County Commission: Three of the six Democratic County Commission candidates will advance to the general election.

Each candidate has put forward thoughtful ideas to address the shortage of homes locals can afford and demonstrated a commitment to supporting statewide change like advocating for a real estate transfer tax. All six also oppose the problematic property tax ballot measure voters will consider this fall. Although all of the candidates are strong, we feel it is incumbent on us to identify differences between them and share guidance with those who want to vote for pro-homes candidates. This year’s deliberation was especially thought-provoking for the ShelterJH community, and we appreciate each candidate’s participation in this thorough process. It is exciting to see multiple qualified candidates running for County Commission.

After careful consideration and thorough evaluation, the ShelterJH team has identified three candidates who have the most potential for effecting positive change on the Teton County Commission:

• ENDORSED: Karyn Chin is a successful leader with a strong commitment to our community and sharp political instincts. County Commissioners can play a role in advocating for change throughout Wyoming, and Karyn believes in using Amendment A passed in 2024 to help address the funding shortage for homes in our community; moreover, she understands how to navigate the state legislature and work across the aisle. We also believe Karyn will see Northern South Park through based on the commitments made through the neighborhood planning process. We are encouraged by her background in grassroots organizing and long-term support of ShelterJH’s work. Karyn’s personal experience with housing insecurity and living in a tiny home on rented land will bring much-needed perspective to the future of deed-restricted homes in Teton County, especially considering the use of accessory residential units.
• ENDORSED: Ali Dunford is a proven problem-solver whose imagination goes hand-in-hand with her practicality. As the founder of Hole Food Rescue, she has a history of building collective buy-in to realize positive community-led change in Teton County. She actively seeks ShelterJH’s perspective, and we appreciate her willingness to engage deeply with housing issues. She supports density at the Virginian neighborhood and other potential developments proximate to transit hubs like Nelson Drive and Northern South Park. Ali strongly supports protecting housing mitigation and investing in the Preservation Program. Ali brings critical lived experience needed to holistically solve Teton County’s housing challenges: after being forced to leave the valley, she now commutes over the pass from her Alta rental to work here. We are excited to support a fresh and underrepresented perspective on the Commission.
• RECOMMENDED: Luther Propst is a local leader with almost a decade of County Commission experience. He brings a unique combination of experience as a former planning land-use lawyer and long-time advocate for responsible public policy. Luther engages meaningfully with ShelterJH’s membership, and we appreciate his longstanding commitment to housing mitigation, advocacy on behalf of the public during Northern South Park deliberations, and effort to bring new ideas like naturally-occurring affordable housing to our community. We understand Luther’s commitment to decoupling the growth of jobs from the construction of homes that locals can afford. While we support using incentive tools to bring more affordable homes online, we are also cognizant that unfettered commercial development makes our housing shortage worse. Luther’s perspective recognizes the importance of thoughtfully balancing economic development, preservation, and the need to ensure that locals can afford to live locally. We are recommending Luther because we want to see a more complete, viable, and timely vision for the Virginian neighborhood from him. If he is elected, we hope that he helps lead the charge to move the process forward to build dense, affordable homes at 90 Virginian Lane.

Wes Gardner has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing the housing challenges facing our community. We appreciate his support of ShelterJH and his work defending housing mitigation in Cheyenne. In 2022, we endorsed him partly because of his stance on the importance of phasing in Northern South Park. Ultimately, some of Wes’s votes on this issue did not represent the values he expressed during his 2022 campaign. Moreover, Wes indicated that he would support public funding for Northern South Park, departing from the work the developer team and the public did to craft a fair deal to move forward with the new neighborhood. We know that this next Commission will have influence over the future of Northern South Park. We appreciate that Wes has shown a commitment to seeing the 90 Virginian Lane project built densely and affordably, and he has put effort into his ideas for how that can be made a reality. Wes supports homes locals can afford, and we hope that if elected, his votes will reflect his passion for housing locals locally and we will be ready to work with him.

Mark Newcomb has served the public for decades and we admire his detailed approach to policymaking. We recommended him during his campaign in 2022. We are heartened by his commitment to the Virginian neighborhood and his efforts to communicate the complex data nexus around affordability levels with his constituents and agree with his approach to analyzing this data. At the same time, his indication to convene a deliberative summit and potentially wait until 2027 to take next steps are not aligned with the urgent need for homes at the Virginian now. He also did not support our calls for incorporating phasing into Northern South Park during deliberations around land development regulations. We appreciate Mark’s extensive experience as an elected official and simultaneously believe it is time to center new voices in our elected bodies. If elected, we will continue to collaborate with Mark.

Brent Blue’s commitment to this community as the Coroner is laudable. As a board member for St. John’s Health, he has been involved in building homes for hospital employees. We also appreciate his creative approach to funding solutions, including accessing revenue generated by the airport. In candidate interviews, however, Brent has expressed that the government should not be involved in building homes locals can afford and that employers should be responsible for housing their own employees. ShelterJH believes that the government is a critical player in addressing the housing shortage and that employer-based housing is a part of the solution, but is not the answer for everyone. Ultimately, ShelterJH believes our community needs elected leaders who see affordable housing as a public responsibility, and not one that can be left primarily to individual employers.