Kelly Simone

Kelly Simone has long been drawn to public service.

The South Fork resident and Wyoming native has served on the Park County School District 6 board and is on the West Park Hospital board. Now, she wants to serve the whole county as a Park County commissioner.

She is one of six candidates running for two open spots and said she decided to run now in part because her kids are older and more independent, and because only one of two incumbents is running (longtime Commissioner Lee Livingston declined to run again), leaving at least one spot open for a newcomer to fill.

Simone thinks she’s ready to fill that spot.

“I believe wholeheartedly in public service,” she said. “I believe I now have the skillset — I feel very comfortable knowing how boards operate.”

Simone was for two years the chair of the Cody school board and was one of the key votes to approve a policy to allow qualified and trained employees to carry firearms.

She left the board after one term to have more time for her children when they were younger, and then in 2022 she was elected to the West Park Hospital District Board, a place where she had worked for years as a physician’s assistant.

She now has a contract as an occasional PA for Billings Clinic in Cody and also works a handful of days a month as a PA in the Powell Valley Hospital Emergency Department.

And, with her children older and more independent, she said she has the extra time to devote herself to being a county commissioner, a gig that’s at least a part-time job.

“It’s time to get back to some of the things I'm passionate about,” she said. “I love this kind of work, and I’m definitely excited and ready to learn.”

Simone is interested in seeing the county land use plan to fruition through adoption of regulations that will dovetail with the plan’s main points.

She said she’d like to see a balance between providing information on items such as big game migration routes for those looking to build, while also protecting private property rights.

Simone is also interested in looking at the county budget, which she said is similar in size to the school district budgets she helped approve years before.

“It’s important to have elected officials who understand budgets,” she said, “how it impacts county employees, funds county roads.”

She has other issues she’d like to look into, including election security, but said it boils down to a simple goal.

“My biggest goals are to keep Park County what all of us love about Park County, a beautiful place to visit in the summers, that hometown feel … and also plan for growth,” Simone said. “We're not going to get around growth. We need to be very thoughtful with how we grow Park County but still preserve its authenticity.”