League of Women Voters of Laramie Voter Guide 2004

Albany County Commissioners


Term of office is four years. There is one vacancy on the three-member commission. Salary is $15,000 annually plus benefits. Party affiliation is indicated by (D) for Democrat and (R) for Republican after the candidate's name.

Biographical information:


Jerry M. Kennedy (R):
I was born and raised in Albany County; have been married for 40 years and have two sons. I own and operate Dodge Creek Ranch in northern Albany County with one son. I have been a fire guard for BLM for 39 years; active with the Albany County Weed and Pest District for 27 years, and have been an elected County Commissioner. Recently I was appointed by Governor Freudenthal to the newly created Public Safety Communications Commission.

Jim Thompson (D):
I was raised in Casper and have degrees in economics and sociology. I am a faculty member at UW. My wife, Nancy Stanton, and I moved here in 1972 and our children, Garth and Meg, were born here. We own a small ranch in south Albany County. I had a consulting firm in Laramie for 12 years, and worked for many county commissions, which is where I got my interest in being a commissioner.

Question 1: Currently the County Commission meets at 9:30 a.m. on two Tuesdays per month. How do you feel about varying the time and possibly the location of meetings to improve public access?


Jerry M. Kennedy (R):
The first meeting of the month is to be held in the County Seat. The meeting times are good because we have to deal with many professional people that have to interrelate with other businesses during the time of the meeting. The county offices have to be open and available for support information for those involved as well. The meeting times, dates and place are published and well known--to change them would be total confusion. People who need to do business with the County Commissioners are able to know when and where the meetings will be. We also have many special meetings....

Jim Thompson (D):
Yes, I would be willing to have commissioner meetings in different parts of the county. It might be useful to have periodic meetings in Centennial, Rock River, Woods Landing or in other areas people might request. But I would like to survey people in the county outside of Laramie to see if they want meetings in other areas, and, if so, where.

Question 2: How much time can you devote to this office; do you expect to be able to attend at least 90 percent of the meetings?


Jerry M. Kennedy (R): As my record as County Commissioner shows I devote as much time as I possibly can to represent Albany County locally as well as Statewide. I represent Albany County on the County Commissioners Association as well as ALL County Government on the Public Service Communication Commission, a Governor appointed position. I serve as chairman for the WYOLINK Operations Group on this Commission.

Jim Thompson (D): I will be able to make all meetings, God willing and the crick donâ~@~Yt rise. I anticipate spending considerable time outside of regular meetings and hearings researching certain issues such as state financing of counties, and plan on taking leave time from my job to lobby the legislature to equalize funding among all 23 counties. I also plan to lobby the legislature to change the subdividing statute so that county regulations will apply to all major subdivisions.