Dear Editor:

Legislators are bound to represent their constituents. They cannot be bound by a voting pledge defined by third parties.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the American Conservative Union (ACU), both headquartered in Virginia, score legislators on their voting record. We have the right and duty to scrutinize our representatives’ voting records, not them.

These organizations prey on legislators not willing to deeply understand the issues and who hold politics above doing what is right for Wyoming. These websites are packed with conspiracy and baseless claims.

Your right to vote is more important than that. Be an informed voter; hold your legislators to what is important to you as you determine. Are you really willing to let an East Coast political organization decide what is best for Park County?

Legislators making these pledges violate a very important principle — they take an oath to represent you.

No single bill will satisfy the party platform to the letter. Most address an issue critical to the party, but include provisions, riders or wording that make it a bad bill. I want a legislator who can tell the difference and not just vote the line because of what some third party tells them to do. Vote for candidates who are truly dissecting bills and actually doing the hard job we voted them in to do.

Cherish your right to vote, and honor it by voting as an informed citizen. It is possible to find balanced news if you work at it. Look at it from both sides and figure it out for yourself. And the answer is not on social media, which preys on our desire to have our news simple and spoon-fed. Being an informed citizen is not that simple. It deserves a better effort from each of us.

Lastly, hold elected officials to a high standard in their conduct. Don’t allow our democracy to be violated by indecent actions. In a democracy we don’t have to agree, but we must remain respectful and decent to each other. The Constitution gives us great freedoms, but doesn’t say we get to pick and choose to whom it applies.

I see three state legislators in Park County who uphold these ideals: Senator R.J. Kost, Representative Sandy Newsome and former Representative David Northrup. I urge all Wyomingites to look for these qualities in candidates as they go to the ballot box on Aug. 16.

Dusty Spomer

Powell