Democrats retain control of Albany County Commission

Both parties had a chance to lock in power for the next four years. Neither did. But Democrats secured another two years in the majority — a welcome outcome for aquifer protection advocates.

County leadership will remain in Democratic hands for at least the next two years following the results of Tuesday’s general election.

Commission Chair Pete Gosar, a Democrat, won his reelection bid and was the only commission candidate to crack 6,000 votes in a contest where 22,000 votes were cast.

Commissioner Heber Richardson, a Republican, lost his reelection bid to fellow Republican Terri Jones, who earned a total of 5,880 votes.

Gosar and Jones will join Democratic Commissioner Sue Ibarra — who was not up for reelection this year — to fill out the three-member commission. Between Gosar and Ibarra, the commission will retain its Democratic majority. Gosar said having that majority will allow the commission to finish the work it has started.

“We have a couple of plans that are in the finishing stages, with the Casper Aquifer Protection Plan and the long-range Growth Management Plan,” Gosar said. “But also, there were a few pieces of legislation signed at the federal level that provided an amazing opportunity for water and infrastructure and green energy — so really trying to find a way to pursue those aggressively and move Albany County in a direction I think the rest of the world is moving in.”

Not every issue before the commission is partisan, but some local issues have taken on a clear partisan flavor.

Aquifer protection

One area where the candidates differed is in their approach to aquifer protection.

The Casper Aquifer rests to the east of Laramie and provides more than half of the city’s drinking water. For years, the community has been engaged in debates surrounding how much development — and what kinds of development — should be allowed on the land above the aquifer.

Those who advocate for greater “aquifer protection,” often seek to limit what can be built on the land above and seek to strengthen regulations regarding septic tank quality and other factors related to the threat of contamination.

But others don’t see the aquifer as particularly threatened, and view attempts to limit development on the land above as unnecessary government regulation.

The debate often falls along party lines, with Democrats advocating greater protections and Republicans advocating less. That pattern held true in the 2022 county commission race.

Jones, like Commissioner Richardson, believes the aquifer is adequately protected and will not advocate for any new restrictions on the land above it. But she is likely to be outvoted on that front by Gosar and Ibarra, who have been vocal in their push for greater aquifer protections.

The county and city governments are currently working to update the Casper Aquifer Protection Plan. The trajectory of that effort is unlikely to change, with Democrats retaining control of the commission and aquifer protection advocates retaining a majority on the city council.

Renewable energy

No matter how the general election played out this year, the future of large-scale renewable energy projects in Albany County looked safe.

The current commissioners — Gosar, Richardson and Ibarra — voted unanimously in favor of the Rail Tie Wind Project last year, but they cited radically different reasons for their support. Ibarra said she was swayed by young people demanding action on climate change, Gosar spoke of wind farms being good neighbors, and Richardson made the case that government should stay out of the way of private business — even if that business is a 26,000-acre wind farm.

The other commission candidates this year would have provided their own justifications if the vote came before them.

During the campaign, Democratic candidate Klaus Halbsgut said renewable energy represents the direction the U.S. and the world are headed.

Jones, on the other hand, echoed Richardson in saying government should stay out of the way of private business, though she added wind siting regulations should be reviewed from time to time.

In fact, Republican voters rejected the only candidate vocally opposed to Rail Tie during the primary in August.

So energy companies looking to set up shop in Albany County will likely find a friendly governmental environment. But the nature of that friendliness — and potentially the nature of the approval or the specific requirements placed on wind farms — are likely to vary.

With Gosar and Ibarra running the show for the next two years, there’s likely to be more talk of the threat posed by climate change and of the moral responsibility borne by those building industrial-scale energy projects.

Below are the full unofficial results for the Albany County Commission race. Winners are printed in bold.

Albany County Commission

• Democrat Pete Gosar: 6,054

• Democrat Klaus Halbsgut: 4,838

• Republican Terri Jones: 5,880

• Republican Heber Richardson: 5,176

• Write-in: 62