If he runs for office again this year, a Casper-area state representative who’s made headlines as an opponent of nuclear storage facilities will have a challenger.
Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Casper, represents a district that includes multiple small communities around the city like Midwest and Bar Nunn.
He etched a distinct political identity last year as a fierce opponent of plans by energy developer Radiant Nuclear to build nuclear microreactors near Bar Nunn, and bring their spent waste back.
Allemand also protested an ultimately-unsuccessful effort to funnel government money into infrastructure for the company.
One of Allemand’s biggest critics, Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer, confirmed Friday to Cowboy State Daily that he’s running for the incumbent’s seat.
That’s after the two clashed over Radiant’s proposal last summer.
“I feel like House District 58 deserves better representation,” said Boyer.
He described himself as a Christian, a family man, and a political conservative.
The 45-year-old Republican and father of three will face Allemand in the primary election Aug. 18, if Allemand runs for reelection.
Allemand did not return a Friday voicemail request for comment by publication.
Boyer has been mayor of Bar Nunn since January 2023. He’s lived in Wyoming for nine years.
He said his job as a subcontractor in the oil and gas industry would allow him to attend the four-to-six-week session Wyoming’s citizen Legislature holds every winter.
“I’m very conservative. I’m pro-life, pro-gun. Very pro-gun,” he said, adding that he believes the National Firearms Act is unconstitutional.
“I’m pro-family, pro-business, pro-limited government,” said Boyer, who also cast himself as a fiscal conservative.
He said he won’t be a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, though he may align with it on multiple policy points.
Boyer said he disagrees with Freedom Caucus members’ efforts to defund and dismantle the Wyoming Business Council, which is a state agency geared toward economic development.
He said he would, however, like to refine it and narrow its focus to infrastructural improvements.
Allemand voted in favor of removing the Wyoming Business Council.
What Else?
Allemand was arrested in late December on suspicion of drunk driving in Johnson County.
He was charged with DUI, and the case is ongoing.
“You know, I don’t drink,” said Boyer in response to a question of what else differentiates him from Allemand. “I don’t drink alcohol at all.”
Boyer said he feels he has “skin in the game” because of his three children and a desire to keep them in Wyoming.
“I do believe in taking accountability for your actions, whether they’re good or bad,” he added.
Being charged with DUI in Wyoming is not necessarily a kiss of death for winning reelection. A Johnson County commissioner did so in 2022. He did not have an opponent for his seat, however.
Back To Nukes
Natrona County residents clashed last year when Radiant sought $25 million in state money from the Wyoming Business Council — to be funneled through a community entity — to build a facility near Bar Nunn.
Allemand delivered a blistering critique of the project, saying most of the area's residents opposed it.
“The people of Bar Nunn do not want (the spent fuel) in their backyard,” said Allemand.
Boyer noted in his Friday interview that the town council voted against supporting the grant effort since “it went too far” with venturing public money into the private sector.
Boyer didn’t oppose the company outright, however.
That’s because “in everything I’ve studied, (the spent fuel) is safe,” he said. “And a lot of people, I think, got really, really emotionally invested in the fear side of it – but everything I’ve studied shows it was safe. Otherwise I wouldn’t have wanted it in my community.”
But all of that is a “moot point” now, said Boyer.
Radiant announced in October that it would settle in Tennessee instead, citing the state’s more attractive level of “regulatory certainty.”
The Wyoming Legislature’s website lists one Allemand-sponsored bill so far this year, with the session convening Monday.
That’s a proposed constitutional amendment that would, if enacted, require any nuclear waste project to survive a vote of the people on election day before being placed or sited.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
