Three candidates for Wyoming’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives visited Goshen County on Thursday to meet with locals and compete for votes in the upcoming primary election.

Democratic candidate Gary Trauner and Republican candidates Bill Winney and Mark Gordon each walked in the Goshen County Fair Parade, then mingled with the crowd that turned out at the fairgrounds. The candidates also found time to visit with the Telegram about their candidacies, their goals and some of the biggest issues facing Wyoming and the nation.

Gordon, a Buffalo native, announced his candidacy for Rep. Barbara Cubin’s House seat in January 2008. Cubin is not seeking re-election. A Wyoming native, Gordon owns and operates a ranch in Buffalo. He moved to Buffalo in the 1980s, and he and his late wife created a catalog business in Sheridan, the first of his many entrepreneurial experiences.

After the death of his first wife, Gordon remarried and has expanded his ranching businesses in Campbell and Sheridan counties. He also began a bookstore and re-opened a movie theater.

Trauner ran against Cubin in 2006 and lost the election by approximately 1,000 votes. He said he enjoys the variety of opinions and ideas that people around the state share with him. He visited many Wyoming residents during the last election door-to-door and sees the county fair visits he is doing this year as an extension of that. Trauner, who lives in Wilson, is a financial entrepreneur, a former chairman of the Teton County School District No. 1 board of trustees and chairman of the board of directors for the Aspens Water and Sewer District.

Winney ran against Cubin two years ago and said he received 40 percent of the votes in the primary. Winney, who lives in Bondurant, said his experience as a Navy officer who spent six years in the Pentagon working with Congress gives him an advantage over the other candidates in the field. He said he is familiar with the Congressional budgeting process as well as the workings of Congress.

Mark Gordon

According to Gordon, there is a way to solve every problem with communication and planning.

One of the biggest issues facing Goshen County and the state of Wyoming is water rights. Gordon, who has been on numerous water boards throughout his life, said he has fought very hard for Wyoming’s water.

“With the water rights being sacred, that is why I am opposed to anything interfering with our laws at a federal level,” he said. “Water should be put to use in Wyoming. When you think long term, water is a more precious recourse than any other we have.”

The Gordon campaign stresses the importance of local businesses because many small towns in Wyoming, including Torrington, depend on them.

“I think the only thing you can do to promote small business is to provide opportunities for them,” he said. “You need entrepreneurs to make small businesses work.”

He said entrepreneurs are the reason businesses expand and stay in business, and the opportunities to start a business must be available. Gordon said he would ensure starting a small business in the state is possible by making sure the state has capital, business-ready communities and the appropriate infrastructure.

Gordon said improving the country’s education system is vital, and there are a of number of things that can be done to improve the No Child Left Behind Act.

“I think the act has raised the floor, but I also think at the same time, it has compromised education, particularly for kids who are ambitious, who want to do more,” he said. “We need to provide opportunities for teachers to be able to teach and I think we need to be able to provide opportunities to go as far as they want to.”

Specifically, Gordon said No Child Left Behind must be funded appropriately.

“There is problems with the testing,” he said. “...when you start teaching to the test, you move off instilling critical prospective and lifetime learning and you start getting into skills and acquisition.”

Gordon said Social Security could be the toughest issue the country will face in the future. He said he is “irritated” that Congress has not made an attempt to address the issue already.

“It has been used as a tool for political gain all along,” he said. “My view is, unfortunately, we are going to have to figure out what we’re going to do regarding this issue.”

Gordon said there are a few options that could correct the problem. The first, he said, is to raise payroll taxes.

“I think at some point we have to say that new enrollees in Social Security are going to take a portion of their social security taxes and be able to manage that themselves so they have control over that,” he said.

Gordon met with the League of Women Voters of Laramie Candidate Forum in Cheyenne following the parade and is campaigning in Thermopolis today.

Gary Trauner

Trauner said he is amazed at the amount of name recognition he has in the current election as compared to the one in 2006.

“A lot of my time last time was just introducing myself,” Trauner said.

This time, he said, he can focus more on getting his message out. Part of that message is issue areas he hopes to focus on such as healthcare, energy and the economy.

Trauner said that although it is perceived that Democrats often have a harder time in Wyoming because of the state’s predominantly Republican voter demographics, he hopes that people will look outside of labels. Trauner holds some positions that are normally considered conservative, such as keeping government out of private lives, Second Amendment rights and respecting the rule of law. Trauner said he also believes in smaller but more effective government.

“Government has a role,” Trauner said. “The question is where that role is.”

According to Trauner, one of the main sentiments expressed to him by Wyoming residents is that most people are not happy with the way the government is being run.

“People have lost faith and trust in the government,” Trauner said. “You can hold any title you want, but if you’ve lost the support of the people you’re never going to succeed.”

Trauner said he hopes to change that and focus on helping Wyoming if elected, even though he would be just one of 435 representatives.

“People change the world all the time. You just never know who, you never know when and you never know where,” Trauner said.

The Wyoming Republican Primary is scheduled for Aug. 19, and until then Trauner does not have a clear opponent for the seat.

“It’s going to be competitive, but that’s what you want,” Trauner said.

After visiting the fair on Thursday, Trauner headed to the Platte County Fair in Wheatland and a League of Women Voters Forum in Laramie before ending the day in Cheyenne.

Bill Winney

According to Winney, one of his top objectives as U.S. representative would be to restore a strong national economy, and he has a three-step process outlined to obtain this goal. First, he would control spending, which he said is not just balancing the budget. He said Congress needs to stop “earmarking” spending practices, stop wasteful systemic financial purchasing like what he saw in the Pentagon, and discipline itself to significantly pay down the principal of the national debt every year.

The second step in Winney’s formula to restoring a strong national economy is to control the country’s borders. He said there are portions of the border that require strong fences and there are places that do not. Above all else, those responsible for securing the border should have the money and resources to do their job.

“Give the people with ‘boots in the dirt’ the resources they need to deal with the border problem,” Winney said.

The third and final step in Winney’s plan to restore a strong national economy is to control the country’s energy resources. He is in favor of using every energy resource available, including solar, wind, petroleum, coal, natural gas, nuclear, bio-fuels and new sources in development. He noted that close to half of America’s energy currently comes from coal. Although steps should be taken to control pollution from coal, America should not restrict its use to the detriment of its position in the world economy.

Winney would also free some of the present controls on drilling for oil, and after his experience on nuclear submarines, he is a strong advocate for the increased use of nuclear power.

Winney said the Social Security system must be changed. The challenges posed by the system are considerable, and Winney said that either Social Security benefits will need to be reduced or the funding stream needs to be increased.

According to Winney, America has the best health care system and medical support in the world. However, he said the major problem with the country’s health care system is that not everyone is covered.

Winney said he would create programs to ensure that health insurance companies build reserves when clients are younger so that there would be money to pay for increased health care costs as the clients get older.

“I’ve been all over the state,” Winney said. “People like to look you in the eye and talk to you. I am looking forward to getting Congress to do the things the people of the state want done. You do that by walking the halls – I have the skills to do that for Wyoming.”

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