Tim French

Although the Wyoming Legislature has its frustrating moments, Sen. Tim French (R-Powell) says that overall, he’s enjoying the job and is proud of his work. That’s part of the reason why he’s seeking a second term in the Senate.

“I just want to do my part to keep Wyoming a great place,” said French.

He represents Senate District 18, which includes Cody, the North and South forks, Wapiti, Clark, Ralston, Sunlight/Crandall and the Heart Mountain area, where he farms.

Like many other lawmakers and candidates this cycle, delivering additional property tax relief remains French’s biggest priority. He would like the state to base property taxes on pre-COVID-19 home values, saying housing prices have gotten “so expensive.”

“We've got to do something there to make that a better system,” he said in a Thursday interview, adding, “It’s so hard for the younger people to even hope to purchase a home, you know, and then even if they do, with the high interest rates, and then the uncertainty on the property taxes, [it] is just really tough.”

More broadly, French has called on the state to “think outside the box.”

Under the current system, you can lose your property if you fail to pay your property taxes within seven years, French noted at a March forum, which means “as long as you live, you will never own your property.”

He’ll be jumping into those property tax discussions in the coming months as a member of the Joint Revenue Committee, which will debate various options throughout the interim.

Overall, French said he’s sought to support conservative legislation over his four years in the Senate, including measures boosting school choice, Second Amendment rights and smaller government.

He was the original sponsor of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which prohibits transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports. However, he handed it off to Sen. Wendy Schuler (R-Evanston), who helped get it through the Legislature in 2023.

“She could talk to it better than I ever could because she was a woman athlete,” French said, “so she did a great job.”

In last winter’s budget session, French was among a group of more conservative senators who passed a state budget that was roughly $1.1 billion smaller than the one passed by the House, but thanks to what French saw as “a lot of politics being played,” the chambers wound up meeting in the middle.

“We were trying to have a leaner, more conservative government,” he said. “And in the end, it didn’t turn out that way.”

French mentioned specific frustration with Gov. Mark Gordon vetoing language that would have prohibited the University of Wyoming from spending state money on any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. (Gordon did leave in language prohibiting funding for the actual DEI office.)

French served as a Park County commissioner for 18 years, leaving the board at the end of 2018 and then running for the Senate in 2020. He won a three-way Republican primary and cruised to victory in the general election.

“I feel like I’m doing good work,” he said. “If I didn’t think that, I wouldn't run again.”