Gordon Concerned About Misinformation Campaigns Targeting Wyoming Primary Races

SHERIDAN — Gov. Mark Gordon isn’t oblivious to the fact that it’s the height of campaign season in Wyoming.

Correcting and responding to misinformation offered up by some of the campaigns in Wyoming is one reason he held a town hall meeting Tuesday afternoon at Sheridan College.

“One of the things that seems to be happening in the state right now is a whole bunch of stuff is being thrown at people, information that is sometimes inaccurate and improper,” he said.

For the most part, Tuesday’s event was a feel-good event to highlight economic efforts Gordon has promoted since taking office in 2019, including his Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) and Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) programs.

Members of the governor’s panel highlighted efforts to diversify the Cowboy State’s energy industry, and overall economy, by better preparing youth for the modern workforce.

Gordon said if he doesn’t listen to Wyoming residents, like at his town halls, he would be failing at his job.

“If we can just level-set, check-in, understand what’s going on, hear from people both good and bad and make sure we try to hear that information, ultimately I think that’s the key,” he said.

Over the past two months, Gordon has held two town halls in Wyoming communities represented by state legislators who have been critical of the governor. Both of these events were held during the day on weekdays, yet more than 100 people still turned out Tuesday.

When Cowboy State Daily asked Gordon about the worktime scheduling, he admitted it could be improved to facilitate even more engagement.

“I’m not trying to avoid people and I’m not trying to have it so only people that can take off work can come,” he said.

A Little Tension

There was some brief tension when Johnson County resident Marianne Ferrari confronted Gordon about increasing government spending during his tenure.

“I would like to know how you justify yourself as a conservative having done this to the state. It’s causing a lot of catastrophes,” she said.

Gordon countered that spending of Wyoming state money has actually decreased during this time, and that the budget increases were a result of an hike in federal money the state has received.

“You and I can talk about this later,” he said.

This did little to appease Ferrari, who said she wanted to talk about it in front of everyone, before then accusing the governor of using increased property tax revenue to facilitate the bigger budget.

A back-and-forth then ensued.

“Property tax is where you get all the money to spend all that,” she said.

Gordon then asked if she knows where property tax revenue goes.

“Does it go to the state or does it go to the county?” he questioned, before answering his own question that it goes to county government.

Ferrari countered that property tax revenue is coming from taxpayers with no increase to their personal income.

Gordon then turned to the audience, asking if they found he and Ferrari’s give-and-take valuable, to which most answered no.

“I’m happy to talk with you about it. I think the point you’re making, so that people understand, the point you’re making is, ‘Governor, I don’t believe you’re conservative because the budget has increased so much and I think property taxes have increased too under your tenure,’” Gordon said, to which Ferrari agreed.

Gordon told Cowboy State Daily he had a personal conversation with Ferrari after, where he stressed to her that he wants to hear her concerns.

State Rep. Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan, said it’s not just Gordon who should be blamed for increasing government spending.

“He didn’t do it all, but he did enough of it,” Jennings said.

Although Jennings has criticized Gordon’s energy policies and vetoes he made during the 2024 legislative session, he was more upbeat about Tuesday’s event, which he said he found valuable.

Sheridan resident and House District 30 candidate Tom Kelly expressed concerns to Gordon about many of the Wyoming-led economic innovation efforts being behind the times and involving too much governmental meddling.

“I would like to see more leadership of the private industry rather than partner with them,” he said.

Gordon responded that he doesn’t see a private-public partnership at play, but rather entrepreneurial leaders expressing what the state can do best to help their industry.

He further explained Cowboy State Daily afterwards that he doesn’t want private businesses to be encumbered by state government in any way. Rather, he wants an open line of communication between the two groups so that all business leaders feel like they are being heard rather than suffering the fate of the government’s choice of winners and losers.

The Bigger Picture

Although Gordon isn’t up for reelection this year, that hasn’t stopped certain state Legislature candidates from taking shots at him during their campaigns this year.

Some of his allies in the Legislature have risen to the governor’s defense in their own campaigns, while others have picked and choosed what issues they vocally support or oppose him on, while others still haven’t mentioned him at all.

Some of the most heat directed Gordon’s way originates from comments he made in late 2023, when he told an audience at Harvard University that he wants Wyoming to go carbon negative. He hasn’t walked back from that stance since making the remarks, other than clarifying what he meant, which he did again after his town hall Tuesday when speaking with the media.

Gordon explained that he wants Wyoming’s energy industries to be protected no matter which presidential administration is in office, mentioning the difficulties he believes Wyoming has had under President Joe Biden despite what he saw as well-intentioned efforts by the state to protect the environment.

“This (presidential) administration has made a determined judgment that they we’re going to shut down fossil fuels,” he said. “I’m very hopeful that we have a change in administration and they allow Wyoming to do what it does best, which is develop our minerals.”

The crux of Gordon’s position is a desire to create a more diverse energy portfolio while not hindering any of Wyoming’s legacy energy industries.

“I’ve wanted to make sure that we didn’t cut our nose off to spite our face with fossil fuels,” he said. “I think there’s opportunities for people to make money in lots of ways around energy, and that’s sort of where our leadership has been.”

Aware Of The Political Ecosystem

Gordon said he sees deciphering whether information is accurate as part of a larger trend in the greater political ecosystem.

He referenced some of the efforts out-of-state groups have made in this year’s Wyoming campaigns, spreading questionable or sometimes false information in their wake.

“Everything now on the political stage seems to be about deciphering money, information, misinformation and other ideas that aren't necessarily native to Wyoming,” he said.

Whomever comes out on top after the Wyoming primary Aug. 20, Gordon said he hopes the state retains its identity.

“Wyoming is a state that has a more independent spirit and stronger affinity for government that’s closest to the people,” he said. “I don’t want to be run by some outside PR firm. I want to make sure people in Wyoming make their choices.”

Also in attendance at the event were Reps. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, Sen. Dave Kinskey, R-Sheridan, and state House candidates Gail Symons, Laurie Bratten and Pete Fox.

Gordon’s panel included Sheridan County School District 2 Superintendent Scott Stults, Sheridan College President Walt Tribley, Emit Technologies Chief Operating Officer Michelle Wilson and Holly Krutka, executive director of the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.