Karin Richard

After making a run for the Park County Commission two years ago, Cody small business owner Karin Richard wasn’t sure if she would try again for political office. But now, Richard said, she has even more reasons to get into the race. 

“I want to be a true voice,” she said. “I speak for a completely different contingent of citizens in this county than the commissioners that are in place right now.”

In the 2024 Republican primary, Richard finished as the runner-up in the race for two commission seats, taking third among six candidates. This time around, she’s entering a crowded GOP field for three open seats. 

Two incumbents, commissioners Scott Steward and Lloyd Thiel, have announced they’re running again, while Barb Poley, Nicole Forsberg, Tim Lasseter, Andrew Whitlock and Duncan Bonine have also declared their candidacies.

Richard said she is running on “strong conservative values” and a desire to fight for those values. 

“I look at the state almost like the red line in the sand,” she said. “If this place goes liberal, if this place gets invaded by a whole lot of people that don't have ties to Wyoming, to change the value system in Wyoming, where do we all run to next?

“I don’t have an answer for that,” she said. “I think it's worth fighting for. I love the state. I love this county. My home is here, my business is here. And I just, I think it's worth fighting for.”

Richard was born in Norway and has lived in various spots around the United States. Over the years, she has worked in recreation department management. Since 2018, her and her husband have lived on the South Fork and run a used outdoor goods store in Cody.

Two years ago, Richard said she was running in large part on finding ways to reduce how expensive it had become to live in the area. 

This time around, transparency is one of her biggest issues. That’s especially true, she said, when commissioners vote on Wyoming County Commissioner Association resolutions on what to support or oppose in each legislative session. 

“There are a lot of decisions that are made at the county commission level that are done behind closed doors, and these county commissioners do not want to answer questions,” Richard said. “I’ve asked a lot of very pointed questions, and there's a lot of times that I don’t get answers … They represent me, and if I have questions, I expect answers from people whose salaries I pay for, and that’s not happening a lot of the time. So I think we need a lot more transparency and a lot more accountability at the county commission level.”

She is also dismayed by the county land use plan and regulations process, saying it’s bringing more regulation to local people, and she has been one of the most vocal opponents of state and local financial support for the Wyoming State Shooting Complex. 

“I don’t believe there's widespread support for the shooting complex, No. 1,” she said. “No. 2, Park County citizens were never asked if they wanted to get into the shooting complex business, and I don’t think they do.”

Richard said she’s not against the complex itself, but the state funding. She said if elected, she would stand firm on not going “$1 beyond” the yearly maintenance the county has agreed to provide to the road it built to the complex from Wyo. Highway 120S. 

Richard has also been raising concerns with subsidized housing apartment complexes that are being built in part with taxpayer money. Those complexes aren’t required to only rent to area residents, and Richard says they can become a chance for an influx of more people.

“People think that I'm against growth, and I'm not,” she said. “I'm against taxpayer-funded growth.”

What Richard is for, she said, are many of the same issues the current crop of state legislators representing Park County are for, including reduced government spending and regulations. 

“I've got their back, because they went down there and they tried to do exactly what they promised the people Park County that they were going to do,” she said. “So I'm not going to turn my back on them.”