OPINION: My side of the story: Finding the the beef of candidate biographies

Nov. 5—I have some good news for fans of transparency among politicians: Several more Wyoming politicos have recently released their candidate information to appear in informal (but informative) voter educational materials.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a column titled "Where's the beef of candidate biographies?" This harkens back to an old-school television commercial for Wendy's.

It seemed like an appropriate headline for a column about the lack of information on candidates. In addition to there apparently being no comprehensive state-issued voter guide to all of the candidates, many of those seeking political office had neglected to provide this information to third parties.

So, I found myself being pleasantly surprised this past Sunday night, when I discovered that several candidates whose details had previously been missing now had their bios available online.

I base this assessment on the dozen people running for statewide office here in Wyoming. I used the candidates' Q&As from both the League of Women Voters, which runs vote411.org, and from this newspaper: WyomingNews.com/news/elections/election_2022.

As I promised back on Oct. 15, I think it is important to identify those candidates who did not take what should be among the most basic steps of campaigning. Several of them apparently could not even be bothered to provide either vote411.org or the Wyoming Tribune Eagle with biographical-type information about themselves and their policy positions.

There is a silver lining, however. The League told me that five people vying for statewide office had submitted their information to the organization between Oct. 15 and this Thursday.

Naming names

Of the 12 candidates for statewide office, one has not responded to both the LWV and the WTE's queries: Curt Meier.

Two others, Jared Baldes and Richard Brubaker, were only queried by the LWV, and they did not respond to that organization. I have reached out to Messrs. Baldes, Brubaker and Meier to see if they have any explanation to offer.

If a candidate cannot be bothered to write several paragraphs and send it off to a couple of nonpartisan organizations, what responsibilities might they shirk in public office? Personally, I would not vote for such a person.

On the other hand, Meier, the current state treasurer, faces no competition in the Nov. 8 general election. If he does reply to the WTE's candidate questions, you could find the information at bit.ly/3FCi52O.

There is another category of candidates seeking statewide office. These individuals completed one of the candidate questionnaires.

This describes three people. They are: Lynnette Greybull, Chuck Gray and Sergio Maldonado Sr. I have asked them if they plan on submitting information to the websites they had not already responded to.

In response, Rep. Gray exchanged a series of emails with me where he, in part, asked the details of when the WTE sent him a questionnaire. Just in case, WTE's managing editor, Brian Martin, sent Rep. Gray another questionnaire. You should be able to view his answers at bit.ly/3Uc16bo. Gray faces no electoral competition to become the next secretary of state, whose duties include overseeing elections.

For her part, Ms. Greybull immediately wrote back to me to say she did not "believe we received anything" from the WTE. The WTE's questions were resent to her. Her answers would appear at bit.ly/3T51esc. She is a candidate for U.S. representative.

Kudos

Saving the best for last, I give my compliments to all of the candidates who have filled out both of the questionnaires.

Or, in the case of Kristi Racines, she addressed the League's query. The WTE never sent her one, because she faced no rival candidate in the primary. (For the record, she says she would have filled one out if the newspaper had asked.)

Five other candidates also deserve recognition, as they have responded to both the League and this paper: Gov. Mark Gordon, Megan Degenfelder, Harriet Hageman, Theresa Livingston and Marissa Selvig. This makes for a total of six candidates with perfect records in this matter — either a failing grade for all 12 contenders or a half-full glass, depending on your perspective.

Ms. Selvig, who is a candidate for U.S. representative, made some good points in an email on Wednesday when I asked her if others should follow her example.

"I think that all candidates should respond to third party organizations with their information," she writes. "Why wouldn't they want to reach as many people as possible with their message? I think we need to make it as easy as possible for the average busy citizen who doesn't live and breathe politics on a daily basis to access information about their candidates. I am very thankful to each organization and newspaper that reached out to me for a response. Informed voters make better choices, and we certainly need that in today's political climate."

Next time there is an election in Wyoming, I hope that all the contenders will follow the examples of Ms. Racines, Gov. Gordon, Ms. Degenfelder, Ms. Hageman, Ms. Livingston and Ms. Selvig.

Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.