ShelterJH primary election endorsements are live!

July 23, 2024

Endorsements Background

ShelterJH is endorsing local candidates for the contested races in the primary election—early voting is open now!

A candidate endorsed by ShelterJH is a dedicated housing champion. The criteria for our endorsements include our judgment of candidates’ commitment to affordable housing in general; their commitment to our most vulnerable neighbors in particular; their potential for effectiveness; their willingness to communicate directly with our organization; and their alignment with our policy priorities. We did not consider political party affiliation, personal connections, or personal support for any candidate.

ShelterJH’s endorsement process is thorough. In addition to our candidate questionnaire, we also hosted member meetings to get our members’ direct input on candidates; incorporated years of vote tracking for incumbent candidates; researched candidates’ stances; created a detailed rubric for comparison purposes; and interviewed each candidate individually.

We are proud of and celebrate anyone who decides to dedicate themselves to public service and run for office. Whether or not our endorsed candidates are elected, we are committed to educating and collaborating with all local governmental officials. We encourage our members and supporters to engage with the candidates personally, learn about their platforms, and make an informed decision at the polls.

Town Council: Four out of six Town Council candidates will advance to the general election.

We have chosen not to endorse the maximum number of candidates for the Town Council race. As a result, we have also recommended candidates who are most aligned with our values. 

Two of the six candidates demonstrate a proven commitment to housing locals locally. 

• ENDORSED: Kevin Regan has made a strong impression on ShelterJH with his thoughtful perspective, well-researched positions, and commitment to learning about our values. Kevin demonstrates a passionate dedication to advancing pro-housing legislation aligned with our policy goals, especially regarding land development regulation reform. In addition, having a renter and car-free individual on the Town Council brings a valuable and much-needed perspective.
• ENDORSED: Devon Viehman has strengthened her advocacy for the real estate tax since she last ran for office in 2022. She engages with ShelterJH and seeks our input on local issues. She looks to other mountain communities for innovative solutions to our housing emergency and has strong state connections that could benefit Teton County in Cheyenne. We endorsed Devon in 2022, and still assert that her enthusiasm would be an asset to the Town Council.
• RECOMMENDED: Jason Fritts is a promising candidate whose experience serving on the town’s Equity Taskforce equips him to be an effective Town Councilor. In addition, Jason’s personal experience as a renter and as someone who has been evicted would inform his decision-making as a candidate. We appreciate his understanding of local tenant issues, including the need to update winter parking regulations and establish tenant rights. We want to see Jason advance to the general election so we have more time to learn about his stances and his commitment to being an elected official.
• RECOMMENDED: Jesse Rauch has potential to further ShelterJH’s mission. While we are concerned that Jesse may want to limit the government’s involvement in providing homes for locals, we are encouraged by his stances on property tax relief (and particularly in raising property tax on luxury homes while delivering relief to locals and seniors) and his interest in passing tenant protections. Although Jesse has not established a pro-housing record, we hope to see him advance so we have more time to evaluate his positions.

While Scott Anderson has extensive experience as a Town Councilor, he expressed that selling the 90 Virginian Way parcel might be the best decision for the community, which stands in stark contrast to our policy priorities. Additionally, his assertion that we could develop tiny affordable homes on the Virginian parcel shows a lack of understanding of the financing that is central to making these projects successful. If elected, we hope that Scott will fully support the Virginian project as a huge opportunity for supporting housing-insecure locals.

Perri Stern is a committed community advocate, and ShelterJH appreciated her call for stronger Northern South Park regulations during the County Commission deliberations this year. However, ShelterJH members felt that her resistance to the 440 West Kelly project and her suggestion that the recent moratorium apply to the 90 Virginian Way development does not align with the organization’s goals. We hope to continue to collaborate with Perri to codify more protections for locals in the future, similar to her advocacy regarding Northern South Park, whether or not she is elected.

County Commission: Two of the three Democratic County Commission candidates will advance to the general election.

It is exciting to see multiple qualified candidates running for County Commission. Each candidate has put forward thoughtful and comprehensive plans to improve affordable housing, support sustainable development, and ensure that all residents have access to safe and stable housing. Although all three candidates are strong, we feel it is incumbent on us to identify differences between them and share guidance with our members and supporters. This deliberation was challenging for the ShelterJH community.

After careful consideration and thorough evaluation, two candidates have the most potential for affecting positive change on the County Commission:

• ENDORSED: Len Carlman would be a new face on the Commission, but he has a well-established reputation for being a community advocate. Len has shown a commitment to supporting ShelterJH’s values, and we are especially encouraged by his work at the state level supporting a real estate transfer tax. We support Len in pursuing new regulations to curb hotel development and enact fundamental rights for tenants. 
• ENDORSED: Natalia Macker is a celebrated local leader with almost a decade of County Commission experience. We were thrilled to hear about her creative ideas for creating new revenue sources to fund deed-restricted housing development, as the lack of robust funding for homes for locals is the biggest challenge we face. Natalia is a smart, thoughtful, innovative leader with invaluable state connections we can rely on when addressing state-level issues, including protecting local control.

Jim Rooks has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing the housing challenges facing our community. We appreciate his support of ShelterJH and especially his attendance at our events. Jim’s service on the Town Council has furthered some of ShelterJH’s objectives. However, we are concerned about his perspective on Northern South Park and especially his work lobbying County Commissioners to pass the land development regulations without pressing for concurrency. Furthermore, ShelterJH supports the Fair Board in the search for a new home for the fairgrounds, and Jim has expressed his lack of interest in relocating the fairgrounds. Although the relocation is not on the immediate horizon, we would like Commissioners to at least be open to the idea of a relocation. Overall, Jim is a pro-housing candidate; however, we think the other two candidates are better positioned to further ShelterJH’s mission. We thank Jim for his time on the Council.

Get to the polls by August 20!
If you haven’t registered to vote yet, there’s still time! Early voting opens on July 23 and the primary election is on August 20. ShelterJH will be releasing endorsements for the general election this fall.

ShelterJH is a membership organization created by Jackson’s middle-class and working-class workers. We are especially focused on solutions for our neighbors living with the most housing insecurity. As a 501(c)4 nonprofit instead of the typical 501(c)3, we can endorse, oppose, and support candidates – and help get and hold them accountable once they take office. Please join our movement and be ready to vote by August 20!