when problems become difficult. Walking away may be easy, but stewardship requires us to do the harder work of finding a better path forward.
I’m a conservative because I believe in stewardship, responsibility, strong local communities, hard work, and accountable government. I believe confident people can sit down with others, listen seriously, stand firmly in their principles, and still work constructively toward solutions that strengthen Wyoming’s communities and economy.
Rejecting ideas simply because of who suggested them is not wisdom.
And refusing to work with people simply because they see some issues differently is not leadership.
Wyoming deserves better than that.