Karin Richard

Cody business owner Karin Richard announced her candidacy for one of two available spots on the Park County Commission in late March and said at a recent candidate forum that it’s been a lot of work, but it’s been worthwhile.

“I go into stores to talk to people and they’re happy to talk to someone who’s willing to listen,” she said. “And every day when I talk to people, I hear the same things. ‘We’re paying too much money. We don’t like what is going on … it’s important to see what people have to say. I am proud and privileged to be running.”

Richard has owned Outdoor Adventures Revived (OAR), a used outdoor gear store in Cody, for the past six years. Prior to opening OAR she worked in the health, fitness and recreation fields for almost 30 years, and said she can “bring a wealth of management experience to the position of county commissioner.”

She said her major focus if elected would be listening closely to those in the community who feel as though they currently do not have a voice.

“There is a large group of citizens across our county who have ‘checked out’ when it comes to politics,” she said. “The same kinds of people (the rich, the well connected, those who travel in the same professional and social circles) are the ones who are consistently getting voted into office, and they have no understanding or empathy when it comes to the challenges that normal, hard working members of our community face every day.”

Richard is also concerned, as are all candidates, with how expensive the area has gotten. In a recent forum she recalled watching as two regular customers went from being able to put gear at the store, to just looking, to not coming anymore. She knows of two once frequent customers who have had to move due to being priced out of the housing market.

Richard said a good way government can help is to take less money from citizens in the first place.

“People want to keep more money in their pockets. They don’t want more government,” she said. “You know, if I asked 5,000 people, how are you doing, I can guarantee that not one of them would say to me ‘I would love the community if only our government was bigger.”

She said the people she’s talked to feel as though their needs are not represented. 

“They feel as though they’re not heard and not seen,” she said. “That their representatives consistently say one thing and then do another. And so many feel that when it comes to local politics nothing in their lives ever changes for the better. It’s no wonder so many local people are disheartened and disengaged, have given up on, and have little faith in the individuals who were elected to represent them.”

There are two commission terms coming to an end in this elections cycle, those of Lee Livingston and Scott Mangold, Livingston isn’t running again, but Mangold is going for one final term.