Dear editor:

On the evening of Jan. 9 at the meeting of the Park County Republican Central Committee, when the voting results of the first ballot for the replacement for the county assessor were read, there were visible and audible reactions from the crowd, including from several Park County public officials. Terry Call (their obvious choice to fill the position) had placed sixth out of six candidates and would not advance to the next round. How could the group of 85 precinct committee members not choose someone who was the deputy assessor under Pat Meyer?  The reaction from several of our county commissioners and Pat Meyer, who all voted at the meeting, was palpable.  

Terry Call has now been chosen by a district court judge to fill that role. I truly hope that he is successful, but he wasn’t the choice of the Republican Party. Terry was at the bottom of the initial ballot by more than 20 votes. Now don’t get me wrong, Terry has an exceptional resume and over 15 years of experience in the assessor’s office. I fully expect him to be an excellent assessor and I hope that he will stand up for the taxpayers of Park County far more than his predecessor. However, his experience wasn’t what motivated the Republican Party to not select him. The only black mark on Terry’s resume was entirely unrelated to him but was related to his vocal support from Pat Meyer, who had presided over out-of-control assessments in Park County and the highest property tax increases in history.

The county commissioners were so mortified by the non-selection of “their guy” that Dossie Overfield refused to look me in the eye after the meeting when I asked her about the commissioners selection process going forward.  Pat Meyer was so upset that he actually refused to vote in the second round of balloting. I had been selected as one of the three candidates and was clearly NOT their choice.  

Unfortunately, there was a minor discrepancy in the balloting process as you may have read. A totally unauthorized recount conducted in secrecy several days after the meeting potentially showed that there might have been a tie for sixth place, albeit by a distant 20 votes from the top three candidates. When the chairman unexpectedly reported this to the county commissioners, they saw light at the end of the tunnel! Maybe there was still a chance to get “their guy” back into the selection process? However, the county commissioners would have to knowingly and willingly VIOLATE Wyoming Statute W.S. 22-18-111(a)(ii) in order to make that happen … WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID!

W.S.22-18-111(a)(ii) is abundantly clear when referring to the statutory duties of the county commissioners in the vacancy process. It states the following: At the meeting the county central committee shall select and transmit to the board of county commissioners the names of three (3) persons qualified to hold the office. Within five (5) days after receiving these three (3) names, the board of county commissioners SHALL fill the vacancy by appointment of one (1) of the three (3) to hold the office. 

The use of the word “SHALL” does not give the commissioners an option, once they have received a list of three names from the party. There is absolutely no language in state law that gives the commissioners the ability to review or complain about the process of the Republican Party. The party could have chosen three names out of a hat and presented them to the commissioners and they, by law, would have to choose from those three names.  But, this presented the commissioners the opportunity (in their eyes) to question the vote and defer the decision to a district court judge. The judge has the ability to reopen the process to anyone they wish, provided they are a Republican living in Park County and own real property.

Well, the county commissioners got their way and Terry Call was chosen by the judge to fill the position. That is definitely not the problematic result that I see in this situation, as I have total respect for Mr. Call’s qualifications.  The larger issue is the fact that our county commissioners knowingly violated state law to get their desired outcome. As the 19th century quote says: “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Being elected to a position as county commissioner comes with a great deal of power but it also comes with the trust of the voters and ours violated that trust. Will they take that same approach in other decisions like the land use plan? Let’s hope not, but this little episode should warn every voter in Park County to keep a watchful eye on our county commissioners going forward. If they were willing to violate state law to fill a vacancy for the assessor position, what else wouldn’t they do?

Bob Ferguson

Meeteetse